Martin Brundle has admitted he is surprised HRT is still struggling so much at the start of its third season in formula one.

Better known then as ‘Hispania’, the Spanish team was founded by Adrian Campos after former FIA president Max Mosley opened up three new places in pitlane for the start of the 2010 season.

But last year, the team’s second group of owners – the Carabante family – passed the baton yet again to Thesan Capital, who have rebuilt HRT in the wake of the management and infrastructure that was brought by former boss Colin Kolles.

Even so, the highly respected British commentator and former grand prix veteran Martin Brundle is surprised that Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan are struggling so much with the team’s Cosworth-powered 2012 car.

“Somebody’s got to be at the front, somebody’s got to be at the back,” the Briton told the BBC motoring programme Top Gear’s website.

“(But) the HRT is particularly poor at the moment, and it confuses me why in year three it’s worse than it was in year one.”

Carlos Gracia, an FIA vice-president and head of Spain’s motor racing federation, doesn’t fully agree.

Speaking to the sports newspaper Marca, he explained that veteran de la Rosa faces a “handicap” as the Spaniard races with HRT this year.

“He knows where he is; in a brand new team, although some people believe it is their third year.

“They have begun again, but it seems that they are in a situation where they have only just started and yet they have to clean up the image of the other years.

“That’s his handicap, but the team will have credibility because of Pedro and also because of a good business investment,” added Gracia.

All the hard work has finally paid off today as the F112, the car with which HRT Formula 1 Team will compete this season, completed its first laps at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Barcelona.

Since the car passed the last crash test and was homologated, the team has carried out work shifts to cover 24 hours a day to make sure it could make it, for the first time in its history, to the first Grand Prix of the season having run previously.

The car was able to run after the team took advantage of one of the filming days available during the season.

The car made it to the circuit from Munich, Germany, just after one in the afternoon and the mechanics and engineers got straight down to business, working on relevant adjustments. It was a combined team effort, working against the clock, which saw its rewards four hours later when Narain Karthikeyan led the car out onto the track. Pedro de la Rosa, Dani Clos and Tonio Liuzzi were also present, as were Carlos Gracia, President of the Spanish Motorsports Federation and Salvador Servià, General Director of the Circuit de Catalunya.

The tests were carried out without any setbacks and the car carried out over ten laps. The team was able to check that the car functioned properly both from a mechanical and aerodynamic point of view as from a systems standpoint.

The team will prepare the necessary material in the upcoming days and head down under for the first Grand Prix of the season which will take place at Melbourne, Australia, in just two weeks.

Narain Karthikeyan: “Today was a shakedown of the F112 and I have had the honour to be the first driver to test it. The first impressions are quite good; it’s definitely a step up from last year. We couldn’t do any set-up work or stuff like that but everything seems to be working fine and there are no major problems so we can look forward to the season now. Everyone has worked hard and the new team management has put everything together in a very short period of time. They’ve done a proper job with the car and I’m sure that it’s a big step forward from last year, so hopefully we can take the competition to the teams we were fighting last year”.

Pedro de la Rosa: “Today has been a very special day because the car saw the light for the first time; Narain did some installation laps and then various times laps without any issues. This is very important, it might not seem like it, but any sort of mileage before Australia is vital to see that the car is in good conditions. From here it is our job to try and improve it and make it progress”.

Luis Péres-Sala, Team Principal: “I’m very satisfied today as it is a very important day for us because we were able to test some things out with the new car during this filming day. I’m very proud of each and every member of this team because everyone has contributed their little bit for this to be possible. Now we have to focus on Australia because we still have a lot ahead”.

Officials have played down reports Valencia is set to be the only Spanish host of formula one.
Currently, both the port city as well as Barcelona host annual grands prix, but Bernie Ecclestone said recently that each country should have only a single race.

On Tuesday, Cadena SER and Radio Valencia reported that Valencia will be the only Spanish race from 2012.

It is believed representatives of the Circuit de Catalunya attended last weekend’s Valencia event and told Ecclestone they want to pay a lower annual race fee in future.

At the same time, the Spanish radio reports said Valencia is willing to pay EUR 20 million per year and wants an earlier date in the European race season.

“At the last World Motor Sport Council the 2012 calendar was ratified and Barcelona was assigned a date,” Spanish motor racing president Carlos Gracia said.

“I think the two races can coexist perfectly.”

