Spanish driver Dani Clos will step into the F112 for the first time on Friday to take part in the first free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix which will take place at the Circuit de Catalunya. 23 year-old Clos will substitute teammate Narain Karthikeyan for that session and will join Pedro de la Rosa for the first 90 minutes of practice in Montmeló.

It will be history in the making for HRT Formula 1 Team at the Circuit de Catalunya since this will be the first time that two Spanish drivers hit the track forming a part of a Spanish team at the Spanish Grand Prix. It will be a moment to remember for Spanish motorsport and a great opportunity for Clos to prove his worth in front of his home crowd.

After having completed 377.67 kilometres at the helm of the F111 in the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi last November and having joined the team as an official test driver in February, Dani Clos will take another step on Friday and will fulfill another vital aspect of his testing role by completing his first laps at the wheel of the F112. A car that will be brining a series of aerodynamic upgrades for this important Grand Prix.

Dani Clos: “I’m delighted to have this opportunity. It’s something I’ve fought for all my life; to make my debut in Formula 1 and, above all, to be able to do it at the Circuit de Catalunya which is something very special for me. Besides, I’m extremely lucky to be able to do it with a Spanish team, alongside another Spanish driver who I admire and at home. I can’t ask for more! It’s the ideal situation and I’m proud to be where I am with the people who have always been with me and still are. I hope to extract a lot of data from this practice session, contribute with positive things to the team and do my job in the best way I can. I feel 100% ready and I can’t wait for the moment I step into the car and hit the track”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal HRT: “I’m very proud and happy that this moment has arrived and that we’ve given Dani the chance to get in the car on Friday’s first free practice session at such a special and important Grand Prix as is a home Grand Prix. In this first contact he will drive next to Pedro de la Rosa and will have the chance to drive the new F112 for the first time. It’s an important session given the short amount of time on track that we have and more so when you take into account the various aerodynamic upgrades which we have brought. Dani is a great driver and I have no doubt that he will do a good job. Besides, this debut also represents another step forward in our desire for HRT to serve as a platform for young drivers to make it into F1”.

DANI CLOS – PROFILE AND CAREER SUMMARY

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 2nd in the 24H Barcelona race. In 2009 he made his debut in the GP2 series, with a 3rd 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. In 2012, Dani Clos joins the HRT Formula 1 Team as its official test driver.

Career Summary:

2012 F1: test driver, HRT Formula 1 Team
2011 GP2: Racing Engineering, 9th in the Championship
F1: Young Driver Test with HRT F1 Team
2010 GP2: Racing Engineering, 4th in the Championship (1 win)
2009 GP2: Racing Engineering, 21st in the Championship
2008 F3 Euroseries: Prema Powerteam: 14th in the Championship
2007 F3 Euroseries: Signature Plus: 13th in the Championship
2006 Fórmula Renault 2.0 Italia: Champion (8 wins)
Renault 2.0 Eurocup: 7th position in the Championship
2005 Renault 2.0 Eurocup: 32nd in the Championship
Fórmula 2.0 Italiana: 16th in the Championship

HRT has announced it will sit out next week’s rare in-season formula one test at Mugello.

For the first time in years, the sport has relaxed slightly its strict testing ban in order to give teams the chance to run between grands prix.

The three-day session at Ferrari’s Italian circuit will begin next Tuesday, during the three-week gap between Bahrain and Spain.

Struggling backmarkers HRT, however, will not be there, opting instead to be “completely focused” on relocating to its new Caja Magica headquarters in Madrid.

Every other team will be at Mugello, 30 kilometres from Florence — the first in-season test for four years.

26 drivers will be in action, as will a lot of update packages following F1′s return from the hectic ‘flyaway’ season.

Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Sauber, Marussia and Toro Rosso will use their regular race drivers.

Running regular racers and a tester will be Lotus (Jerome d’Ambrosio), Williams (Valtteri Bottas) and Force India (Jules Bianchi).

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said Caterham is “using the opportunity to earn some money” by accepting the sponsorship of the Venezuelan Rodolfo Gonzalez.

McLaren has scheduled to run its testers Oliver Turvey and Gary Paffett, although Lewis Hamilton has indicated he might gatecrash the programme in order to help solve the MP4-27′s newfound tyre problems.

It was mission accomplished for HRT Formula 1 Team in Malaysia a couple of weeks ago after both cars qualified and completed their first race of the season after a hard start. The F112 accumulated many kilometres and data on the track and the engineers had a lot of information to work on during the two week period between the race in Sepang and China. Having met the team’s targets last time out, HRT now aims to progress from where it left things in Malaysia and continue improving.

The Shanghai International Circuit is made up of sixteen turns, with nine being right-handers and seven left-handers. Cars reach maximum speeds on the 1.2km straight between corners 13 and 14, where they try and take advantage of the length of the straight to overtake. In China, the team will have a new member on board, Ma Qing Hua, who will be joining the outfit for the first time as a member of the driver development programme at his local Grand Prix.

Pirelli have elected their soft and medium tyres for this grand prix.

Pedro de la Rosa, #22: “After these first two Grands Prix we arrive in China much better prepared, with more mileage and having learned a lot, especially after the Malaysian GP. All the data gathered in the last race is very important for us, as we mustn’t forget that we didn’t have a preseason. Now we have a better insight on the areas where we must improve, but the most important thing in this initial stage is to finish races. That is the prime objective in order to learn and improve race by race. The hardest part comes now but we are better prepared. China is a circuit where I have always done well and a place I know well, both in dry and wet conditions. It’s not a particularly hard track for the car or the driver, but aerodynamics are fundamental”.

Narain Karthikeyan, #23: “We took a step forward in Malaysia and our aim is definitely to carry the momentum into China and rest of the season. Although we managed to finish the race, cooling was still an issue at Sepang and once we have it sorted out completely we’ll be able to unlock some more performance from the car. The back straight at the Shanghai circuit is of course one of the longest on the calendar and the tightening first corner is uniquely challenging since the corner entry is in top gear and by the time you exit you’re in second. Plus there are a fair amount of technical slow-speed corners as well, and the high-speed direction change of turns 7/8. Given these mixed characteristics, it is a demanding circuit for traction, aero and braking stability in equal measures”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “The start to the season was very complicated because we were behind schedule with regards to the other teams. We had to put in a colossal effort to be able to get on track in Australia and improve our performance just one week later in Malaysia. There’s still plenty to do and many areas to improve on to be where we should be but at least in these two weeks we’ve had a bit more time to analyse data, prepare and recharge batteries, therefore I’m confident that we’re arriving in China in a much better situation. We mustn’t forget that the F112 is only taking its first steps and, as of today, what we must do is progress without stopping. In Shanghai we’ll have some small updates to optimize cooling and aerodynamics, and the target for this weekend is to check that these adjustments work. To sum up, we have to get more out of the car but must also improve on teamwork and coordination”.

 Two teams are in danger of sitting out Sunday’s Australian grand prix.
“The idea, here, is to qualify for the race,” Marussia’s Timo Glock told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper from Melbourne.

The hurdle that the struggling former Virgin team – as well as HRT – must get over, is the 107 per cent rule in Q1.

It is an even higher hurdle than last year, because Pirelli has made its harder tyres softer in 2012 — meaning the difference between the tyres being used by the quickest cars and the slowest cars in Q1 will be smaller.

More bad news is that Red Bull has brought new parts to Australia that could make qualifying-specialist Sebastian Vettel even faster on Saturday.

“If that’s true then the qualifying test for us – with zero kilometres under our belts – is almost impossible,” admitted Glock.

At HRT, the situation is arguably worse — especially for Pedro de la Rosa, who was little more than a spectator on Friday as the Spanish team built up his Cosworth-powered car at the eleventh hour.

“Keep smiling, be patient,” he is quoted by Auto Motor Und Sport, when asked what his mantra is in Melbourne.

“We need to think more in the medium term. We are experiencing the birth of a new racing team.

“For us, this year is not just about getting the new car up and running — over the next months, we are taking the whole team to Madrid.

“At the moment we are still operating from Madrid, Valencia and Munich,” he explained.

The Spanish team’s new boss Luis Perez Sala agreed that qualifying at Albert Park is a big ask.

“For us it has been almost a success just to be here in Melbourne because it has been very tough,” he said on Friday.

As for the 107 per cent rule, “It will be difficult for us,” said the former Minardi driver.

“I’m not thinking now about the speed of the car, I’m just trying to get all the things done that we need to do as best as possible to get into (practice) tomorrow.”

He said HRT will try again next weekend, in Malaysia.

“I would like them (the team) to relax a bit and we will see. Malaysia? Shanghai? Whatever.”

