HRT Formula 1 Team incorporates Kyocera Document Solutions as its Official Supplier through a collaboration agreement for the 2012 season. The Spanish team will count on Kyocera’s services, which include needs for management and printing of documents, both at the team’s permanent offices in the Caja Mágica and at the mobile offices that travel throughout the world during the Formula 1 season.

Kyocera Document Solutions has a vast experience in the sporting world and, even more so, in the motorsport one, since it’s responsible for the management and printing of documents at the F1 and MotoGP Grands Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya, Valencia Street Circuit and Motorland Aragón. At all of these Kyocera offers high quality devices and services that adapt to the rigurous demands that any F1 Grand Prix has, meeting the demands of the media office and the organization at the circuit itself, including a permanent 24-hour service.

The ceramic components of Kyocera are not only integrated in our printing devices, giving them a greater durability and resistence, but they are also present in many other industries, such as some F1 cars where there are parts incorporating Kyocera’s ceramic components that have to cope with extreme temperatures.

HRT Formula 1 Team continues to progress firmly towards its objective of consolidating itself and growing and it now takes another step forward thanks to the partnership with the multinational Japanese company Kyocera. It’s another support for the young Spanish outfit who, thanks to the seriousness and hard work that it proves day by day, has more national and international companies willing to back HRT, contributing to its consolidation and progress in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Óscar Sánchez, KYOCERA Document Solutions General Manager: “A team such as HRT Formula 1 Team needs to be backed by the most advanced and reliable technology during the most demanding of championships. Kyocera has the latest printing machinery and a highly experimented staff, which makes us a leader in offering documentary services at any sporting events”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal HRT Formula 1 Team: “Count on a renowned multinational company as Kyocera is amongst our partners gives us a confidence and calmness of great value for our day to day work. That calmness enables us to focus on pure competition aspects knowing that our backs are covered. Our needs in terms of printing, copying and scanning are high because the engineering, operations, marketing and communications departments are continuously putting the machines to the test and it is of vital importance that this work is not interrupted. In Formula 1 you work to the limit and Kyocera gives us the support and confidence needed to be able to do it”.

ABOUT KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS

KYOCERA Document Solutions is one of the world’s leading management solutions and document printing companies in the world. With a staff of almost 15,000 employees, its range of products and services includes ECOSYS printers, reliable multifunction printers, high-quality printer supplies, an array of software solutions and managed document services. KYOCERA Document Solutions offers innovative products built with long lasting components. Its clients benefit from the market’s lowest total cost of property and from the highest efficiency in any working environment. Its portfolio of solutions and its managed document services contribute not only to reduce the environmental impact but also to improve the efficiency and reliability of business.

Carbonell and HRT Formula 1 Team have signed a collaboration deal through which the leading olive oil brand will have its image present on the drivers’ overalls, whilst also forming a part of the exclusive culinary experience that the team has created alongside Arzak-Bokado.

The squad of Arzak-Bokado chefs travel with the team and have their operational base in the new motorhome hospitality during European races, whereas in overseas races they use the facilities provided by each circuit to maintain the same quality service. They offer a gastronomic experience that meets the different needs of team members and exclusive guests of the team, using fresh national products of the highest quality that characterize the extraordinary and renowned Spanish cuisine, whilst also leaning upon chefs and suppliers at each of the 19 countries visited throughout the season.

Besides the different menus, the gourmet experience also includes gastronomic activities at the circuit such as the “show cooking” or the “lightning pintxo”, which HRT offers every Grand Prix Sunday before the race for team members, guests, international press and organizers who travel the globe covering Formula 1 all to enjoy.

The presence of Carbonell, world leader in olive oil, will provide an extra contribution to that gastronomic experience whilst also enjoying an unbeatable platform for the brand because of the quality and worldwide reach of the team’s activities in a setting such as Formula 1. Carbonell has chosen the pinnacle of motorsport and HRT Formula 1 Team, the first and only team in the history of this competition to have its headquarters in Spain, to begin this unique culinary experience in Formula 1 and will also be the team’s exclusive brand for olive oil, olives and vinegar.