Circuit de Catalunya director Salvador Servia, meanwhile, told Marca sports newspaper that the latest reports about Barcelona losing its place are “invented”.

“Spain has just held two successful grands prix. Everything else I would hope are just rumours,” he said on Onda Cero radio.

“I think someone has said ‘I want this to happen’ and so somebody else said ‘This is going to happen’. For next year they have already set the dates,” added Servia.

If Sergio Perez has to sit out a third consecutive race, Pedro de la Rosa will occupy his Sauber seat.
Mexican Perez, 21, withdrew ill from his seat after initial Friday practice in Canada, two weeks after suffering concussion in a Monaco qualifying crash.

Sauber’s managing director Monisha Kaltenborn on Thursday said the rookie is currently training in his native country.

“He is doing very well. We see no reason why he shouldn’t drive in Valencia,” she told Germany’s motorsport-total.com, referring to next weekend’s European grand prix.

Sauber’s technical boss James Key, meanwhile, confirmed that if Perez is not fit enough for the streets of the Spanish port city, then Spaniard de la Rosa will occupy the seat.

“He did a great job for us,” confirmed the Briton, referring to the 40-year-old McLaren reserve driver’s race at short notice in Montreal.

Speaking to the Spanish press on Thursday, the country’s motor racing president Carlos Gracia hoped de la Rosa will be in the Sauber cockpit next weekend, “without wishing ill on anyone”.

As in Canada this weekend, there will also be two ‘DRS’ overtaking zones for Valencia’s grand prix later in June.
The news was confirmed by European grand prix organiser Valmor Sports’ Jorge Martinez Aspar in the Spanish port city on Tuesday.

Valencia’s street circuit has usually not hosted the most spectacular formula one races but the adjustable rear wing innovation could change that, Aspar said in Spanish reports.

“Hopefully it will be a great show,” he told El Mundo newspaper.

The organisers have reduced ticket prices for 2011 by 12 per cent with the goal of attracting 80,000 race-day spectators and breaking even financially.

“We have a contract until 2014, with the option to renew for five more years until 2019, and we believe that we will meet the deadline,” he is quoted by Europa Press, playing down rumours one of F1′s two Spanish hosts might make way to reduce the size of the sport’s swelling calendar.

Spanish motor racing federation president Carlos Gracia said the situation could be helped by the Barcelona and Valencia races having more space between them on the schedule.

But he insisted: “The two Spanish races have contracts in force and I know they are current in their payments and want to fulfil their contracts.

“We might have to change the date so they are not so close together but two grands prix in Spain can live together perfectly well.”

Spain’s leading FIA official has been told the inaugural Korean grand prix will go ahead as scheduled in two weeks.

Charlie Whiting is only inspecting the Yeongam venue on Monday and Tuesday, but it is believed that selected media have essentially been briefed to the effect that nothing will now lead to the cancellation of the October 24 event.

That follows the latest information and photographs to emerge from Korea, showing that the top layer of asphalt is now complete and curing, that kerbs and barriers are in place and the basic building infrastructure able to accommodate the teams and media.

Indeed, Spain’s AS newspaper said Whiting’s inspection early this week is a “mere formality”.

“The race is going ahead.  This has been confirmed at Suzuka to the president of the Real Federacion Espanola de Automovilismo, Carlos Gracia,” said the report.

Gracia is also a member of the FIA’s authoritative World Motor Sport Council.

Ferrari argued on Wednesday that Felipe Massa decided to let Fernando Alonso pass him for the race lead at Hockenheim because the Brazilian was angry.

As was rumoured before the World Motor Sport Council’s disciplinary sitting in Paris, the Maranello based team rejected the charge that it imposed an illegal team order that deprived Massa of the German GP victory.

Carlos Gracia, president of Spain’s motor racing federation, was present for the hearing, and later revealed the apparent thrust of Ferrari’s argument to Spanish radio Cadena SER.

“Massa was told that he was slower than Alonso to motivate him,” said Gracia.

“Angered by the message, Massa decided to slow down, and this led to the suspicions (about team orders),” he added.

Gracia also revealed that he has spoken to Alonso, who knows “nothing” about the imposition of a team order.

Epsilon Euskadi has a better chance of winning a spot on the formula one grid now that Max Mosley has departed.

That is the suggestion of Carlos Gracia, the head of Spain’s motor racing federation.

He told the Marca sports newspaper that the Spanish outfit has the “best facilities” of the other hopefuls but still missed out on a 2010 debut to HRT, Virgin and Lotus.

