Alain Prost has backed France’s touted return in 2013 to the formula one calendar.
Recently, the four time world champion was involved in a project to bring the sport to Paris.

“That’s a closed chapter,” he rued, according to the Russian website F1News.

“I really regret that, because – believe me – it was the best project I had seen in a long time.”

The latest proposal is for France’s Paul Ricard to share an annually alternating grand prix date with Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium’s fabled and much loved circuit.

Prost said: “Obviously the best thing would be for France and Belgium to have their own grands prix each year.

“But unfortunately you have to admit that Europe is facing great difficulties, so if this is the only way for the race to happen, then why not?

“It’s better than nothing,” he said.

HRT F1 Team has reached an agreement with Dani Clos by which the young 23-year-old driver from Barcelona will become test driver of the Spanish outfit for the 2012 season.

The incorporation of Clos is another step in the team’s aspirations of establishing itself as a platform for young talents to reach the pinnacle of world motorsport.

Dani Clos will form an integral part of the team, taking part in several free practice sessions on Fridays and travelling to every Grand Prix throughout the season, with the main objective of learning and getting to know the team. There is a lot of hard work ahead of him but Dani will have the whole team’s support, including that of his teammates Narain Karthikeyan and Pedro de la Rosa, to help him learn and progress in such a demanding environment.

Dani Clos experienced his first contact with the team this past November, during the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi, and made the most of the opportunity given to him. The good sensations that the team and driver had, along with the objective of strengthening HRT F1 Team, helped to reach a quick agreement that was desired by both parties.

The Spanish driver will start to exert his functions as the team’s test driver immediately and will be with the team for the third pre-season tests in Barcelona from the 1^st to the 4^th of March.

Dani Clos: “I’m very proud to be a part of HRT Formula 1 Team. It is a great step in my career, something that I have dreamt of all my life and, finally, my dream is starting to come true. I’m very impressed with the job the team is doing; they’re achieving fantastic things in a short space of time. The team has changed a lot since we met in the Abu Dhabi tests and I think it’s a great opportunity and an honor to form a part of this new team. What they’re achieving is very important for motorsport in our country and has a lot of potential. Also, being alongside Pedro de la Rosa is very important for me, since he and Karthikeyan can positively contribute to me becoming a better driver. I want to thank Saúl Ruíz de Marcos and Luis Pérez-Sala for the trust they’ve shown in me from the start and, above all, I would like to thank the people who have always been by my side, such as Leonardo Soldevila and my father. For me a new chapter is beginning, one where hard work and dedication are going to be my priorities; I’m going to give it my all so that this phase is as successful as it can possibly be for the team, my teammates and myself”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal of HRT: “I’m very happy to have Dani on the team. He’s a quick, talented driver who, above all, is very willing to progress. The incorporation of Clos is another step in our project of restructuring HRT but also fits in with our desire to promote young motorsport talents. I’m sure that it will be a very positive experience for both parties”.

-Ends-

Dani Clos – Profile

Date of Birth: 23rd of October 1988

Place of Birth: Barcelona (Spain)

Nationality: Spanish

Height: 1,77cm

Weight: 68 kg

Country and place of residence: Barcelona (Spain)

Website: www.daniclos.com

Twitter: @daniclos

Dani Clos was born in Barcelona on the 23rd of October 1988. With a renowned trajectory in karting, Clos made his debut in single-seater racing in 2004 in Formula Renault Italia 2.0, going on to win the Championship in 2006. A year later he joined Renault’s F1 programme and took part in the Formula Three Euroseries. In 2008 he entered Williams F1’s young drivers’ programme and finished in 2^nd in the 24H Barcelona race. In 2009 he made his debut in the GP2 series, with a 3^rd place finish in Portimao being his best result. In his second year in GP2 he achieved his first win in Turkey alongside various podium finishes. Last year, Dani Clos took one win and two podiums in what was his third season as a GP2 driver. Also in 2011, he took part in the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi with HRT F1 Team, completing total of 377.67km in one day and leaving a very good impression on the team.

Career Summary:

2011: GP2: Racing Engineering, 9^thin the Championship

F1: Young Driver Test with HRT F1 Team

2010: GP2: Racing Engineering, 4^thin the Championship (1 race win)

2009: GP2: Racing Engineering, 21^stin the Championship

2008: F3 Euroseries: Prema Powerteam: 14^thin the Championship

2007: F3 Euroseries: Signature Plus: 13^thin the Championship

2006: Formula Renault 2.0 Italia: Champion (8 race wins)

Renault 2.0 Eurocup: 7^th position

2005: Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0: 32^ndin the Championship

Italian Formula Renault Championship: 16^th in the Championship

After months of evaluations and negotiations in which diverse options have been assessed, Spanish team HRT has finally opted for the facilities of the Complejo Deportivo Madrid Caja Mágica to locate its permanent headquarters.

