Spanish GP2 driver Dani Clos will be HRT’s official test driver for the 2012 season, the team has announced.
The 23-year-old will participate in “several” Friday practice sessions, according to the team.
Clos, who drove for HRT in the young drivers’ test in November, said: “I’m very proud to be a part of HRT Formula 1 Team. It is a great step in my career, something that I have dreamt of all my life and, finally, my dream is starting to come true.
“I’m very impressed with the job the team is doing; they’re achieving fantastic things in a short space of time. The team has changed a lot since we met in the Abu Dhabi tests and I think it’s a great opportunity and an honor to form a part of this new team.
“What they’re achieving is very important for motorsport in our country and has a lot of potential. Also, being alongside Pedro de la Rosa is very important for me, since he and [Narain] Karthikeyan can positively contribute to me becoming a better driver.
“I want to thank Saul Ruiz de Marcos and Luis Perez-Sala for the trust they’ve shown in me from the start and, above all, I would like to thank the people who have always been by my side, such as Leonardo Soldevila and my father.
“For me a new chapter is beginning, one where hard work and dedication are going to be my priorities; I’m going to give it my all so that this phase is as successful as it can possibly be for the team, my team mates and myself”.
2012 F1 season
- Which was F1’s best down-to-the-wire title fight?
- Hulkenberg’s missed win should have been “high point” for Force India
- Kubica reveals he almost withdrew from fateful 2011 rally – and had 2012 Ferrari F1 deal
- 2012 F1 season Blu-Ray “Victorious Vettel” reviewed
- 2012 F1 season DVD “Victorious Vettel” reviewed
- New team radio reveals Vettel’s penalty protests
- The complete F1 Fanatic 2012 season review
- What F1 Fanatics thought of 2012: The year in polls
- The drivers and cars of 2012
- F1 Fanatic’s 50 article highlights of 2012
Browse all 2012 F1 season articles
Image © Motioncompany
bobo
13th February 2012, 9:33
It really feels as though HRT are taking a far more coherent approach than they have up to this point.
MagillaGorilla
13th February 2012, 9:53
I’m glad others are starting to see that.
peru-kowalsky
13th February 2012, 19:50
agree as well. Even if the easiest thing it’s to go with the flow and make fun of them. They are getting better all the time in a very hard situation.
dennis (@dennis)
13th February 2012, 10:23
It all certainly ‘sounds’ pretty decent so far. However, we have yet to see anything apart from their appeareance at the first test (even though only with the old car).
davey (@djdaveyp87)
13th February 2012, 12:59
They’ve done more than Marussia so far this season. Don’t forget, even if they don’t have their 2012 car ready, they probably could modify their 2011 machine to race.
dennis (@dennis)
13th February 2012, 13:26
It’s not really a huge achievement to do more than Marussia.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
13th February 2012, 13:49
@dennis But they show willing, which doesn’t get you points, but at least earns you more respect.
dennis (@dennis)
13th February 2012, 14:23
@AndrewTanner
That is true. As I said, it all sounds pretty decent. Let’s just hope it turns out a few nice results as well.
GeeMac (@geemac)
13th February 2012, 11:23
I’ve got a real soft spot for HRT. It has been years since we have had a team that seems to be desperate to hang on to it’s place on the grid, to hang on to it’s right to compete. In the current F1 world where major motor manufacturers come and go on the whim of their boards, it is truly refreshing.
To get to your post, they do seem to finally be going about things the right way. They’ve finally managed to get everyone under one roof and they’ve managed to bag a solid driver in PDLR. His experience in top level F1 car development will no doubt help push the team forward. I know their new car didn’t fail the crash tests by much, but I really wish they had. I liked the string of positive stories that were coming out of the team and it seemed like everyone was starting to get off their backs at last.
bobo
13th February 2012, 19:41
I really agree with the sentiment, let’s see what happens.
BasCB (@bascb)
13th February 2012, 9:51
Clos bringing the funding for Pedro’s drive then! Curious to see if he will actually have a car to drive or be stuck with track time meaning doing the Thursday track walk :-)
peru-kowalsky
13th February 2012, 19:51
the money is for luizzi.
BasCB (@bascb)
14th February 2012, 8:33
Ah, yes, to pay off his contract!
dennis (@dennis)
13th February 2012, 10:15
Whenever I read of young drivers taking over cockpits of others on friday practice sessions, I simply wish they would bring back the third car on friday.
Or allow mid-season testing, but only by drivers who never attended an F1 race before.
Mike (@mike)
13th February 2012, 10:29
Third cars on friday for drivers who have less than x miles would be great.
dennis (@dennis)
13th February 2012, 10:34
@Mike
Yes, something along the lines. That’s how Vettel started out in 2006. It would be great for young drivers to get some track time, compare their laps to actual drivers, gain some confidence and most crucially, they won’t scrap the car of a driver who himself could need some time behind the wheel to prepare for the race.