The agreement, which was signed by José María Collantes, Managing Director of Deoleo S.A, and Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal of HRT Formula 1 Team, at the team’s new headquarters in the Caja Mágica in Madrid, is valid until the end of 2012 with an option to extend. With this, Carbonell becomes the first Spanish food brand to be present in the Formula 1 World Championship.

Jose María Collantes, Managing Director Deoleo S.A: “The partnership between HRT, Carbonell and Arzak will enable to strengthen the link between Formula 1 and the gastronomic world thanks to HRT with an exclusive gourmet experience through which Carbonell will take part in every aspect related to the team’s kitchen, as well as all the culinary activities at the Grands Prix. By supporting such a popular sport as Formula 1, Carbonell will have great visibility and will secure its place as an innovative brand in the world of olive oil, vinegar and olives”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal HRT: “It’s a great satisfaction for HRT to begin a partnership with Carbonell, a world renowned Spanish brand in the food sector. This association offers an opportunity to make the most of and strengthen the synergies of both companies on a worldwide base. Besides, Carbonell integrates perfectly with our gastronomic partners, Arzak-Bokado, to offer a gourmet experience made up of Spanish cuisine and fusion in the different countries where we compete. We thank Carbonell for the confidence they have deposited in us and we will continue to work hard to be competitive in an extremely demanding environment. With everyone’s effort we will reach our targets”.

ABOUT CARBONELL

For more than 145 years Carbonell has been present in kitchens and has created its oil taking close care of every step. Today, as a result of that experience and also of an innovation, Carbonell creates its oil following the Exclusive Carbonell Method® through which the best olives are chosen based on the origin, variety and moment of picking and a unique elaboration process is followed with which the essence of the olive is conserved.

Thereby, Carbonell is the brand that transforms dishes, in short, they give them soul, contributing some specific benefits (more nutrition; more pleasure; makes the normal special; turns the experience of eating into something sublime). Carbonell, the soul of your kitchen.

Carbonell belongs to Deoleo S.A., a Spanish food group that lists on the Spanish stock market and that is a worldwide leader in bottled olive oil, and that counts with the leading brands in the areas and markets where it operates, offering top quality products.

The Spanish windscreen repair and replacement company and HRT Formula 1 Team have signed a collaboration deal for Cristalbox to become a new sponsor of the Spanish outfit for 2012. Cristalbox, who have already been linked with the motorsport world for a few years, have decided to extend this link and have taken a step into Formula 1 alongside HRT Formula 1 Team, with the objective of supporting the Spanish team’s project in the pinnacle of world motorsport.

The deal with which Cristalbox joins the team as a sponsor has a one year duration and the glass repair company has bolstered its commitment to HRT’s project by completing a spectacular glazing job at the new Caja Mágica headquarters in Madrid. The creation of a curtain wall at the team’s workshop supposed the installation of more than 25,000 kilogrammes of specially fabricated glass and will enable the team to make the most of the sunlight and environmental conditions.

Just like the conditioning of the other project areas at the Caja Mágica facilities, the installation and reinforcement of the curtain wall has been completed in under a month, thus proving the capacity of the Spanish company to expand its services.

Javier Celaya, Cristalbox General Manager: “A passion for cars is in the genes, the DNA, of our brand and top level competition reflects the essence of Cristalbox’s values: precision, speed, safety, resistance, reliability…From an advertising point of view, after two years sponsoring Formula 1 broadcasts, this was the logical evolution: to form a part of the competition. With HRT we can support a credible Spanish project in the pinnacle of motorsport and strengthen the reach of our brand to our targets”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, HRT Team Principal: “Formula 1 is all about technology and speed, two basic principles which we share with Cristalbox. They are a leading company in our country and we’re proud that they decided to fully submerge in Formula 1 alongside us and fully back our project. I want to thank them for the trust they have put in us and also for the extraordinary efficiency with which they have completed the structure and glazing of the workshop area in our new headquarters at the Caja Mágica. It was a structural and temporal task and they passed it with flying colours. We hope to overcome many other tasks alongside them this year”.

