Hispania Racing Team driver Narain Karthikeyan says survival is a hard thing – Formula 1 news
Formula 1, Hispania Racing Team driver, Narain Karthikeyan has said that his team’s survival on the grid seems ‘hard’ after a very difficult start to the 2011 championship.
HRT have kicked off to a disappointing start in the 2011 season, retiring from the first two races held in Australia and Malaysia. In the Chinese Grand Prix, both drivers, which included Vitantonio Liuzzi and Karthikeyan were again unable to put their best
run against the strong competitors of Formula 1.
The Indian driver said, “It's a small team. We have put together a pretty little car. The major difference against the bigger teams would be that we don't use KERS. We didn't get any mileage on the cars in the winter testing, so since then we were basically
playing catch-up. But it's coming together for us now.”
He added that HRT are not fighting for their world titles and race wins as they only want to show that this team is also important for Formula 1 sport and that they are all a main part of this ongoing show.
He went on to say, “The fact is we (backmarker teams) are never in contention for the title. But teams like these are equally important for F1. They provide the platform for younger drivers and for drivers like me who are coming back. There's this hierarchy
in every sport, but it only makes it more interesting.”
After a difficult Malaysian Grand Prix, team aimed to qualify closer to their main rivals in the Chinese Grand Prix. Liuzzi said that he is not ruling out out-qualifying some of his rivals, including Virgins’ Timo Glock and Jerome d’Ambrosio during the Chinese
race, following a promising outing at Sepang circuit.
HRT had a plan to bring some minor developments to their new machine for the Chinese Grand Prix. The team was sure these changes will help them get very close to their main rivals, but they could not manage their positive run during the Shanghai race, as
they again experienced some technical issues in their new cars.
HRT drivers were the final runners of the race ahead of Toro Rosso’s driver, Alguersuari. However, the team again set a target to finish their best race and also looking for getting more data on their car in order to be better prepared for the season’s European
races.
After very disappointing events of this season, HRT are willing to do their best in the remainder of the season. All Formula 1 teams have moved towards Turkey, for the preparation of the season’s fourth race, which will take place on May 8, 2011.
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