After a frenetic start to the season, there’s no time to take a breather as the Formula 1 World Championship quickly moves on to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Grand Prix. HRT Formula 1 Team is looking to the leave behind the disappointment of not taking part in the race in Australia, but is confident that the teamwork will help us to continue progressing in the second round of the championship. The team is bonding and is working on solving the issues that the young car had in its first taste of the action in Melbourne.
The Sepang International Circuit will be hosting the 14th Malaysian Grand Prix in Formula 1 history. This track, designed by Hermann Tilke, is considered to be one of the most technical circuits on the calendar. It is very demanding for car and driver, with various long high-speed corners and conditions that affect the cooling of the car. Another factor worth keeping in mind in Malaysia is the weather, which can vary dramatically, passing from intense heat to heavy downpours in a matter of seconds.
Pirelli have elected their medium and hard tyres for this Grand Prix.
Pedro de la Rosa: "Our two main priorities for Malaysia are to have DRS and improve the power steering in this short time that we have whilst being away from Europe. In Australia we were only able to complete 7 timed laps so I need get more track time, get to know the car better and improve the set-up. If we can achieve this then we could have a good Grand Prix. Sepang is probably the toughest track of the year both for car and driver. Mechanically it’s very demanding because besides there being a lot of consecutive high-speed corners it is very hot and humid. Cooling is key for the car as is hydration for the driver”.
Narain Karthikeyan: "It wasn’t an easy first weekend for us in Melbourne but the team is working hard and we hope to complete the maximum amount of kilometres with the new car so that we can have it in prime conditions for qualifying and the race. The team is working on solving the reliability issues that we encountered, so I’m confident that things will go better in Malaysia. Sepang is a circuit that I like a lot and a place where I have raced numerous times. This was the only Grand Prix out of the eight that I took part in last year that I didn’t finish, so this year I’m looking to firstly qualify and then finish the race, that is the main objective”.
Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: "Winter has been a period of hard work where we have achieved many things in a short period of time. But this is Formula 1 and what counts in the end are results so, although for us it was important to make it to Australia and run from the first day, to have made it so far and not quite make it didn’t please anyone. Anyways, the F112 is a young car with potential and the team is also new and promising. They both need running time and adaptation, but we are aware that the Championship doesn’t stop and there is no time to lose. That is why we will continue to work to the maximum as we have done until now and I’m confident that in Malaysia we will continue to progress and take that extra step to improve”.