It did not take long for F1′s first technical controversy of the 2012 race season to erupt.
Asked about Mercedes’ F-duct system that reportedly works in conjunction with the deployment of DRS, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: “Are they allowed?”

The FIA’s Charlie Whiting says yes. “I cannot see a rule that prohibits it,” he said.

“What is not allowed is the movement of the driver to generate an aerodynamic effect,” he is quoted by Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo.

So at least for now, the other teams will have to react, amid talk the concept is worth several kilometres per hour in a straight line.

“We’ll have to have a look at it,” confirmed Horner.

But according to BBC analyst and former F1 designer Gary Anderson, Red Bull and Ferrari – and maybe others – have reacted already.

They “appear to have a different system and I’m struggling to understand how it complies with the rules”, he said.

“I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this subject”, Anderson added.

Also legal for now are all the teams’ different interpretations of the new exhaust rules — even the controversial Red Bull’s.

“As far as we’ve seen so far, they all do comply with the rules,” confirmed Whiting.

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

 Mercedes’ highly-anticipated 2012 car made its track debut this week during a secret test day at Silverstone.
“Lots of questions about Silverstone and shakedowns,” admitted the Northamptonshire based team on Twitter on Thursday.

Youtube video footage, captured by a trackside observer, showed the ‘step’ nose W03 turning laps at the British grand prix venue, which is located just a 15-minute drive from the German team’s Brackley headquarters.

Mercedes said the test was for “filming” purposes, with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher’s equally sharing the allowed 100 kilometres of running.

Italy’s Autosprint website said the car appeared “fairly conventional”, despite speculation the late test debut is due to the team keeping an explosive technical innovation close to its chest.

Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s car designer, admitted he and Mercedes’ rivals might have a very close look at the W03 if the rumours about the technical secret are true.

“If it comes out and goes three seconds quicker than anybody else, yes of course,” he is quoted by Reuters.

“Other than that, simply because its later doesn’t mean to say you are going to suddenly show more attention at that than anybody else’s.”

Meanwhile, after the struggling Spanish team’s 2012 car recently failed two mandatory FIA crash tests, HRT will sit out next week’s Barcelona test.

Last week at Jerez, Pedro de la Rosa ran at the wheel of the 2011 car.

 The future of the Russian grand prix could be in Moscow.
The huge country is already scheduled to join the 2014 calendar, with the federal government allocating almost $200 million for a new circuit in the coastal city Sochi.

But an official has hinted that, if the Sochi event is ultimately not successful, the formula one race could be moved 1300 kilometres to Moscow.

Three years ago, work began on a $215 million formula one-style circuit in Volokolamsk, 80 kilometres west of the Russian capital.

“The Volokolamsk circuit is fully in line with formula one safety requirements,” Russian motor racing federation vice-president Igor Yermilin told Sovietsky Sport.

“However, some additions to the infrastructure would be needed, particularly as far as the VIP (section) goes.

“A (decision to) transfer the Russian grand prix will depend upon the commercial success of the race in Sochi,” he explained.

“If the race is successful, there will be no talk of moving it elsewhere. If not, it would be more profitable to hold (the race) in the Moscow region as of 2017 or 2018.”

A ten year deal for a waterside American grand prix amidst the New York skyline was announced officially on Tuesday.
New Jersey governor Chris Christie made the official announcement but the street race, to debut in mid 2013, will be privately funded, headed by Leo Hindery, a well-known American businessman and Le Mans class winner.

Unlike Texas’ purpose-built circuit for next year’s US grand prix, Hindery said the roads for the street race are already in place and only need to be resurfaced.

“We build our stands, our pits and paddock club. We put up barriers and catch fences. We put it up and take it down,” he said.

Also unlike Austin, there will be no government help.

“We are not receiving and never asked for any subsidies,” he insisted.

Tavo Hellmund, the Texas promoter, offered his congratulations and said the two US events – separated by more than 3000 kilometres – can coexist.

“I am excited for the east coast and feel Tuesday’s announcement is yet another acknowledgement of the viability, fan interest, economic benefits and prestige an F1 grand prix event brings to a region,” he said.

Even more excited is F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for years,” he told the Bloomberg news agency via telephone. “You’ll be able to see the Manhattan skyline on TV.”

Little has changed at Korea’s Yeongam circuit since the calamitous inaugural grand prix a year ago.
Bild newspaper reports the ghastly news that, when some teams opened the fridges in their paddock offices this week, food left over from the 2010 event remained rotting on the shelves.