“When the old FIA granted the licenses to be in formula one it was done with haste and with not accurately assessing the infrastructure.

“I think and I hope that now it will be different,” added Gracia, referring to the appointment of Jean Todt as the new FIA president.

1996 world champion Damon Hill, who acted as a steward in Monaco last weekend as part of a Todt initiative, also backs the sport’s new regime.

“I think we’ve come through a phase in formula one history that has been quite turbulent,” he told GP Week.

“Now things seem to have settled down and we’re focusing again on racing.  That’s the way it should be.

“Before, it was like having a film director who wanted to be in his own film,” added Hill.

(GMM)

(GMM)  Bad weather on Tuesday prevented Jean Todt from visiting the headquarters of hopeful 2011 formula one team Epsilon Euskadi.

The FIA president was in Spain for meetings with government and motor racing officials, and had been due to fly to Azkoitia in the Basque Country to inspect the team’s facilities after it expressed interest in racing next year.

But local reports said strong winds at Madrid’s Torrejon de Ardoz airport halted the flight, and the Frenchman’s itinerary was too tight for a rescheduling.

However, Spain’s Diario Sport newspaper insists that Todt already supports Epsilon Euskadi’s F1 project, after many years of knowing its principal and F1 veteran Joan Villadelprat.

“Todt knows very well that Epsilon has first class facilities,” read the report.

The newspaper added that Todt will attempt to inspect the facility at a later date.

“First of all I want to thank Mr Todt and Mr (Carlos) Gracia … for their interest and their willingness to organise this visit and the efforts until the last minute that the meeting take place,” said Villadelprat.

“It was important to present the project to the president of the FIA, both as regards to the possibility of entering formula one and for other projects in the automotive field we are working on,” he added.

May 4 (GMM)  Epsilon Euskadi could be set to take another step towards becoming F1′s thirteenth and final team for the 2011 season.

We reported in March that the Spanish outfit would apply for the berth following the FIA’s invitation for expressions of interest.

The initial process ended on 15 April, with interested teams to lodge full applications by the end of June followed by “due diligence leading to a decision in July”.

It emerged on Monday that FIA president Jean Todt was set to travel to Spain on Tuesday for a meeting with the Spanish sports minister Jaime Lissavetsky and the head of Spain’s motor racing federation Carlos Gracia.

A press conference is then scheduled for the afternoon.

Spain’s El Pais newspaper reports that Todt will visit Epsilon Euskadi’s Azkoitia headquarters in view of the team making its formula one debut in 2011.

Epsilon Euskadi, involved in junior single seater categories as well as Le Mans with a prototype car, applied to make its F1 debut this year but was beaten to the places by USF1, HRT, Lotus, Virgin and Sauber.

Its boss is Joan Villadelprat, who for decades worked in F1 with McLaren, Ferrari, Benetton, Tyrrell and Prost.

Apr.28 (GMM)  Spain’s motor racing federation is helping Pedro de la Rosa to secure some personal sponsorship.

Carlos Gracia, a friend and supporter of the Spanish driver and also president of the Real Federacion Espanola de Automoviliso (RFEDA), was responding to yet more speculation about the future of de la Rosa’s Sauber race seat.

After boss Peter Sauber expressed dismay with the time it is taking the 39-year-old to reacclimatise to racing, pay drivers including Pastor Maldonado and Luca Filippi have been linked with his job.

“Today there is no indication that he (de la Rosa) will not finish the season with them,” Gracia is quoted as saying by AS newspaper.

He added: “In Pedro’s contract he does not have to contribute money, but we are working on getting some sponsors.”

Apr.22 (GMM)  Peter Sauber has reassured a close supporter of Pedro de la Rosa that the Spanish veteran is not about to lose his race seat.

39-year-old de la Rosa, who returned to the F1 grid this year after a long stint as McLaren’s test driver, played down the rumours about his near future in China last week.

His boss Sauber had expressed doubts about the time it was taking the Spaniard to reacclimatise to racing, with de la Rosa insisted he is “driving well”.

At a media event this week ahead of the forthcoming F1 race in Barcelona, the head of the Spanish motor racing federation called on the press to support the Spanish drivers, especially de la Rosa.

A report in the Diario Sport newspaper added: “Carlos Gracia said Peter Sauber had assured him that he (de la Rosa) is not in doubt.”