Pedro de la Rosa defends his move to Hispania Racing Team – Formula 1 news
Pedro de la Rosa says moving to the Hispania Racing Team is not a step back for him.
“Not at all,” de la Rosa told COPE radio when asked if his move was a step back. “We have to leave those things aside and start working, which is what I've always like.”
He says that he has taken the decision as a challenge and wants to work towards improving the standing of the Spanish team. He drew similarities with the David versus Goliath history and explained that he is proud to have taken a step which will make him
fight with all he has got against top notch teams.
HRT have been at the bottom of the constructors table during 2011 season above only to Virgin. De la Rosa explained that he understand that it is going to be very difficult to transform the team to a midfield team, but it is not a step backwards for him.
He also added that staying with McLaren was not an issue for him; this is something he had thought about and planned to do. The 40-year old said that teams will have a very different scenario going into the 2012 season as the rules have changed and there
will be increased competitiveness amongst the teams on the grid.
“It's a Spanish project and that to me says it all. It's an honest project. It's a project in which we are not going to be selling smoke. It's a Spanish Formula 1 team. We are last at the moment, but there is a plan for the upcoming two years to make progress
and that is all,” he added.
He also said that right now the priority for HRT is to pass the crash test which have been made compulsory by FIA to pass in order to be eligible for the races. This is another step taken towards the safety of the sport.
It will be interesting to see how much of an impact de la Rosa will have over the fortunes of HRT, but it is exciting to see an experienced driver looking to raise the competition by joining a lower ranked team.
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