And Williams revealed that the stickers on the team’s hospitality suite still show Nico Hulkenberg driving for them, while the words ‘Mark Webber’ and ‘Sebastian Vettel’ on the floor of the garage had to be painted over by McLaren.

“It looks as though they locked the gates after the last race and simply unlocked them yesterday,” one source is quoted as saying.

Said Sebastian Vettel, who has won two world championships since last visiting Korea: “It’s funny, thinking about everything that has happened since then.”

Another bone of contention is the circuit’s location in Mokpo, hundreds of kilometres from Seoul and with the drivers all staying in the same five-star Hyundai hotel.

For the less affluent team members and journalists, they are still having to stay in so-called ‘love motels’, while the entire Williams team is staying in Gwangju, an hour from Yeongam.

“Here in the south it’s really a little too quiet,” said Vettel. “I think basically there hasn’t been a lot going on since we left.”

The fact Yeongam still seems barely finished has raised speculation about financial problems for the event.

“It is true that we are struggling in terms of profit because of the high investment and high cost structure,” said chief organiser Park Joon-yung.

Red Bull is shipping its own food to the Japanese grand prix this weekend.
It is in the country, ravaged by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis earlier this year, that Sebastian Vettel will likely wrap up his 2011 title.

Due to the concerns about radioactivity, Red Bull has modified its usual routine for the preparation of food for the 80-person race team, reports Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Usually, perishables like meat, fruit and vegetables are bought locally, but for the Suzuka round Red Bull – and presumably other teams – are taking these items from Europe.

The report said team boss Christian Horner has also told his staff not to eat out this weekend.

Last weekend, the MotoGP world raced at Motegi, located just 130 kilometres from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo revealed he used soap and bottled water to wash himself rather than take showers, and Dani Pedrosa said he is throwing away his clothes rather than taking them home to Europe.

As for F1, Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari told Marca newspaper: “I think the situation is totally calm and we are very far from Fukushima.

“I am coming without any fear.”

Kamui Kobayashi is the first formula one driver to announce he has no fears about travelling to his native country for October’s Japanese grand prix.
Bernie Ecclestone and Masuru Unno, a spokesman for the Suzuka circuit, said at the Nurburgring that despite some MotoGP riders planning to boycott the Motegi race, Suzuka – hundreds of kilometres further from the Fukushima nuclear plant – is “completely safe”.

Sauber driver Kobayashi insists he is not worried.

“I went there and I am fine,” he said. “Nobody is worried in Japan. Going to Suzuka will show support for the people. I expect people to come from everywhere to Suzuka,” he is quoted by Al Jazeera.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone, who announced he is personally buying 3,000 tickets to the race to give away, said he is confident no one in F1 will follow the MotoGP example and announce they fear travelling to Japan.

“I do not know why motorcycle riders are reacting like they are,” he is quoted as saying by the journalist Agnes Carlier. “Here in F1, no one thinks that there is a problem.”

Lucas di Grassi kicked off life as Pirelli’s new main test driver with a two-day test in Barcelona.
The Brazilian and former Virgin driver did over 1000km at the Spanish grand prix venue on Monday and Tuesday at the wheel of Toyota’s newly-updated 2009 car.

Di Grassi, 26, told Globo Esporte he was happy with the outing.

“A reserve driver in formula one will not do 500 kilometres in a whole season and I did over a thousand in two days.

“I’m satisfied because we ran through the schedule and gathered important information,” he said.

The Brazilian report said di Grassi’s goal is to return to F1 in 2012.

“I’m well prepared physically and technically,” he insisted.

Ferrari has changed the name of its 2011 formula one car.
It emerged on Thursday that Ford is suing the famous Italian marque after Ferrari called this year’s single seater F150.

The name was a tribute to the 150th anniversay of Italian unification, but Ford owns the trademark to F-150 for its famous pickup truck model.

Subsequent to the reports of legal action, Ferrari has twice on Thursday already referred to its 2011 car as the “Ferrari F150th Italia”, as testing resumes at Jerez.

“Before the lunch break, Fernando Alonso completed just over two hundred kilometres at the wheel of the Ferrari F150th Italia,” said the team in one bulletin.

And in a separate official report, Ferrari said there had been “two million hits from 149 countries for the Ferrari F150th Italia on the Ferrari (web)site”.

Referring to the recent launch of the car, the team also reminded readers that “web surfers were able to follow the presentation of the Ferrari F150th Italia” live.