[Team] HRT - The Discussion Thread.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Apparently Narain Karthikeyan has signed to race for HRT in 2011...

http://en.espnf1.com/hrtf1/motorsport/story/37584.html

More Here

$10m sounds like a nice dowry... better than having "Narain" on the sidepods anyway...

And it looks like Mr Kolles has a fan...

[E.B]

Originally Posted by duke_toaster

Wern't both cars still identical though, despite being a bitsa layout . That colour scheme was the result of the FIA refusal of the different livery per BAR car they wanted to use. BAR appealed the FIA findings that their original liveries was illegal, filing it with the CHamber of Commerce..... which resulted in a please explain, we dont play like that in F1 and we could have you out of F1 in a flash type of message. The following year the BAR liveries were more traditional, and identical..

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by davyboy

That's not how the pay 4 drive process works at any level in motorsport.

I don't care and it doesn't render my statement invalid.

Senna is a unique name with unique marketing attributes.

[Paradise City]

Narian gets that drive on the back of Tata cash who are the new owners of Jaguar. I wonder is driver sponsorship the limit of their ambition.

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

Senna is a unique name with unique marketing attributes.

Only if he has the talent and performance to back it up.

[E.B]

Senna was signed well before anyone else was confirmed in the team primarily because, like 'Paradise City', Campos felt he would find sponsor money easily with the Senna name on board.

As it happens nothing was gained as a result and so the prime reason for Senna's appointment backfired, leaving Bruno as a financial non contributor....

The team's survival is it would appear, dependant on drivers who can bring money with them. With even Hulkenberg Klien and Heidfeld not being able to snare a race seat without money you can understand why there is no room for someone like Senna who is now proven within the HRT environment to not being a sponsor magnet or unique marketing tool.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

I don't care and it doesn't render my statement invalid.

Enough said !

[rallycrosscraig]

What a shame Tata wasting their sponsorship money on this pointless team, would have been better spent finding Karun Chandoc a 3rd seat in a real team than propping up the back of the grid (if they even make it).

[duke_toaster]

Originally Posted by E.B

Wern't both cars still identical though, despite being a bitsa layout . That colour scheme was the result of the FIA refusal of the different livery per BAR car they wanted to use. BAR appealed the FIA findings that their original liveries was illegal, filing it with the CHamber of Commerce..... which resulted in a please explain, we dont play like that in F1 and we could have you out of F1 in a flash type of message. The following year the BAR liveries were more traditional, and identical..

Correct.

Who will be his team-mate then ... Chanoch Nissany busy this year?

[strider]

Originally Posted by E.B

The team's survival is it would appear, dependant on drivers who can bring money with them. With even Hulkenberg Klien and Heidfeld not being able to snare a race seat without money you can understand why there is no room for someone like Senna who is now proven within the HRT environment to not being a sponsor magnet or unique marketing tool.

It's now been confirmed on the AutoHebdo site that Senna will not be returning to HRT.

He and Kolles did not like each other and when he was dropped at Silverstone it was for alleged disciplinary reasons. He wouldn't have lasted as long as he did if he had not had a water-tight contract, but it's never easy driving for a team where you know you are unwelcome and I am sure that didn't help his performance.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by duke_toaster

Who will be his team-mate then ... Chanoch Nissany busy this year?

It would seem that HRT are playing it cool with regard to available drivers.

"While talks continue with a number of interested drivers, Kolles reckoned that HRT could sit back and aim high by perhaps grabbing a big name.

"Some surprises might happen," he said. "Maybe some drivers who have contracts might not have seats. We are in a waiting position. We just want to have the best package possible."

Although Kolles would not identify who he was talking about, speculation in recent weeks has suggested that Vitantonio Liuzzi may lose his seat at Force India despite having a contract for 2011."

Autosport.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by rallycrosscraig

What a shame Tata wasting their sponsorship money on this pointless team, would have been better spent finding Karun Chandoc a 3rd seat in a real team than propping up the back of the grid (if they even make it).

I still don't get the bad rap this team are getting on here. Why are HRT any more pointless than Lotus or Virgin ? None of them scored points last year and all of them were way off the pace. As I said already, HRT fielded two cars at every event and until the time he was dropped Karun Chandhok was the leading 'new team' driver. Is it that we don't want to see teams that have no chance of winning allowed to participate ? If so, that dismisses most of the grid ! Is it that we don't want to see low budget minnows in F1 ? If so, we would never had world champions like Renault [aka Toleman] or Red Bull [aka Stewart] or race winners like STR [aka Minardi].

With the testing ban, the third seat in a Formula One team today is a waste of time and unless there's some ulterior reason for investing, of sponsors' funds too.

I hope all three new teams make it out this year as in their own way, they make F1 what it is.

[rallycrosscraig]

I still don't get the bad rap this team are getting on here. Why are HRT any more pointless than Lotus or Virgin ?


They dont have any capability to build a car
Even if they did, they dont have any money to pay for one
Do they even have a design team?
Last year they turned up to race without having turned a wheel before hand
The guy now running it has a dubious reputation
Last year the driver(s) was who ever paid most that weekend
Their recent press releases are an absolute joke.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by rallycrosscraig

They dont have any capability to build a car

They need to get a car on the grid and comply with the regulations in doing so. They did.

Originally Posted by rallycrosscraig

Even if they did, they dont have any money to pay for one

Do you have access to their finances ?

Originally Posted by rallycrosscraig

Do they even have a design team?

With limited resources, they commissioned Dallara [a well respected organization] to design and build a car for them.

Originally Posted by rallycrosscraig

Last year they turned up to race without having turned a wheel before hand

Not ideal I agree, but better than not showing up at all.