The team will occupy part of the Caja Mágica facilities and will coexist with the Masters 1000 Madrid Open. HRT F1 Team will be specifically situated in the Indoor Sur and Indoor Central buildings, occupying a total surface of 11,000m2.

In only seven months, the new directors have carried out a restructuring process with the objective of providing the team with stability and viability, besides having a new identity. To reach these targets, a lot of hard work has been focused on three fronts in these last three months: the new car, the renewed operational and technical team and a permanent headquarters which, besides from uniting the whole team in a workspace with F1 standards, will contribute an added value to the team.

With the signing of Pedro de la Rosa this past October a long desired objective was accomplished, which was none other than to incorporate a Spanish driver. The recent addition of Narain Karthikeyan completes a driver line-up packed with experience, which is of great value in this new chapter for the team.

The renewal of the technical team started once the 2011 season was over and the new team members have been working ever since at the temporary logistical base in Paterna, Valencia, until the definitive relocation to the permanent headquarters is carried out. The chosen venue had to meet very specific and ambitious requirements.

And the Complejo Deportivo Madrid Caja Mágica meets the requirements that HRT Formula 1 Team considers indispensable for this new chapter. It is a versatile and sustainable space that will take in the different departments that make up the team besides being an area open to fans, sponsors, suppliers and collaborators.

Remodeling and adaptation of the space will begin immediately and it is calculated that in under a month the first workers will be able to move in. The technical and operational sectors of the team won’t do so until Formula 1 returns to Europe but the headquarters is expected to be fully operational for May. The Technical Design Office is anticipated to move in progressively as of early June, thus completing a programme which is calculated to generate more than a hundred jobs with different degrees of specialization.

The headquarters won’t only be a technological and R&D centre, but also a way of getting closer to the public, sponsors, suppliers and collaborators with accessible areas such as a future museum, guided tours or a conference area, whilst also becoming a formation centre.

Electric mobility and sustainability are fundamental aspects for HRT and something it shares with the Complejo Deportivo Caja Mágica. The team is a pioneer in the Formula 1 world after integrating alternative energies to petrol in its mobility plan and using electric bicycles to move around both at Grands Prix and away from them.

The Complejo Deportivo Madrid Caja Mágica is a multifunctional centre designed by the architect Dominique Perrault. It is located in the Parque Lineal del Manzanares, in a space of 17 hectares which includes large garden areas. The design and distribution of this space enables the celebration of all kinds of events, not only sporting ones, such as presentations, spectacles and conventions.

Saúl Ruiz de Marcos, HRT F1 Team CEO: “For us it is fundamental to have a headquarters that, apart from uniting the team and ending with the dispersion, is beneficial from a logistical and industrial point of view. But that also enables us to maintain a closer relationship with our fans, suppliers and sponsors. Madrid and the Caja Mágica facilities fit perfectly with the standards we were looking for. In the last few months we have assessed different options, looked at their pros and cons, and we feel that the decision to establish our permanent headquarters in Madrid was the best one. I want to thank Madrid Espacios y Congresos for the interest they have shown in this going ahead and I’m sure that this relationship will be very beneficial for everyone”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal of HRT F1 Team: “We’ve been working hard for months and establishing our permanent headquarters was very important. Finding a space in which we could all work together was vital, in order to optimize work and generate a good team feeling, a sense of belonging. When the adaptation of the facilities is completed and every department starts working under the same roof in a few months, we will only have one step left to take, which is to have the design department in Madrid too. All this implies not only becoming a place to feel identified with and carry out activities for the team, its sponsors, suppliers and fans, but also an important reference in technology and R&D in the centre of Madrid”.

The day after Sunday’s German grand prix will mark one year since Felipe Massa’s horror qualifying crash in Hungary.

On Saturday at Hockenheim, the 29-year-old Brazilian said he “definitely” feels the significance of qualifying in the top three on the eve of the anniversary of a difficult chapter in his life.

“It was a very difficult time for me,” he told reporters in Germany.

“Somebody was saying that I still need to be here, so I’m here, very happy and working, still doing my job and let’s go back to Hungary and let’s try to achieve a good result there,” added Massa.

Immediately after Sunday’s race, the F1 circus will travel to the Hungaroring, and Massa plans also to return to the AEK hospital in Budapest.

“It will be important on a personal level,” Massa confirmed.

“They took good care of me and I want to say hello to everyone and enjoy a conversation with them.

“If that sounds emotional, it is, because what happened to me last year was a significant moment in my life, a big thing and in one way very special from a human point of view,” he said.