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HRT in serious danger [Rumor]


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#351 Petroltorque

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Posted 11 December 2012 - 15:29

Was it all down to Kolles?

I think Willis was the most critical of Dallara . . . then again, he was hired for quality control and technical direction.

I seem to remember reading that the Carabante family had (some of) its financial assets frozen in some way, not long after the purchase. I think Kolles (and Geoff Willis at the time) were led to believe that there were funds for the deal with Toyota which never happened. There was even a press release that it was a firm deal and Toyota staffed up accordingly. Then the owners couldn't or wouldn't pay.

Campos/HRT has had three owners, none of which really had the money nor the stomach for F1. That has been HRT's curse.

It became a mess from the moment the Dallara association ended. I am still confused about Willis' hired gun role. Was his criticism of Dallara the impetus for cancelling the project? Dallara may have granted them the IP on the project but did not release the design data. That meant reverse engineering the car. From my experience of project design; the moment you enter the realm of reverse engineering the budget takes on telephone numbers. If I had been in charge I would have gone back to Parma, but I suppose Kolles had all the aces, factory, staff, race equipment, etc.
The greatest irony is that this year they ended up with a customer car from Holzer that was worse than what Dallara delivered.

Edited by Petroltorque, 11 December 2012 - 15:32.


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#352 george1981

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Posted 12 December 2012 - 17:12

As HRT have missed the deadline to register for next year, if they or someone who bought their assets did want to race next year they'd need to get unanimous agreement from the other F1 teams.
I can't see this happening though. An article on PlanetF1 I think suggested it would be better for F1 now that HRT had gone because presumably 6 cars would be eliminated in Q1 and 6 in Q2. In Q1 you would expect the Caterhams and Marussias to go out and then probably the Toro Rossos, however the Toro Rossos, Saubers, Force Indias etc. would then be forced to run the option tyre. This would mean that the RedBulls, Ferraris and McLarens would also have to run the option tyre to be comfortable which would mean they'd have less tyres available from Q2 onwards which could improve the show.
So with that in mind the top teams might not object to HRT being back on the grid because it could make their weekends easier. However the midfield teams probably wouldn't want them to return so I doubt they'd be allowed back in even if a new buyer was found.

#353 Petroltorque

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Posted 12 December 2012 - 17:46

I think we should put any thougjt of resurrecting HRT to bed. The present owners ongoing Long Firm Fraud has seen to that.
The only option for a twelth team would be as a new entry and would be first subject to FIA ratification. Any entrant would not only need their own facilities and staff but also access to a near complete 2013 chassis with power train.