The HRT trucks arrived with subtle changes in the team’s logo visible: ‘Hispania Racing’ swapped for ‘HRT’.
Both drivers put up a fight against the Virgin cars but a technical failure robbed Vitantonio Liuzzi of a finish.
Daniel Ricciardo showed improved pace at the Nurburgring, leading Jerome D’Ambrosio for a chunk of the race.
| Daniel Ricciardo | Vitantonio Liuzzi | |
| Qualifying position | 22 | 23 |
| Qualifying time comparison (Q1) | 1’37.036 (+0.025) | 1’37.011 |
| Race position | 19 | |
| Laps | 57/60 | 37/60 |
| Pit stops | 2 | 1 |
HRT drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 115.155 | 105.821 | 103.016 | 102.824 | 102.573 | 102.534 | 102.344 | 102.603 | 103.192 | 102.931 | 102.728 | 102.652 | 102.059 | 102.361 | 102.152 | 102.494 | 102.144 | 102.227 | 102.341 | 102.734 | 104.896 | 120.724 | 101.453 | 104.247 | 101.153 | 102.683 | 102.637 | 101.236 | 100.998 | 100.625 | 103.635 | 100.892 | 103.443 | 101.605 | 102.454 | 102.469 | 101.064 | 100.805 | 103.051 | 102.586 | 104.837 | 102.452 | 101.202 | 109.908 | 102.79 | 104.3 | 102.54 | 102.038 | 105.766 | 128.902 | 101.621 | 102.164 | 103.233 | 102.902 | 102.836 | 100.663 | 100.489 | |||
| Vitantonio Liuzzi | 114.147 | 103.969 | 103.021 | 103.502 | 102.415 | 102.361 | 102.084 | 102.145 | 102.738 | 102.656 | 102.763 | 102.338 | 102.884 | 102.588 | 102.269 | 102.405 | 103.348 | 102.427 | 102.412 | 104.434 | 121.014 | 100.85 | 100.902 | 100.755 | 100.718 | 102.089 | 101.004 | 100.683 | 101.653 | 102.265 | 100.739 | 100.806 | 100.991 | 101.051 | 102.7 | 101.395 | 108.559 |
Daniel Ricciardo
Ricciardo showed encouraging signs of progress in qualifying, lapping just 0.025s slower than his team mate.
His race pace also looked stronger than it did at Silverstone – when Liuzzi retired Ricciardo was 16 seconds behind (he was 88 seconds behind at the flag at Silverstone).
Though unseen by the cameras, Ricciardo overtook Jerome d’Ambrosio on lap 12 as the pair were passed by Sergio Perez.
Despite his best lap being seven-tenths of a second slower than D’Ambrosio’s, Ricciardo kept the Virgin behind through their first pit stops until lap 40, when D’Ambrosio claimed the place back.
Ricciardo finished 19th, ahead of Karun Chandhok, but said afterwards he aimed to do better: “If I can make the same step from Silverstone for Hungary then it’s going to look more promising.”
Daniel Ricciardo 2011 form guide
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Liuzzi was given a penalty for a gearbox change after qualifying.
He started the race well and was only a couple of seconds behind Timo Glock when his car failed: “A few laps into the race we started to suffer some problems with the brake balance and we lost quite a bit of pace.
“After the pit stop, with the tyre change, we recovered our strong pace until an unfortunate electronic issue forced us to retire.”
Vitantonio Liuzzi 2011 form guide
Narain Karthikeyan
Drove Liuzzi’s car in first practice.
2011 German Grand Prix
Image © Motioncompany
Marco
25th July 2011, 9:03
Not to forget Liuzzi was over 2 tenths slower in qualifying compared to 3rd free practice, which is not mentioned here… So he didn t extract the maximum out of the car, probably because the gearbox change, which demoted him 5 places down the grid… I think it will be more difficult for Ricciardo at Hungaroring, as it is a different track, demanding, and it will really test his physical condition and the tyre managing abilities… I expect the temperatures will be at least 25 degrees (air) and over 30 degrees (asphalt), so a real difference compared to Nurbrugring…
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th July 2011, 9:25
If it did cause Liuzzi a problem, he didn’t see fit to mention it.
Marco
25th July 2011, 10:14
But the time was definitely slower: ;)
1:36,804 (FP3)
1:37,011 (quali)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th July 2011, 10:20
I’m not disputing that.
Lord Ha Ha
25th July 2011, 10:13
Daniel did fine, good progress. The other drivers rate Liuzzi so its as tough test.
BasCB (@bascb)
25th July 2011, 10:21
I think HRT are starting to look like a race team. Having HRT on the sidepods, makes me hope they found the “You” being searched for before :-)
Liuzzi is driving solidly, and Ricciardo is showing the appropriate good promise you would want in a rookie.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
27th July 2011, 22:17
They have made so much progress. A great little team. I kinda missed the “This could be you” livery put hopefully it’s absence points towards something good!
Funkyf1 (@funkyf1)
25th July 2011, 11:07
Good progress, I reckon he should get a shot at Trulli’s seat
smifaye (@)
25th July 2011, 12:02
Well done Daniel
Fixy (@)
25th July 2011, 17:38
Keith, the picture is of Tonio not Daniel ;)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th July 2011, 17:49
Changed it, thanks.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
26th July 2011, 2:06
Ricciardo kept all the promise that he need to keep.
FormulaVee#7 (@)
26th July 2011, 8:36
Well done Daniel! All he needs is time in the seat and he’ll get quicker and quicker. I wonder how the HRT compares to his Renault World Series car?
daykind
26th July 2011, 16:31
Much better from Ricciardo. If he keeps improving, thern surely a race seat permanently beckons for 2012.
bosyber
26th July 2011, 19:21
Good work for this team. Still something to go on reliability, but the pace is getting there and both drivers are doing a solid job. Nice to see them growing into a real bona-fide team.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
27th July 2011, 22:18
Another solid effort from Ricciardo. Consistency and just to be able to finish respectfully behind your team mate is under-rated.