HRT’s tumultuous history could be set to continue, if a report in an authoritative German newspaper is right.
Die Welt claims Thesan Capital, the Madrid-based investment company that bought the Spanish team from Jose Ramon Carabante last year, is already on the lookout for a new buyer.

Originally known as Hispania, HRT was actually founded as Campos by former Spanish F1 driver Adrian Campos when the FIA opened up the grid ahead of the 2010 season.

Die Welt claims that the latest owner Thesan’s desire to sell follows the departure of team boss Colin Kolles, who left with almost every one of the team’s 120 employees back to his Greding based company.

Kolles also took all of HRT’s technical equipment back to Greding, Germany, leaving the team on a desperate struggle to be ready for the forthcoming season.

Nonetheless, HRT announced on Wednesday it is establishing a permanent base at the Spanish tennis open headquarters Caja Magica in Madrid.

But Die Welt claims the team may soon be sold to Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world who already backs Sauber through Sergio Perez and his Mexican companies.

HRT’s new owner is already making changes at the struggling Spanish team.
The sports daily AS reports that the team’s former owner is no longer involved in any way, contrary to earlier speculation that Jose Ramon Carabante’s son Jose would be installed in a senior management role.

The newspaper also said new owner Thesan Capital, a Madrid-based investment company, has dispensed with the team’s media boss Alba Saiz.

And the team name Hispania will no longer be deployed by Thesan in formula one, as a new silver logo bearing the words ‘HRT Formula One Team’ is debuted.

AS said the immediate changes are the result of an analysis carried out by Thesan since early July, involving the visit to Silverstone of former Minardi driver Luis Perez Sala.

The report also said Thesan was upset with the way its takeover was announced by Hispania, such as the claim that the “current team and directors” would be retained.

More changes and the team’s new image are expected to become clearer at the Nurburgring this weekend, AS added.

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.

There are management changes afoot at the back-of-the-grid HRT team.

It was rumoured at Valencia last weekend that Geoff Willis, the Spanish team’s technical director, could soon move into a higher management position.

At the same time, Germany’s motorsport-total.com reports that Gary Savage, formerly a close colleague of Willis’ at BAR/Honda some years ago, is close to signing on at HRT in a senior technical post.

Savage was seen in the paddock at Montreal and Valencia, and HRT confirmed that it is in “advanced discussions” with the engineer.

Another ex-BAR man already at Hispania is Jacky Eeckelaert.

GrandPrixActual reports that the Willis/Eeckelaert/Savage trio, with Hispania to soon kick off its aerodynamic programme in BAR’s old wind tunnel at Mercedes’ Brackley facility, might result in current HRT boss Colin Kolles losing his job.

Team owner Jose Ramon Carabante said: “He helped this team to be born but I have not signed a lifetime contract with Colin Kolles.

“If we agree, we will continue together, and if not, we will go on with other people.”

Should Kolles leave, it would raise many questions about the basic structure of HRT, with the team effectively based at the moment at the Romanian’s TME facility at Greding, Germany.

Meanwhile, with technical director Sam Michael set to leave and Mike Coughlan now starting work, Williams on Tuesday announced two more senior appointments.

Jason Somerville, joining from Renault, will be the new head of aerodynamics, while former Toyota man Mark Gillan is joining as chief operations engineer.

“We now feel that, together with Mike, Jason and Mark can form the right technical leadership to take the team forward as we work our way back to the front of the grid,” said Sir Frank Williams.

Hispania team owner Jose Ramon Carabante has been sentenced to three months in jail.
But the 59-year-old Spaniard will not actually serve time, according to reports including in the Marca sports newspaper.

He was, however, convicted of fraud surrounding the sale of land on which the promised construction of homes in 1997 and 1998 was not carried out.

The court in Cadiz, in southwestern Spain, also sentenced some other defendants whilst acquitting others.

At the time in question, Carabante was a director of the land developer, signing the contracts and managing the money.

Today, he is the major shareholder of his struggling formula one team HRT, which is targeting tenth in the 2011 world championship and a step forward for its third season on the grid next year.