Becoming Pirelli’s test driver was “not an option” for Adrian Sutil, the out-of-work F1 driver has admitted.

“Right now I’m waiting,” the former Force India driver told Eurosport Deutschland.

German Sutil, 29, was an established F1 driver until 2011, when he became embroiled in a legal battle with Lotus team executive Eric Lux over an assault.

He has been left without a seat for 2012, causing many to wonder why he – and not the less experienced Jaime Alguersuari – was not selected to test with F1′s official tyre supplier Pirelli.

“A collaboration with Pirelli didn’t work out, but I was never in contact with them directly,” Sutil said. “It wasn’t an option.”

He also didn’t find a test or reserve seat with a team.

“The fact that there is hardly any testing, of course, is not very helpful,” Sutil insisted.

He has been linked with struggling Felipe Massa’s Ferrari seat.

“I do have to hope,” admitted Sutil, “that either some drivers don’t do well, or a cockpit becomes available. That is my chance.

“That drivers are changed is just a part of formula one,” added Sutil.

“My plan is to wait and see if there is a possibility. If not, then of course you have to give serious thought about what to do in the future — in 2013.”

Marussia Racing’s new MR01 finally made its first on-track appearance during a promotional ‘filming’ day at Silverstone, just a few miles from is Banbury base.

The Anglo-Russian team endured a torrid time in its attempts to get the car ready for the third and final group test at Barcelona last week, having skipped the opening session in Jerez to prepare the MR01 for early March, only to fail the mandatory FIA crash tests. Although both Timo Glock and rookie Charles Pic got some miles under their belts in Barcelona last month, it was at the wheel of the 2011-spec car, leaving them preciously short of time in the new machine ahead of its race debut in Melbourne next weekend.

The Silverstone shakedown, part of a promotional event ahead of the car’s departure for the Australian Grand Prix, will provide both team and driver with vital information on the new machine, which has been conceived after a ground-up re-evaluation of the way Marussia designs its racing cars. As such, the car is almost entirely new, with very few carry-over components from last year’s Marussia Virgin MVR-02.

The desire to make a clean break from the previous CFD-only creations presented the design team, led by technical consultant Pat Symonds, with the challenge of going back to basics to produce a solid mechanical package, whilst maintaining an eye towards achieving the incremental performance steps required to move the team forward.

The starting point for the design programme was a consideration of the people and resources available to the Banbury-based team. The former three-base operation has been consolidated into one site, the Marussia Technical Centre in Banbury, bringing the various elements of the business together to form ‘one team’. In particular, the design department and practices now benefit from far greater integration and collaboration. Furthermore, the aerodynamic department has been completely restructured and the aero methodology reinforced, blurring the boundaries between CFD and experimental work in the wind tunnel, as well as enhancing the fidelity of the team’s aero approach.

The technical partnership forged with McLaren Applied Technologies in July of last year has also been influential in the design process and the relationship is starting to yield benefit as the advanced facilities that the Marussia team has access to have been used to prove the correlation process with the MVR-02. It is however early in the relationship and the MR01 will become a beneficiary of the relationship in due course.

The key design priorities were to address previous aerodynamic deficiencies and, mechanically, achieve greater weight saving. At the same time, a lot of the detail of the car has been refined and the design team have been a little more adventurous than before, stepping closer to the engineering boundaries. The car can best be described as a significant evolution of its predecessors. The relationship with McLaren is also evident, as the MR01 is only the second car launched this season, after the Woking giant’s MP4-27, to eschew the stepped nose concept favoured by the rest of the field.

“We are very pleased to be running the new MR01 for the first time this morning,” team principal John Booth admitted, “It has been a long and frustrating wait for everyone in the team, but we can now get back on track – literally – and start working towards the first race of the season in Australia next weekend.

“Today is the first of two promotional events, so while the drivers will be able to get a feel for the car, they won’t be able to draw any real conclusions until we start running in anger in Melbourne. Nevertheless, this is an important day for us and we’ll enjoy every minute on track with the new car.”

Glock turned the first laps with the MR01, beginning his third season with the team and providing the all-important element of continuity required to keep moving the package forward. He is joined in 2012 by Frenchman Pic, who embarks on his rookie year in F1, having made the step up from GP2 to replace Belgium’s Jerome d’Ambrosio. Both drivers will get track time with the new car over the next two days, albeit running on demonstration tyres as opposed to the Pirelli P-Zeros that they will use once competition starts in Melbourne.

Transportes Azkar S.A., an international integrated logistics operator with its headquarters in Spain, and HRT Formula 1 Team have signed a collaboration agreement for the renowned logistics operator to become a collaborator of the renewed team, joining as an Official Supplier for the 2012 season.

With a fleet of three trucks that cover more than 16,000 kilometres on the road to European Grands Prix and that transfer cars and material to the airport, HRT F1 Team’s transport needs are very demanding. Therefore, having a first class national partner, such as Azkar, was a fundamental objective.

Alfonso Hostaled, Azkar CEO: “At Azkar we back sports and national companies that wish to open up overseas and that is why HRT’s project as a Spanish team fits in perfectly with our market strategy. Azkar puts at the disposal of HRT logistics services that meet the challenging demands of Formula 1. On another note, through this association, we look to bring our clients closer to this thrilling sport”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal HRT F1 Team: “As a part of the team’s renovation process, we are working on many fronts, all of them being important. There are many aspects besides the car and staff, such as telecommunications and logistics, which are vital for a team to function properly in such a demanding world as is Formula 1. We want to count with first class national partners for this. Azkar is the standout logistics operator and we are very proud to have them as collaborators. In a paddock which is crammed with German and English trucks, to find Spanish trucks aswell is proof that there are national companies with the same capacity as any other company to perform at this demanding level”.

- Ends -

ABOUT AZKAR

AZKAR puts at the disposal of its clients a potent international network for the management of importing and exporting goods, from and to any part of the world. Specifically, in the Iberian peninsula and islands, the company has 87 facilities, with more than 500,000m² built over more than 1 million m²of terrain, a team made up of 5,000 professionals and a fleet of 2,700 trucks.

via: HRT

A month before the first Indian grand prix, F1′s complete driver lineup for the Delhi race is not yet clear.
At HRT, Narain Karthikeyan’s sponsors have paid to put the Indian back in a race car for the country’s inaugural F1 event, but who his teammate will be is not publicly known.

Karthikeyan began 2011 alongside Vitantonio Liuzzi, whose manager said recently the Italian has a solid contract for every grand prix this season.

In the other car now is Daniel Ricciardo, thanks to a collaboration deal between the struggling Spanish team and the Australian rookie’s backer Red Bull.

The 22-year-old will be in Delhi this weekend to demonstrate a Red Bull F1 car.

He confirmed to the Times of India that he will be returning in late October “for the race”.

“I will probably spend some time in the city and have a look around and then get down to business,” said Ricciardo.

HRT has been contacted for comment.

At Team Lotus, meanwhile, rumours are still swirling that team regular Jarno Trulli will sit it out so that India’s other F1 driver can race in Delhi.

“Hopefully when the time comes I will be sitting on the grid waiting for the lights to go green,” reserve driver Karun Chandhok told the Daily Pioneer on a visit to the Buddh circuit this week.

A new management company involving Jenson Button would consider handling the career of another formula one driver.
That is the claim of the McLaren driver’s manager Richard Goddard, who has set up London-based Sports Partnership in collaboration with 31-year-old Button.

Goddard told the Gulf News that Button would have no problem being involved in the management of a fellow F1 driver.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Of course Jenson wouldn’t want a business relationship with a direct rival — but he would enjoy working with a young guy, somebody who has just come into F1 or who is on the brink.”

2009 world champion Button, who is likely to stay at McLaren in 2012, thinks his involvement could help the career of a fellow athlete.

“I fully understand the pressures of being a high profile international sports star and I have learned how to operate with the media and sponsors,” said the Briton.

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he is interested in buying back formula one.
The F1 chief executive currently works for the sport’s majority owner CVC, whilst retaining a small percentage of the commercial rights for himself.

It has been reported recently that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation in collaboration with the Fiat-linked Exor company is interested in buying F1, as are the grandee teams.

Asked if he is interested as well, Ecclestone told the International Herald Tribune: “Yes, absolutely.

“I wouldn’t buy at the price that I think CVC would sell it. But I would certainly buy at the price that they (News/Exor) want to pay.”

Ecclestone, 80, was quoted recently as saying he thinks formula one is worth between $6 and 7 billion.

He reacted: “I have never quoted anything. It may have been written, but I haven’t quoted. A gentleman never speaks about money and last night.”

Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 race debut is due to a “collaboration deal” with world champion team Red Bull Racing, the Spanish team HRT has revealed.

The Australian rookie, 22 on Friday, will switch from being Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso’s Friday driver to a full race cockpit at Silverstone next weekend.

It was believed that a Toro Rosso driver would be moved aside this mid-season for Ricciardo’s debut, but both Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi have impressed sufficiently to stay with the Faenza based team for now.

Hispania is therefore Red Bull’s plan B.

“This agreement is a reward for all the hard work Hispania has shown since we started in formula one,” said team owner Jose Ramon Carabante.

“We’re proud that the formula one world champion team has trusted us in their effort of developing their drivers. Let’s hope that this is just the start of a fruitful relationship.”

It is believed that Narain Karthikeyan will sit out Silverstone, but HRT is yet to formally announce Ricciardo’s teammate for the British grand prix.

Indeed, the Spanish team said both Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi remain “official drivers” for 2011, with sources telling the media that Karthikeyan will be in the cockpit for the inaugural Indian grand prix in October.

Red Bull, meanwhile, confirmed that Ricciardo will split his new F1 racing duties with his season in the Formula Renault 3.5 series.

But he will not be able to continue driving for Toro Rosso on Fridays, causing French commentator Jean-Louis Moncet to speculate that Red Bull’s next up-and-coming youngster Jean-Eric Vergne will take over that role.

HRT is apparently no longer pushing so hard to have exhaust blown diffusers banned in 2011.
At recent races, the Spanish team has been threatening to protest the results after the FIA vowed to crack down on the technology that has moved into the realm of outlawed ‘moveable aerodynamic devices’.

But ahead of this weekend’s Canadian grand prix, Hispania announced that one of their developments is a “new exhaust system”.

It emerged during morning practice in Montreal that, in collaboration with engine supplier Cosworth, the system is indeed a blown exhaust.

That means that the only team not running a blown exhaust of any type at present is HRT’s nearest competitor, Virgin, who according to Auto Motor und Sport will not be ready to re-introduce a similar layout until Silverstone.

The FIA still intends to push on with the ban, however, with talks scheduled for the technical working group meeting next Thursday.

Asked on Friday about speculation of a ban, HRT’s technical director Geoff Willis told the BBC: “It’s going to be very tricky.

“There may be a solution for 2012, but what we do for 2011 is going to be very difficult in terms of what’s fair for everybody.”

‘Proton 1Malaysia’ has been touted as a possible new name for Tony Fernandes’ formula one team in 2011.

