S951 wrote:this all smacks of some sort of dodgyness in the background at hrt tbh, can see it bringing them down
hypothetically who would be in a position to buy hrts entery if things went tits up? steffan gp? villeneuve racing?
verstappen motorsport
At the moment it's not entirely certain what exactly is going on in the background beyond what Thesan Capital and HRT have revealed already, though Perez-Sala did mention that the restructuring of the team and relocation of their staff has had a detrimental impact on development of the F112 and may put the team in an even weaker position than it already is in. Comments like that, whilst quite honest, may also frighten off some drivers (and, perhaps more crucially, experienced staff and potential sponsors) concerned about joining what may be a sinking ship - so 2012 is expected to be a hard year for the team even if everything does go well.
Moreover, although they may have various reasons for wanting to move to Valencia - including financial incentives from the regional authorities - it does make things more complicated for HRT. Their facilities are going to be a long way away from the traditional clusters of suppliers and, most crucially, technical staff (experienced and recent graduates alike) who tend to be clustered in the UK, Northern Italy and Germany (i.e. where most motor sport teams, both within and outside of F1, are based).
Even when BMW was backing the Sauber team, one problem that a number of engineers did not want to move to Hinwil because it meant uprooting their families and losing touch with their friends - something which would only be exacerbated in the case of HRT.
As for what could happen to HRT's entry, the most likely scenario would be the FIA rescinds it altogether if it believed that the team was incapable of competing for the whole season or could bring the sport into disrepute. The FIA has, following the collapse of USF1 (not to mention incidents like Qadbak), tightened up the entry rules and funding requirements for new entries and prospective bidders, so the odds of Stefan GP or Villeneuve Racing being allowed to take over HRT and keeping the entry are low.
As things stand, the only outfit - at least as far as I am aware - that is still interested and has the technical knowledge to enter the sport is Lola Cars. They were probably one of the better prepared bidders back in 2009 (hell, they had already completed a wind tunnel model before putting in their entry), and have recently expressed an interest in potentially returning to the sport in the next few years. However, their intention seems to be to do things their own way rather than buying an existing team - after all, the FIA does have another entry slot available if anybody wants it.