Mike (@mike)
13th February 2012, 11:17
The problem with that, is if you don’t let teams use the third car should one of there main cars break before the race, isn’t it just a waste of resources?
GeeMac (@geemac)
13th February 2012, 11:27
I don’t think so, the teams still get a benefit from being able to gather data from 3 cars during free practice.
Funkyf1 (@funkyf1)
13th February 2012, 11:49
If teams were allowed a third car, it would be considered a test vehicle. Although I am all for it, as the young guns need the chance to experience F1 tracks and cars, the teams would exploit the opportunity, who wouldn’t? In hindsight, I would not be very comfortable if I was a driver expected to be competitive on the weekend and someone else drove my car on Friday, regardless of whether or not they smashed it.
dpkf1
13th February 2012, 11:51
HRT is on the right track mow.
PDLR and NK may not be the fastest out there but they are certainly no
slow pokes either.
Bringing in Clos will make PDLR and NK be cautious over their seats and deliver good laptimes.
Way2Go HRT!!!!
OOliver
13th February 2012, 12:05
The engine rules have all but eliminated friday drivers. If you run a driver on friday to develop his skills, 5 or 15 laps is just not worth it. He likely also wont contribute much to race preparation despite using up the life of the engines.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th February 2012, 12:36
Begs the question, why do they do it then?
After all, Force India have promoted their last two Friday drivers to their race team.
BasCB (@bascb)
13th February 2012, 12:51
I don’t think its really that worthless to teams. First of all, there’s a lot of work where its no that important which driver is in the car, especially at the start of on track action on the fridays. And at times it might even help a team to get the opinion of a third driver to something.
Not to mention the fact that its a good way to keep the regular drivers on their toes and get evaluate a new driver as well as getting him experience ahead of possibly running them later as a race driver, as Keith writes.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
13th February 2012, 13:57
Well said, @BasCB
It’s a formula which has worked pretty well for the past 2 or 3 years, especially in Force India like Keith said.
MahavirShah (@mahavirshah)
13th February 2012, 12:49
As I have said before, I really hope that this season HRT can compete. While they have finished above Marussia up until now, I have never been convinced. All I wish for them this year is that for 1) They stick with the same 2 drivers throughout. 2) Beat Marussia on merit and 3) Not being so very very off the pace from the race leaders pace. What I see so far is promising in regards that the preparation does not appear to be in shambles.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
13th February 2012, 13:54
@mahavirshah I hope so for the first two points. They’re putting themselves on a pedestal with getting only one pay driver in Karthikeyan. Point 3 I think will be a little more difficult for them. Caterham now have KERS and Marussia have ditched their pure-CFD approach so they will have a tough (but no doubt competitive) season.
MahavirShah (@mahavirshah)
13th February 2012, 15:07
I think so as well. Its just that as a new team over the past two years a lot of people have said that they do not belong in F1 and that they are a joke. I do not support the team but I feel that, given the circumstances that they have had to fight through, the fact that they are still here and seem committed to F1 for 2012 at least, makes me want to wish them the good luck. A team is going to finish on pole and a team is going to finish 24. The team does not deserve so much flak and that is why I wished for those 3 specific points.
junior (@junior)
13th February 2012, 13:30
I think its great for a young driver like this to get practice time on a Friday, you can almost guarentee that if he is close to PDLR or NK then he will get a race seat next year.
However i hope Marussia do beat these guys this year as they have been hard done by in the last two seasons where Marussia have out performed all year but get beaten on best final placing
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
13th February 2012, 13:54
Good news for Dani and good news for the team to have other Spanish blood in their outfit.
Fixy (@)
13th February 2012, 14:42
It’s certainly a good thing. HRT now have two experienced drivers and a young third driver to evaluate. Certainly Pedro and Narain aren’t the best two drivers around, and Clos didn’t exactly shine in GP2, but the direction HRT is going in is the correct one to improve.
Shimks (@shimks)
14th February 2012, 7:15
With another Spaniard, Dani Clos, joining the predominantly Spanish team, I wonder if the 2012 season is going to be a very lonely experience for Narain Karthikeyan. I’m imagining all these techies and managers milling around him, talking Spanish, and only switching to English when addressing him. I lived in Spain for 11 years and I really think it might be like this.
Shimks (@shimks)
14th February 2012, 7:24
Saying that, I think the fact that HRT is a Spanish team will give the team members that little bit of extra motivation to show the world that Fernando Alonso is not the only exciting thing in F1.
PT (@pt)
16th February 2012, 9:15
I wonder whether Narain will ever spend his entire season with HRT or make way for Dani Clos sometime later. The excitement that Clos is expressing over getting a mere reserve driver role at a back of the grid team seems to suggest that.
I hope Narain gets a full season though. It depends on how he performs.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
16th February 2012, 9:23
I’d say it’s a safe bet he’ll be driving in India.