Grand Prix Rejects

Aerond wrote:Curry fans, come back to discuss!!!!!

Myrvold wrote:I'm almost feeling we can go to Kolles' wikipage, and then guess for a random driver that are mentioned there, if he is over 25, under 35 and have money!

dhruvkaicker90 wrote:I was talking to a friend recently about Narain having a simulator test with FI and i said that he has no chance to race for Force India but he could race for HRT if he has the money. I never expected it to turn out to be true As a fellow Indian i would say good luck to him. I hope HRT dont struggle with the 107% rule but it looks certain they will

Henrique wrote:OMG OMG OMG OMG
My chin fell on my desk.
Hey Kolles, bring back Tiago Monteiro too!

PLAYLIFE wrote:I'm almost 100% sure Narain has the seat because some big wig somewhere wants an Indian competing in F1 for the inaugural Indian GP.

HRT boss Colin Kolles says he has every reason to feel confident that his team can deliver a step forward in performance in 2011, having overcome the odds in simply getting to the grid last year.

Kolles was drafted in by the Spanish outfit on the eve of the 2010 campaign to help rescue its stalling preparations for the season. He ensured the team not only got itself ready for the first race in Bahrain but also that it completed the full schedule.

Although the team still faces big hurdles in securing its financial base, and building up a solid technical infrastructure, Kolles is upbeat that HRT is ready to show that it can move forward in Formula 1 in 2011.

The team suffered a setback last year when a planned technical tie-up with Toyota for 2011 was terminated, but that has not stopped HRT's technical chief Geoff Willis pressing full-steam ahead with the team's new car - which it hopes to be ready for one of the final pre-season tests.

And Kolles believes that with Willis' input, plus the hydraulic tie-up with Williams, HRT has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about what it can achieve this year.

"The car looks completely different," Kolles told AUTOSPORT. "It looks more developed and improved.

"We obviously have a Williams rear end - with the hydraulics and the Cosworth engine. This package was able to qualify in the top 10 last year, so it cannot be that bad. That is not going to be our weak point.

"I hope we can improve on the aero package and, for sure, at the first race the car is not going to be a frontrunner - although you should never say never in F1! But we have to be realistic and we have to work hard."

Kolles has confirmed the team will begin its 2011 testing programme with its 2010 car, and said HRT hoped to have an interim version of the new model running as quickly as it can.

"We will run in the Valencia test with an old car, and maybe then we will have an interim car. We hope to run the new car as soon as possible - as soon as it is achievable."

When asked if he felt Willis had what he needed to deliver a step forward for HRT, Kolles said: "No - an engineer never has everything he needs. He wants more, of course, and we all want to improve more. We are a small team and we are trying to do a better job."

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."

watka wrote:I really REALLY hope HRT get to the grid next season after this news! The 107% rule is certainly going to come into play!

MaxZero wrote:Motorsport.com named the price as 8 Million.

In all fairness, i'de love to winge about this but i wouldn't want to see a competent driver in HRT, it would ruin them

Pair him with Yamamoto and it would be perfect. Kolles' two cash cows, driving a dog

dhruvkaicker90 wrote:Yes he was a second slower. Thats why its so surprising that he got the seat. He could be as out of depth as Badoer in 2009 but i am sure he will do great in wet races. I read somewhere that he once won a f3 race in Spa starting from 22nd on the grid

Glennerz wrote:http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/07012011/58/senna-dumped-hrt-2011.html

And we hear that Senna has been dumped for 2011, though that was never a surprise. Karthikeyan/Chandhok dream team?

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Not sure how reliable a source crash.net is, but according to this article, HRT offered Chandhok a drive, which Karun turned down. Apparently he's looking for a car capable of points, and has 'zeroed in' on two unnamed teams (presumably Force India and Toro Rosso).

DanielPT wrote:I do remember him getting soundly beaten by Alvaro Parente in GP2 when both raced for the same team (Ocean if I am not mistaken...).

Klon wrote:

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Not sure how reliable a source crash.net is, but according to this article, HRT offered Chandhok a drive, which Karun turned down. Apparently he's looking for a car capable of points, and has 'zeroed in' on two unnamed teams (presumably Force India and Toro Rosso).

As much as I think Karun could do quite well in an appropriate car - this might be a case of unwarranted self importance. Just like Hülkenberg. And people wonder why they do not get seats, whereas Narain Karthikeyan does.

"I wasn't chasing the HRT drive in 2011," he explained. "The team didn't make much progress last year and, at the time when we last spoke to them, it didn't sound like there was a huge amount in the pipeline for this year. I had one year with them, and I am grateful and will always be grateful to them for getting me a foot in the door. But now I'm looking elsewhere."

"I want something for the medium and long term - not just for 2011," Chandhok told AUTOSPORT on Friday. "What I do in 2012 and 2013 is important. If that means taking a back seat, as reserve driver next year, then so be it - a bit like what Paul di Resta did in 2010. As long as it is somewhere further up the grid, then that is the best option."

Myrvold wrote:

DanielPT wrote:I do remember him getting soundly beaten by Alvaro Parente in GP2 when both raced for the same team (Ocean if I am not mistaken...).

You rememer wrong. Very wrong. The only time he have been beaten by a teammate (I do not count F1) was in 05, in F3. That was his first full season in any sort of racing since Ayrton died. That year Parente won the title. After that, he have always beaten his teammates, and never been beaten by Parente again.

Senna does have a very short career, but his GP2 results are better than more than one driver that is in their second (or more) season in F1.

DanielPT wrote:

Myrvold wrote:

DanielPT wrote:I do remember him getting soundly beaten by Alvaro Parente in GP2 when both raced for the same team (Ocean if I am not mistaken...).

You rememer wrong. Very wrong. The only time he have been beaten by a teammate (I do not count F1) was in 05, in F3. That was his first full season in any sort of racing since Ayrton died. That year Parente won the title. After that, he have always beaten his teammates, and never been beaten by Parente again.

Senna does have a very short career, but his GP2 results are better than more than one driver that is in their second (or more) season in F1.

I was talking about Chandhock in that sentence... Karun finished 18th and Parente finished 8th in 2009.

DanielPT wrote:Yes, he was a bit better last year than Senna.