Hispania Racing Team confident of doing well in Malaysian Grand Prix – Formula 1 news
Hispania Racing Team are confident of doing well in the second race of the 2011 Formula 1 season, the Malaysian Grand Prix.
HRT are hopeful that that there will be no repeat of the Australian Grand Prix, where they were not able to even qualify for the race. Their drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi were not able to lap within 107 per cent of Red Bull driver Sebastian
Vettel, who set the pole in the season opener.
One of the major drawbacks for the team was that it was without their newly designed front wing. The wing was not able to pass the compulsory International Automobile Federation (FIA) crash test within time, which forced HRT to use the older version.
However, Liuzzi said, “Everything has been okayed from today, so we should receive it [the wing] before the beginning of the session tomorrow. We have a lot of new parts arriving and we are positive we will be in a much better shape than in Australia.”
He further added, “We cannot say we will be inside for the race, but I am sure we will be really close to Virgin and will close the gap. Here in Malaysia it is the worst track for 107%, but I am pretty sure that if we will not get in, the other teams will
struggle, because our pace will improve a lot.”
Although the team had a dismal start to the 2011 Formula 1 season, the Italian driver was pleased with what had been achieved. He claimed that the team had some technical problems, which forced them out of the race otherwise everyone was impressed by their
performance.
Liuzzi also stated that HRT would post a serious challenge to other new teams like Virgin and Lotus. The team has not been able to score any points since their debut in the 2010 season.
The next race in Malaysia will be a good chance for the weaker teams to do well because of the track characteristics. The hot and humid temperature at the venue will not allow the teams to finish the race with one or two pit stops and they will have to come
up with something innovative to counter the conditions.
Apart from that, the weather will also play a crucial part in the second race of the season. Let’s see how it turns out to be this weekend.
Tags: