Narain Karthikeyan happy with the way things are going at HRT – Formula 1 news
Narain Karthikeyan says that HRT’s new management has proved with the approach they have taken that they the team “belongs to Formula 1.”
Karthikeyan believes that HRT will progress into a more competitive team. He said that he was very disappointed when he had to be a spectator at the Australian Grand Prix.
Karthikeyan though said that since the team has clearly improved and is on the right track to betterment.
The HRT driver said that the future holds exciting time for the team as it is working on several upgrades. The car is mechanically quite good now the aerodynamics of the car need to be looked into. He added that the team plans to introduce those upgrades
after a month long break for the Belgian GP in the first week of September.
HRT was bought from Jose Ramon Carabante by a Madrid-based investment firm Thesan Capital last year in July.
Karthikeyan remained with HRT under both owners driving in eight races. The Indian admitted that he was not happy with the 2011 season performance of the team.
He added that Formula 1 is a complicated business but still he loves to remain with HRT as the management has made him feel very comfortable. The team’s plans for 2013 car are very advanced and that is giving me the motivation to look forward to the next
year with the team.
“We have come long way since the disappointing season-opener,” Karthikeyan told the Deccan Chronicle. “It was a low point, I never thought I would be spectator in Melbourne. But I never regretted the decision to continue with HRT. The team used to work like
a GP2 outfit, but a change in the management has showed that they belong to Formula One.”
“The car has improved a lot compared to last year's. It's much more reliable. In the last few races we have proved that our car is quick in qualifying but we haven't yet shown it in a race situation,” he added.
Karthikeyan has not been able to score any points in the season so far, and the highlight of his season has been the altercation he had with Sebastian Vettel which ended both drivers’ races. The incident led Vettel to call Karthikeyan a “cucumber.”
Tags: