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Spaniard Formula 1 team HRT has gone through a restructuring process in which it has settled at a new base, practically renewed the staff entirely and new drivers have arrived, including Narain Karthikeyan.
The Indian faces his second season as an official driver of the Spanish team and his experience has been vital in consolidating and evolving the F112. Having arrived at the midway point of the season, Karthikeyan assesses this start to the season alongside the Spanish team in an interview posted on the team's web site.
Question: This is your second season with HRT Formula 1 Team and you know better than anyone how much the team has changed. It won't have been easy but what has this change been like?
Karthikeyan: The change has been a big one but also a progressive one. Now the entire team is under the same roof and the facilities are really fantastic; anyone who visits them will see the intentions of a very serious Formula 1 team. I give full marks to the management who put this together and I feel very fortunate to form a part of this team which is growing. We've still got a lot to do but we're making steady progress.
Q: We've completed just over half of the races, how would you assess this first part of the season?
Karthikeyan: I think that my race performance has been very strong, with my 15th place in Monaco standing out, but in qualifying I've been a bit weaker. Right now I'm about three tenths behind Pedro and that's something I have to improve in this second half, no doubt about it. The tyres have been quite difficult to get used to and Pedro has a lot of experience with Pirelli and McLaren. He's a very good driver who hardly makes mistakes and I must learn from him to improve.
Q: Both the team and the car are new, what has surprised you most about each one?
Karthikeyan: We knew the car would be pretty basic but I've been surprised by its reliability and I think it has potential to improve. And the team has surprised me even more because renewing almost 85% of the staff isn't easy and I think that we have a very good combination of people with a lot of experience in F1 and young people with a lot of hunger. But everyone is very professional and it's a real pleasure working with them.
Q: Your performance at your home Grand Prix in India was fantastic. Having enjoyed more continuity and confidence, what are your expectations for this year?
Karthikeyan: The car will have evolved a bit more come the Indian Grand Prix so I think I will put in a better performance than last year. It's obviously my favourite race and we will try to do our best there. My expectations are always high and we will aim to improve on last year's 17th position.
The Indian faces his second season as an official driver of the Spanish team and his experience has been vital in consolidating and evolving the F112. Having arrived at the midway point of the season, Karthikeyan assesses this start to the season alongside the Spanish team in an interview posted on the team's web site.
Question: This is your second season with HRT Formula 1 Team and you know better than anyone how much the team has changed. It won't have been easy but what has this change been like?
Karthikeyan: The change has been a big one but also a progressive one. Now the entire team is under the same roof and the facilities are really fantastic; anyone who visits them will see the intentions of a very serious Formula 1 team. I give full marks to the management who put this together and I feel very fortunate to form a part of this team which is growing. We've still got a lot to do but we're making steady progress.
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| Photo: HRT F1 Team |
Q: We've completed just over half of the races, how would you assess this first part of the season?
Karthikeyan: I think that my race performance has been very strong, with my 15th place in Monaco standing out, but in qualifying I've been a bit weaker. Right now I'm about three tenths behind Pedro and that's something I have to improve in this second half, no doubt about it. The tyres have been quite difficult to get used to and Pedro has a lot of experience with Pirelli and McLaren. He's a very good driver who hardly makes mistakes and I must learn from him to improve.
Q: Both the team and the car are new, what has surprised you most about each one?
Karthikeyan: We knew the car would be pretty basic but I've been surprised by its reliability and I think it has potential to improve. And the team has surprised me even more because renewing almost 85% of the staff isn't easy and I think that we have a very good combination of people with a lot of experience in F1 and young people with a lot of hunger. But everyone is very professional and it's a real pleasure working with them.
Q: Your performance at your home Grand Prix in India was fantastic. Having enjoyed more continuity and confidence, what are your expectations for this year?
Karthikeyan: The car will have evolved a bit more come the Indian Grand Prix so I think I will put in a better performance than last year. It's obviously my favourite race and we will try to do our best there. My expectations are always high and we will aim to improve on last year's 17th position.