Team boss Colin Kolles revealed on Friday that an aerodynamic programme in one of Mercedes’ wind tunnels will begin in July.

“We will switch very soon to the 2012 car,” he said.

HRT owner Jose Ramon Carabante has vowed to solve the awkward situation whereby phantom ‘sponsors’ adorn the Spanish team’s 2011 car.

The F111 was launched with logos featuring enticements to potential backers, including ‘This could you be you’, ‘Your logo’ and ‘This is a cool spot’.

“We’re still alive, which in these times is no small feat,” Carabante told the financial news agency Bloomberg. “The car’s message is striking but we hope it disappears soon.”

59-year-old Carabante, who revealed his team receives $10 million annually from the F1 television rights, said he is in talks with two potential Spanish sponsors but he would not identify them.

He also said HRT’s staff is fully committed.

“When we need to work 10 hours instead of eight they do it,” he insisted. “If they have to work 24 hours a day, then they do that too.”

HRT has reportedly bought Japanese carmaker Toyota’s former formula one team.

The new Spanish team has struggled with its Dallara-built car and a lack of development in 2010.

It was initially believed that Hispania Racing, bought by Jose Ramon Carabante from Adrian Campos before the start of its debut season, had agreed a deal to base its 2011 car on the unraced Toyota TF110.

It is for this reason, according to paddock speculation, that Toyota Motorsport only made available its 2009 car for Pirelli’s tyre testing programme.

It has been subsequently reported that HRT could buy hydraulic systems and gearboxes from the British team Williams for 2010.

But Auto Motor und Sport, citing “reliable sources”, reports that HRT has bought “the expertise, equipment and facilities” of Toyota’s Cologne based team.

At the same time, the magazine notes rumours that Hispania is behind in its payments to engine supplier Cosworth.

There are still “three candidates” in the running to occupy F1′s 13th team entry in 2011, according to Joan Villadelprat.

He is in charge of the Spanish Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi’s bid, amid recent rumours the outfit had pulled out due to a lack of funding.

It has also been claimed that Epsilon Euskadi might instead merge with the struggling existing Spanish team, HRT.

“I don’t know where that information came from,” Villadelprat said in an interview with the sports daily AS.

“I spoke with Jose Ramon Carabante about a possible collaboration with us as a technology provider.

“We are looking for clients and it is clear Hispania is a potential client for the type of work that we do, provided there is no conflict of interest.

“But that’s it, there was never any talk of a merger, even though I do not close any doors,” he added.

Villadelprat said Epsilon Euskadi is still vying for the 13th team entry.

“The FIA knows our project well and now they must choose between the three candidates,” he said.

“We explained our situation, including our financial one, making it clear that we have a commitment to provide the necessary budget even if the deal is not yet closed.”

Echoing the claims of Jacques Villeneuve, who is bidding for the entry in collaboration with Durango, Villadelprat said it is possible the FIA will leave the 13th team place vacant.

Asked if he would be disappointed to miss out, he answered: “Not necessarily.

“Epsilon is more than F1; we are 130 people and would not risk our stability to go where we cannot be feasible.”

According to reports in Spain, there might be merger talks afoot between the struggling HRT team, and hopeful 2011 entrant Epsilon Euskadi.

The news agency EFE said the latter’s chief Joan Villadelprat is weighing up two options: the first being acceptance by the FIA to be the 13th team entry in its own right next year.

The second option is reportedly a merger with Hispania, F1′s existing Spanish entrant that is lagging at the rear of the grid and yet to pen a concrete deal for the construction of its next car.

F1 veteran Villadelprat has reportedly already been in contact, some days ago, with Jose Ramon Carabante, the owner of Murcia-based HRT.

Spaniard Villadelprat reportedly asked Carabante “what Hispania needs, what Epsilon can offer and if there is the possibility of collaboration”.

He apparently acknowledged that Le Mans prototype constructor Epsilon Euskadi’s infrastructure rates among “the top five” of the existing F1 teams, but lacks 17 million euros in investment.

The news follows HRT’s split with its 2010 car partner Dallara, and the news that advanced talks were taking place between the team and departed Toyota’s F1 arm Toyota Motorsport.