planetf1.com

Many journos on twitter reporting today that the HRT HQ is completely closed. Apparently they had about 8 people there supporting the team while in Austin, now the only employees left are those in Brazil. No Chinese buyer. Sounds like we'll have 11 teams next year.

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Thank god

Cannot wait to see the mobile chicanes gone, they have ruined some many people's races (although I still have a lot of respect for PDLR)

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Support: Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Heikki Kovalainen
Respect: Alonso, Schumacher, Newey
Not so keen on: Vettel, Di Resta, whoever decides to red flag when it rains in F1

That's going to suck to be part of the team in Brazil.

They also have ZERO spare parts - so if anything at all breaks on the cars, thats it - game over. Wouldn't be at all surprised if they just go home.

Whilst I hate how poorly run the team were, and will be glad to see the back of them, you have to feel a bit sorry for the staff. Hopefully most of them will get jobs in another team.

I'm guessing the odds of anyone else applying for a grid slot for 2013 are near zero now.

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Roman Abramovich probably shut them down..

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Kind of sad to see them go to be honest. I hoped they'd improve eventually and it'd encourage more teams to join.

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I would not say that. I hope there would be more teams in F1.
F1 is in urgent need of cost cuts.

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Minds are like parachutes, they work best when they are open

Thank christ for Max's foolproof vetting of the finances of all new team proposals in late 2009. We could have ended up with a clown like Dave Richards back on the scene.

If there was a sarcasm font I would have used it in this here post.

I think its too late for anybody to try to fill their grid slot. Assemble a team and design a whole car in a few months? Not likely. Even if someone swooped in to buy HRT at the last second, they probably haven't done much in the way of designing the next car.

I don't think HRT has brought anything to the sport, so I am somewhat glad to see them go. Feel very sorry for the employees though. Given that they are in Spain, I'm not so sure they will quickly find employment with other teams, but hopefully they saw this coming and will be okay.

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I'd rather see fewer teams than see innovation stifled by further cost cutting. F1 SHOULD be expensive, that's what makes it great. Spending millions for tenths.

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I don't think you can really blame HRT or any of the new deals, they were sold something like a 40mill budget cap to run on by Max. Who then renegated on that part of the deal.

Not easy for a new team to find 2 or maybe 3 times that figure to compete.

For the three newbies the goal posts were moved somewhat after signing up.

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

But I think the main issue was that, although there were many teams competing for those three/four positions, it was somewhat surprising to a lot at the time - myself included - to discover which out of all the available proposals Max went for. Campos/HRT was one of those surprises.

I have a friend who joined HRT in October. Left a good job, turned down one with another F1 team, sold his flat, bought a new place in Madrid and now made redundant, all in less than a month. Criminal of them to do that to him really.

Will having one less team mean a change of qualifying format?

It's all about quality not quantity and for the last three seasons we have in effect had an A and B class in Formula One apart from a few times that Hekki has got the Lotus/Caterham into Q2.

Although it's not really their fault as earlier mentioned they signed up under the premise that here would be a budget cap, which never happened.

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Support: Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Heikki Kovalainen
Respect: Alonso, Schumacher, Newey
Not so keen on: Vettel, Di Resta, whoever decides to red flag when it rains in F1

Narian should buy the team and call it CucumberF1..hire Vitlay Petrov to be second driver and specialise in ruining championship contenders days.

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Jenson Button
Kimi Raikkonen
Romain Grosjean
Nico Hulkenburg

Ferrari should buy them for the last race and use them to block Vettel.

Not really, HRT had the provisions to a chassis to fit the rules. Prodrive wanted to use old McLaren stuff.

Granted Prodrive would have probably have had a better effort BUT look at the B team nonsense we get over TR and Sauber. Never mind chassis suppliers B teams changing the regs to allow it would have had implications.

Imagine TR taking points off Alonso simply because they are running a RB7.5 due to rule changes or indeed if they were allowed to chassis share either EBD rules and the new noses maybe wouldn't have been able to be changed or the customers would be in this years cars imagine RBR having that much control over 4 top cars?

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

Yeah, it'll probably be bottom 6 don't get through. In pre-2010 I think it was bottom 5 don't get through.

Hang on, does this give Team US-GP another shot LOL!!!!!!!!

If offered a job by another F1 team than HRT, why not take it? Sorry to hear that though.

Also sad news about HRT, because they've been doing well for being a team with such a low budget. Sadly, teams with such a low budget won't really cut it in F1.
Better start doing something before F1 turns into WRC really. Caterham and Marussia look stable, as does Toro Rosso, but who knows about the future?

I think having HRT gone will make Marussia and Caterham push even harder to not be last

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This is a tragedy to F1, I say this as HRT are a new team and this might mean new teams who wish to enter might not even bother.
Does anyone else feel if this happened in the 70's / 80's a championship winning team might have at least back handed the small teams some parts or even given them some advice rather than just put the small guys down?
Its a shame when ultra competitiveness takes over a sport which used to have such a good in it together spirit. For those that race/watch the lower divisions I am sure at some point a team has helped another team to go racing.
Does anyone else wish for those days back again rather than just calling others cucumbers?

Yep, I'm up for this, but I think a pairing with Piquet Jr would be more interesting. They could call it RevengeRacing - you criticise us, we'll take you out, no crashes not considered.

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"We can not drive slower, just to make the races more exciting." Alain Prost

It's never good to lose a team from the grid but one really did wonder what the point of HRT was. They don't have the infrastructure, finance or personell to even get close to the established teams. They never featured on TV coverage at all unless they were either crashing or holding up a more interesting car whilst being lapped.

Good luck to their employees in finding a job with another team. Sadly I think many of them ended up at HRT because they can't get a job at a better team.

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I remember when this website was all fields.

Is this not the first year they are looking at being last?

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

I know it's a joke, but if they did that I'd love it. Not cause I want to see Alonso win over Vettel, but just for the sheer audacity of it all.


It is kinda sad. I like Super Pedro, and I kinda liked HRTs cheap and cheerful racing version of F1. Okay, they were slow even by the "new" teams standards, but it'll be a little sad without them. I'd hoped they would get bought. Besides, they hung on longer than any of us expected didn't they? I was sure they'd not be back in 2011, then again in 2012.

Good. We dont need any new teams who can't afford to make a satisfactory campaign. I hope this DOES scare off anyone who thinks they can make a go of it with an inadequate budget.

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It is worth reminding folk that even the big teams came from lowly beginnings.
One should also remember that the lower teams also provide driving oportunities for some new drivers who perhaps wouldn't get an F1 chance otherwise.

And as for the blocking/mobile chicane attitude - I think thats a bit rich considering the sh*t processional races (hardly racing IMHO) of past years! Indeed, you could well argue that some of the slower teams have been the ones providing at least some race entertainment!
Instead of knocking the smaller teams - they really should be encouraged - even by the bigger teams - FFS, HRT might have the 'next' 'Newey genius' amongst their ranks - you never know! In the same way as drivers cut their teeth on lower ranked cars, I'm sure the top designers/engineers were once involved with much smaller fry.........
just trying to put some realism in here folks.........

They had all the money to build these fancy new headquarters but no money to continue racing ?

Given how piss poor their management was, they probably spent all the cash they had on the HQ (which they rent - they dont own) and left nothing for everything else.

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The difference here is that HRT really have shown zero progress at all, and have frittered money away on the wrong thing. The move to Madrid for example was completely unnecessary and clearly a very expensive mistake.

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But they did have the money for the deal they signed up to. that was/is the problem. The new teams signed up to a deal that included the budget cap.

And as far as I am aware once they signed failing to turn up when offered the spot meant paying a fine.

so it was either have a crack and hope it pans out or all the money on Prep and the FIA fine would be money pissed down the pan.

As for the move and facilities I think that was forced upon them from what I remember that was actually cheaper than keep paying Colin Kolles for his services that included the facilities.

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Disclaimer: The above post maybe tongue in cheek.

"I thought I'd get your theories, mock them, then embrace my own. The usual."

I won't be sad to see the end of HRT. As I've always preferred Marussia and Caterham as it felt to me at least they are trying.

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Drivers I like:
Raikkonen
Grosjean
Perez
Vettel

Teams I like:
Lotus
Merc
RBR
Marussia

I'm not talking about the management issues that any teams have (including Macca!) just making the point that in the same way as we have feeder series for F1 - so I'm sure the lower teams act as feeders for the bigger teams. BTW Does anyone know of any folk 'headhunted' from the lower teams?

Did that ever happen?
What I remember from the 80's was small teams coming and go all the time, battling each other to be on the grid. In 1989 we had prequalifying, where small teams were battling to even be able to take part in the qualifying. Aguri Suzuki failed to prequalify even a single time. We had 47 drivers in that season - there weren't enough good teams to give parts to the lesser teams

My view on F1 and yours are very different, I feel F1 should be for everyone not just the Elite few, I feel if things keep trending like this we might end up like MOTOGP! Or even worse with 6 cars on the grid what an exciting prospect that is.
We lost Honda,BMW &Toyota. Rumours are Audi don't want anything to do with F1 so HRT were supposed to be the glimmer of light for new teams. As Audi and he rest have figured out to catch RedBull Ferrari and Mclaren you will need a bottomless budget over the course of 5 years and that is not going to happen.
Next year if Mercedes do not come up to scratch as a team they might leave as well, so this is why I say HRT is a tragedy as it might be the sounding of the bell of things to come, especially in the economic climate we live in.

Good ideas. They would be the mercenaries for hire in F1. Maybe they could get a few stingers underneath Narian's car for Brazil.

Whats going Gherkin boy?

Seriously. Thank goodness they're going. At least Caterham and Marrusia look like a decent team. HRT, well, what's there left to say.

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Forza Fernando !