After a brief stop in Canada the Formula 1 World Championship returns to the old continent for the European Grand Prix. This will be the second and final time that HRT Formula 1 Team races in front of its home crowd this season.
The team showed clear signs of improvement throughout the entire weekend in Montreal but wasn’t able to convert these sensations into a good result in the Grand Prix as brake issues on both cars forced the drivers to retire. There’s no better to place to try and put things right than at home with the backing of the Spanish fans providing the team with that extra push.
Valencia is a street circuit made up of long straights and slow corners. Overtaking is a difficult challenge and there isn’t much grip, especially towards the beginning of the weekend. The high temperatures are also a factor worth keeping in mind and Pirelli have elected their medium and soft tyres for this Grand Prix.
Pedro de la Rosa: "Just like in Barcelona, I’m really looking forward to racing in front of our home fans in Valencia. At the Valencia Street Circuit we will encounter high air and track temperatures so the brakes will be put through their paces once again, but we’re confident we can make the necessary modifications to overcome the problems we experienced in Canada. Valencia has long straights but overtaking isn’t easy and it is a high-downforce track. I think we can do quite well here, although it’s not as favourable to our car as Canada, because there are a lot of braking areas and slow corners which are good for us. We’re looking forward to putting in a good performance in front of our fans and we want to continue with our progress from the last few races, where we’ve been at a good standard, but here we want to confirm this improvement in the race”.
Narain Karthikeyan: "Valencia will be our third street circuit in a row, and our team’s second home race. It is our second visit to Spain in just about five weeks but the circuit is as different as it could be compared to Barcelona. It shares some characteristics with Montreal and Monte Carlo, like emphasis on low-speed traction so I expect our car to do well here. Apart from that, it is a beautiful place and weather is pretty hot, just like India, but the track itself isn’t a huge challenge. Yes the walls are close but the adrenaline factor isn’t close to Monaco or even Montreal. But on the back of the promise we showed in Canada, I’m looking forward to the race and hopefully we’ll have a chance to build on it this time”.
Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: "We’re looking forward to racing in Valencia, as it will be the second time we do so at home this season. In Canada we were quick and performed well but were unable to finish the race. In Valencia we want to confirm this progress and achieve a good result, plus doing so in front of the Spanish public is even more special. I think that the characteristics of this circuit adapt well to our car and I hope we have good reliability and finish the race with a positive result”.
Source: HRT Formula 1 Team
