In 2010 four teams were set to enter the world of Formula 1...they were Hispania Racing, (who became HRT) Team Lotus,(who became Caterham), US F1 and finally Manor F1, (who became Virgin and then Manor Marussia). However only three of them actually made it to the grid, as US F1 failed before the first race had begun. The three that did make it though largely struggled, with the Manor team (in their Marussia guise) scoring there first and (so far) only points in Monaco 2014, which has ensured the teams remarkable survival for 2015, to run as Manor Marussia F1. HRT and Caterham though never made that breakthrough, and both have now sadly collapsed. Caterham disappeared at the end of 2014 but HRT went two years earlier at the end of 2012 and it is with this team our story shall start, the story of the three teams that became one...
Chapter 1: The HRT Story
The team was originally launched as Campos Meta by former F1 driver Adrian Campos. However ex Jordan/Midland boss Colin Kolles was called in to help the team when it hit funding issues before the 2010 season. The team was renamed Hispania Racing and ran Cosworth engines like the other two new teams (HRT ran Cosworth right up until their demise) and its first drivers were Bruno Senna (pictured below in Malaysia) and Karun Chandok. The Dallara built car was only launched just a few days before the first race in Bahrain, indeed the team were still building the cars during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, with Karun Chandok not getting to drive the car before qualifying began. Financial issues meant the team had to change drivers mid season, Chandok and Senna making way for Christian Klien and Sakon Yamamoto (pictured above at Silverstone).
The team though soldiered on through its difficult debut year, and finished that season in 11th place, behind Team Lotus but ahead of the Virgin Racing team. The team entered 2011 hoping they could at least move closer, if not finish ahead of Lotus.
The team started 2011 with Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi the drivers (pictured above in Shanghai), although the team did replace Karthikeyan with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo about halfway through the season. Little then did we realize that HRT had debuted one of Formula 1's future stars. Karthikeyan did return however for the first Indian Grand Prix, his home race. The team ran a livery that had places for sponsors, but that was it. Logo's such as 'this is a cool spot' or 'this could be you' on the cars didn't attract any more sponsors, the team even failed to qualify for the first race in Melbourne, thanks to the re-introduction of the 107% rule. No points were scored, Liuzzi though did record the teams best finish in its history with 13th at that years Canadian Grand Prix, a race that was remembered for Jensons Buttons remarkable last to first victory, and not for HRT's small achievement. Collin Kolles continued to lead the team up to middle of the 2011 season, when it was bought by Thesan, who remained its owners until its demise. Again they soldiered on through another season, and 2012 they hoped would be the year they finally made the breakthrough. Sadly, it wasn't to be...
Karthikeyan (pictured below in India) returned for the 2012 season, with Pedro De Le Rosa (pictured aboverin Malaysia) back racing for the first time since his period as a stand in for Juan Pablo Montoya in 2006 for McLaren. After using an adapted Dallar chassis for the first two years, HRT built its first car for 2012 and it featured a rather eye pleasing paint scheme. However, this was not enough to allow the F112 to score the teams first points. Karthikeyan did breathly run in 10th position in the rain and red flag effected Malaysian Grand Prix, although the best remembered role he played in the race was that of a bit of a mobile chicane, as Jenson Button damaged his front wing after contact with the rear of the HRT, and then Sebastian Vettel punctured his right rear against the front wing of the car. Vettel then labeled the Indian driver a 'cucumber'. Button meanwhile said it was just one of those things.
For the rest of the season, the team went about there business at the back of the field largely unnoticed once again, although Karthikeyan did thwart Sebastian Vettels attempt at winning the first Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, by not being able to let the Red Bull and chasing McLaren of Lewis Hamilton through in the circuits twisty esses. Hamilton then went on to pass Vettel and win. De La Rosa finished off HRT's 'getting in the way of the big boys' show by making contact with Romain Grosjean in qualifying for the finale in Brazil. Grosjean ended up starting the race in 17th after having to change his front wing. The team had been put up for sale before the US Grand Prix, and although there were a few interested parties, including Chinese company Chery Automobile, a buyer was not found before payment day for the 2013 season and the team was wound up, and its debts paid. The team couldn't even feel happy at not finishing last, as both Caterham and Marussia had beaten them so HRT brought up the tail end of the constructors championship.
In the 56 races they competed in out of the 58 they contested, the team failed to score a single point. Before the 2010 season started, Adrian Campos said "Now it's time to work hard and think about this prize that we have been given." Sadly, they never got that prize. The teams demise was the first warning that Formula 1 was not exactly doing brilliantly on the financial front. Sadly though, none of us really payed any attention. We all just saw it as the demise of the many teams that comes and goes in this sport. However, as we were to find out at the end of 2014, the truth was a lot worse than we had initially feared...
Hispania Racing Team 2010 - 2012
Tomorrow comes the second chapter of 'How three became one...' where I will chart the history of the team that started life as Team Lotus, but eventually became Caterham, before their sad collapse at the end of the 2014 Formula 1 season.
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