Hispania: a waking dream?

HRT, or Hispania Racing Team, kicked off its season this week, presenting its car as well as its pilot duo. If one, Bruno Senna, was known for a long time, the second, Karun Chandhok, was only recruited very recently. The press conference organized in Murcia allowed the Hispania Racing Team, formerly Campos, to present the two men who will defend the colors of the team this year.

After several months of uncertainty, the Spanish team is launching a major challenge: taking part in the World Championship of Formula 1 without having played the slightest preparatory test. The single-seater, developed by Dallara, was presented this Thursday, but its absence during pre-season testing in February in Spain could penalize it during the first half of the year.

However, Dr Colin Kolles, HRT team principal, is confident. “ We have all the assets in our hands to be, among the new teams, the one which could find the most success in Formula 1 this year. » Remarks that may seem arrogant for a team that still has no experience of the discipline.

Indeed, the two other emerging teams in the field, Lotus Racing and Virgin Racing, suffered setbacks during the month of February. If Lotus seems to have displayed more reliability than Virgin, the two teams had to face technical or mechanical problems that the teams already in place did not encounter. The long hours spent on the track were therefore not too much to resolve these major problems. HRT will have to try to find reliability during the first Grands Prix, by combining the hours of free practice, qualifying and racing, i.e. less than six hours per weekend. But the delay already shown will be difficult to make up for, unless the HRT single-seater proves to be extremely well born.

But Colin Kolles? confidence does not stop there. The main team of the Spanish team is already thinking of getting one of its two cars into the points. And why not from Bahrain? “ It would be a dream to score our first points in our first race », says Kolles. Certainly, there are now ten cars that score points during an F1 race. But imagining HRT, whose level of single-seater is unknown, placing one of its own in the top 10 is no longer a dream but a fantasy.

However, Colin Kolles also knows how to be wise and prefers to focus on work rather than an authentic exploit. “ We focus on taking things one at a time and developing our competitiveness throughout the season.. » It now remains for Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok to be patient, the two men making their debut in F1 in a team which is also making its own, driving a single-seater which has yet to display neither its qualities nor its shortcomings.