Currently, the team currently known as Lotus Racing is locked in a dispute with Group Lotus, who intend to separately enter F1 next year in collaboration with Enstone based Renault.

That raises the messy possibility of two teams being called ‘Lotus’; a situation that now involves the courts and also the Malaysian government, part-owner of the Group Lotus parent and carmaker Proton.

The proposed new name for Lotus Racing was published by The Advertiser, a regional UK newspaper close to the Norwich headquarters of both Fernandes’ team as well as Group Lotus.

It would be a tidy solution to the current dilemma, probably involving sponsorship for Fernandes’ small team to compensate for the lost FOM revenue due to a name change, and clearing the way for Renault F1 to be renamed Lotus-Renault in 2011.

And Fernandes’ team “will become a flagship Malaysian constructor hoping to build on tenth place in its first season”, said the report.

The identity of the F1 team currently known as Lotus Racing moved further under a cloud on Thursday.

The team’s official naming license has been withdrawn by the Proton-owned Group Lotus, and Tony Fernandes’ alternative plan to be called Team Lotus by buying that separate name is now subject to court proceedings.

Meanwhile, Group Lotus is expected to enter F1 in collaboration with the Enstone based Renault team in 2011, and the sports car marque has now announced a project to supply engines and bodywork in the Indycar series from 2012.

“We want to compete with the big buys,” said CEO Dany Bahar.

A GP2 project for 2011 has already been put in place by Group Lotus, all of which leaves Fernandes with little option than to adopt an alternative identity for his privately-owned UK based Malaysian team.

“I do not want to comment on Proton’s move to enter F1 but their action certainly will have some bearing on the team name,” admitted Lotus Racing chief executive Riad Asmat.

“For now, we are preparing our team and we want to be ready for any eventualities.  We are definitely going to be there when the (2011) season starts,” he is quoted by the Malaysian newspaper The Star.

This Friday has been marked out as a likely turning-point in the Lotus naming dispute.

Finland’s Turun Sanomat reports that November 19 could see a settlement in the dispute, with Tony Fernandes’ team wanting to keep its name but the separate Group Lotus looking to enter F1 with a Renault collaboration next year.

Indeed, it is believed that Proton-owned Group Lotus is scheduling an official announcement about its F1 project for 2011 this week.

At the same time, Fernandes is hinting that a decision has been made about how his team should proceed. “(Shareholders) Nasa, Din and myself know what to do. We are the people’s team,” he wrote on Twitter.

It seems likely that the matter will not become a messy court battle.

“What we don’t want to be involved in is destroying the Lotus name,” Fernandes is quoted by Reuters.

“We feel that we’ve done justice to the Lotus name. We want to keep it. We feel it’s ours. But we are also pragmatic human beings,” he said.

And the team’s technical boss Mike Gascoyne told Turun Sanomat: “I don’t know what the name will be in the future, but that’s not the important thing.

“I’m proud of the team and we’ve proved this year how strong we are. And at least one thing can never be taken away from us — we brought Lotus back to F1,” he said.

The schedule for next week’s post-season testing in Abu Dhabi shows a fear of technological espionage, according to a report.

Auto Hebdo claims it is no mistake that a full day has been left between next week’s two days of young driver testing (Tuesday-Wednesday) and the first running on Pirelli tyres on Friday and Saturday.

According to the French report, Thursday has been excluded from the on-track schedule so that F1′s departing tyre supplier Bridgestone can pack up and leave no trace of its technological secrets for the incoming Pirelli.

The initial young driver running will take place with Bridgestone tyres, before the F1 teams get their first taste of next year’s Pirelli products later next week.

Auto Hebdo concluded that any “collaboration between Bridgestone and Pirelli, mentioned a few months ago, is decidedly not on the agenda” now.

“It’s been a great time with Bridgestone,” said F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone in Abu Dhabi.

“After so many years with them here, they will be missed, but I thing that Pirelli are able to take over completely.”