Originally Posted by rallycrosscraig

The guy now running it has a dubious reputation

I don't like Colin Kolles but others do. A team can't be refused entry based on whether the principal is likeable or not though... can it ?

Originally Posted by rallycrosscraig

Last year the driver(s) was who ever paid most that weekend

Not sure what you mean here.

Originally Posted by rallycrosscraig

Their recent press releases are an absolute joke.

I didn't find them very humorous myself but each to their own I guess.

[strider]

Sorry, repeat post for some reason.

[ECW Dan Selby]

I think the major difference was professionalism.

Lotus and Virgin at least arguably carried themselves with some dignity (and please don't allow this to be a 'So pretending to be a team you're not is dignified?' argument). I think fans could forgive some bizarre technical mishaps (ie. having a fuel tank that couldn't hold a race worth's of fuel..) as they really didn't have much time to get their act together, especially with the goalposts being moved (something which I feel is heavily overlooked at times).

People see HRT as a bit of a joke I think because of the frequent driver changes, the poor excuses, the elongated spell of Yamamoto, and probably because the boss is one of the least personable bosses in F1 for quite some time.

Selby

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by ECW Dan Selby

I think the major difference was professionalism.

Lotus and Virgin at least arguably carried themselves with some dignity (and please don't allow this to be a 'So pretending to be a team you're not is dignified?' argument). I think fans could forgive some bizarre technical mishaps (ie. having a fuel tank that couldn't hold a race worth's of fuel..) as they really didn't have much time to get their act together, especially with the goalposts being moved (something which I feel is heavily overlooked at times).

People see HRT as a bit of a joke I think because of the frequent driver changes, the poor excuses, the elongated spell of Yamamoto, and probably because the boss is one of the least personable bosses in F1 for quite some time.

Selby

In comparison to the midfield teams, let alone the front runners, Virgin, Lotus and HRT were all lacking professionalism. Similarly all three had teething problems... some rather embarassing as you quite rightly pointed out. But what were people expecting ? Brand new organizations with little time or budget to parachute onto the front of the grid ?

So Yamamoto got a racing reprieve and Colin Kolles has his rectum attached to the wrong end of his body, is that the kind of thing that we judge an F1 team's performance on ?

[rallycrosscraig]

I am not knocking all the new teams, F1 needs news teams, I just think HRT has been a shambles since the beginning. To their credit yes they made it to the end of the season, and the cars actually seemed quite reliable, hard to think of anything else good about them.

I copied this from another forum, worth repeating



Maybe HRT stands for:

Haven't Run Tests.


And with the amount of pay-drivers they are going through, maybe they should put a sign up reading:

Hourly Rentals Taken

If they do manage to score a TF109 or a TF110 though (unlikely) it'll be Kolles'

Hurriedly Re-badged Toyota

Then again, if they do show up, the enforcement of the 107% rule will have them saying:

Hardly Raced There.

Ok I'll stop there....
But seriously, no wonder potential sponsors, investors and the general F1 community are:





...Having Reservations Throughout...

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by rallycrosscraig

I am not knocking all the new teams, F1 needs news teams, I just think HRT has been a shambles since the beginning. To their credit yes they made it to the end of the season, and the cars actually seemed quite reliable, hard to think of anything else good about them.

I copied this from another forum, worth repeating



Maybe HRT stands for:

Haven't Run Tests.


And with the amount of pay-drivers they are going through, maybe they should put a sign up reading:

Hourly Rentals Taken

If they do manage to score a TF109 or a TF110 though (unlikely) it'll be Kolles'

Hurriedly Re-badged Toyota

Then again, if they do show up, the enforcement of the 107% rule will have them saying:

Hardly Raced There.

Ok I'll stop there....
But seriously, no wonder potential sponsors, investors and the general F1 community are:





...Having Reservations Throughout...

Funny that isn't it. My dad used to call them 'hurlers in the ditch'. I wonder how many of these wise sages have managed to mount a motor racing campaign themselves... let alone getting a Formula One team off the ground. It doesn't matter though does it, because thinking up TLAs is a whole lot more challenging

[JohnSSC]

Some tasks are best left unstarted. Despite my lack of F1 team experience, from my pov it would seem if you lack funding, technical expertise and experienced drivers/personnel then failure is going to be a familiar companion.

Perhaps it would be best if HRT is just put out of their collective misery.

[Marbot]

According to Kolles, they're not too badly off compared with some others.

Autosport

HRT's financial situation has been boosted by the signing of Narain Karthikeyan, who brings along sponsorship from the Tata Group. And although the outfit is still chasing further financial opportunities, Kolles believes his outfit is in no worse money shape than some other teams on the grid.

"I think that you shouldn't look at others, but I think maybe we have smaller problems than others have," he said.

"Every team needs sponsorship and money to improve and compete. It is very normal and a daily fight, and obviously the situation in the last 24 months is not easy. But everybody has to do his best and to fight and to keep it alive."

[Sodemo]

Aren't HRT about to announce some new "major sponsor" soon too?

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Aren't HRT about to announce some new "major sponsor" soon too?

Indeed.

It seems that it's possible to become 'respectably mid-field' quite quickly if you know the right people.

[RF_Racer]

While Kolles is a complete idiot, its good to see the wild Indian Narain back in F1, should make for an interesting year

[cds_uk]

Guys, can someone please explain what it is that Kolles has done to put so many noses out of joint here on 10-tenths, it never fails to amaze me how much bile he seems to raise day after day on this thread, as i said earlier on, to the best of my knowledge he did a pretty sound job at Spyker and like him or not he seems to have HRT heading in the right direction, Geoff Willis is a clever man who i am sure will come up with a car that is a decent step forward over the Dallara, Narain is solid and should bring a good bit of money with him, a major sponsor announcment soon, things are looking up, well done to the dentist i say.