HRT Spanish GP Qualifying Report

Montmelo, 21st of May of 2011 Circuit de Catalunya

FP3 and qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix

Colin Kolles, Hispania Racing Team Principal:

“Today’s qualifying had some positives and some negatives. The positive side is that we were quicker than one of the Virgins and made some steps forward. The negative part is that we could’ve had both Virgins behind us but Tonio didn’t have the best lap.

Narain Karthikeyan, Hispania Racing Team, HRT

Photo by: xpb.cc

My impression is that we made some progress and will make some more, let’s see what happens in the race. We will use a strategy which best suits the car, not too different from the rest. We’ll try and run as much as possible on option tyres”.

Narain Karthikeyan, Driver #22:

“Yesterday and today have been very difficult, especially P2 and P3 where we drove with new parts and didn’t have the right balance. After that I was a little bit worried about qualifying but we pulled everything together. We sat down and analysed the situation. I’m happy to be in front of our nearest competitors for the first time and also close to Tonio. I’m pleased to be in this position, especially since it’s the team’s home grand prix, now let’s see how the race goes tomorrow”.

Vitantonio Liuzzi, Driver #23:

“We can be happy about today’s qualifying, there was some improvement with the upgrades, now we need to keep pushing for new updates in the next race.

Vitantonio Liuzzi, Hispania Racing Team, HRT

Photo by: xpb.cc

We are in the right direction to improve the car and the team as a whole. So we’re doing well and need to work hard to make the next step. It’s very positive to be in and amongst the Virgins, it’s important for us to do a good race tomorrow for the home crowd. There’s always a great atmosphere in Spain but it’s even more motivating when you’re driving for a Spanish team, you can feel the support and want to give something back to the fans by doing well. Hopefully we can get a good start tomorrow and have no issues with pit stops. It will be a difficult race as we’ve suffered a bit with the new Pirelli compounds”.

11.00-12.00 FORMULA 1 PRACTICE SESSION 3

Narain Karthikeyan F111-03 #22 24th (16 laps) 1:29.562
Vitantonio Liuzzi F111-02 #23 21st (17 laps) 1:28.330
Maximum temperature: Air 24ºc, Track 33ºC – Sunny

14.00-15.00 FORMULA 1 QUALIFYING SESSION

Narain Karthikeyan F111-03 #22 22nd (9 laps) 1:27.908
Vitantonio Liuzzi F111-02 #23 21st (9 laps) 1:27.809
Maximum temperature: Air 24ºC, Track 43ºC – Sunny

Source: HRT