HRT have launched their 2012 F1 car, the F112, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.
Narain Karthikeyan was at the wheel for the car’s first laps.
HRT did not manage to have the car pass its crash tests in time to be able to participate in pre-season testing, which concluded at the circuit on Sunday.
HRT F112 pictures
Here are the first pictures of the HRT F112:
2012 F1 cars
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Image © HRT
Andy Redden (@andyredden-on-f1)
5th March 2012, 19:02
Liuzzi still at the team?
Fixy (@)
5th March 2012, 19:05
Ready to replace Karthikeyan. HRT have been stupid to replace Tonio, but wise at the same time to keep him. If the car happens to be a championship contender, they’ll immediately put him in the car to score wins and wins, something which neither Pedro or Narain could do.
:P
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
5th March 2012, 19:10
They have been clever, in my view. De la Rosa is a better driver (in my view) and has LOADS of experience at McLaren as tester. He can push the team foward better than Liuzzi.
It’d have been better if Liuzzi was in the second car, but they need the money so Karthikeyan is there. It’s a good compromise…
BasCB (@bascb)
5th March 2012, 20:32
That, and the fact Liuzzi probably did not have anything better to do this season
lukaskhan (@lukaskhan)
5th March 2012, 22:35
to the point where he just turned up anyway.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
5th March 2012, 23:46
@BasCB Pretty much. Had a better offer come along he certainly wouldn’t be at HRT.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
6th March 2012, 9:28
@BasCB @lukaskhan @AndrewTanner Liuzzi isnt even in the team overalls….looks like they just pulled him from a roadside cafe and brought him along
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
6th March 2012, 13:01
@malleshmagdum They probably can’t afford them.
Leggacy
5th March 2012, 22:00
Championship contender? Lol that’s a good one.
davey (@djdaveyp87)
5th March 2012, 19:02
I like it, the colour anyway. I hope they are at least within 107% regularly this season, my one worry is they may have difficulty keeping up again. I have a real soft spot for this team for some reason.
JCost (@jcost)
5th March 2012, 20:21
Yes, I really dig that livery.
me
7th March 2012, 0:09
they will beat marussia again and that will make it 3 times in a row and that with half of their(marussia) budget, and for a weird reason i want them to succeed too
lukaskhan (@lukaskhan)
7th March 2012, 0:19
@me your not the only one buddy. I got a warm feeling when they came 11th last year, again, in front of (then) Virgin. And that they could have done better then (the then) Lotus team if it wasn’t for one lucky result.
I dislike that people write them off, yes, they’re completely off the pace, but they are an absolute, brand, spanking new team. They’ve had ownership issues, they’ve had major budget issues, but they are still there and they still haven’t come plum last – which is a major feat given that they bring no upgrades at all.
S.J.M (@sjm)
5th March 2012, 19:06
Nice Livery on an otherwise empty car. Didnt they have more sponsors last yet? or was it just more was happening on 2011s livery
Like the Marussia, its a tad dissapointing in that it looks more GP2 then F1. I know they have less money and having a group of people running them change, but this is their 3rd car now and Id like to think they [both] could have designed something better. Still, Ill try hold my judgement till Melbourne, but as I said on the Marussia one, I fear both will fall foul to the 107% rule.
Dom (@3dom)
5th March 2012, 19:11
Yeah like the livery. It looks far more “elegant” than the previous car in both the livery and the shape.
S.J.M (@sjm)
5th March 2012, 19:18
It does look like it flows better, the rear is tidyier and the sidepods are better managed. But as I said, it doesnt inspire confidence in getting anything except trying not to finish last to the Marussia’s. I dont know, maybe both will fluke a good finish in a race and I imagine a Wet race will be either teams preference for such.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
6th March 2012, 9:33
@S.J.M hope either Marussia or HRT win a wet Monaco GP….Would be fun to watch
JCost (@jcost)
5th March 2012, 20:45
BBVA is prime sponsor on NBA. Santander “pays” Ferrari’s bills, Movistar is spending too much money on Moto GP… poor guys, they can’t even attract big Spanish companies…
Jonathan189 (@jonathan189)
5th March 2012, 21:29
At least they are still being sponsored by hormone replacement therapy.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
6th March 2012, 9:35
they are badly in need of a Hormone Replacement Therapy! Or should i say “need more money”
lukaskhan (@lukaskhan)
5th March 2012, 22:36
They had things in the sponsor spaces such as “Cool Spot” and “This could be you”
realracer (@realracer)
5th March 2012, 19:09
Actually a really nice car and livery well done.
Lin1876 (@lin1876)
5th March 2012, 19:09
It’s actually a really nice looking car in my view, and it looks like a step forwards from last year’s car. Hope they have a good year, like @djdaveyp85 I have a soft spot for this team. They remind me of the racers’ spirit more than any other team on the grid. I like that.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
6th March 2012, 9:36
@Lin1876 yep, i didnt expect this team would last….They are still in F1, which is great
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
5th March 2012, 19:11
Reminds me of the first Force India, with the gold and white colour scheme.
Gotta say I like it! even if it looks as basic as a cereal box.
Fixy (@)
5th March 2012, 19:13
I really hated the livery of the VJM01, but I love this one.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th March 2012, 20:36
I am with you, I thought of that FI livery as well @fer-no65, although as @fixy writes, this one looks a lot better, even if it feels a tad lower level series livery to me.
ScuderiaVincero (@scuderiavincero)
5th March 2012, 22:39
Hah! I thought the same! Pity it’ll be spending its time at the back of the grid though, because this car is gorgeous!
dennis (@dennis)
6th March 2012, 8:13
@fer-no65
That’s exactly what I thought when I noticed the front wing flaps. “Now that’s basic looking.”
Especially when you compare it to the hugely detailed wings of Red Bull and McLaren, where every kink and turn has a function.
OG Kush (@ogkush7)
5th March 2012, 19:14
I hope they have better luck this year. The livery is nice.
Its interesting that Liuzzi is in the picture while Clos is the test driver.
Maybe since they are stuck with him, they might as well put him to work. They could throw him in for Monza and round up some one off sponsors…
kosmic164 (@kosmic164)
5th March 2012, 21:43
or round up half the field in a first corner crash like last year :)
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
6th March 2012, 9:38
@kosmic164 nice one mate
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
5th March 2012, 19:15
I have to say that I really like that livery, it’s far better than the previous two iterations.
I’m not sure if it’s a stepped-nose though, because the end of the nose slopes down, rather than it being flat, like the other 2012 cars.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii)
5th March 2012, 19:24
It’s not a step-nose, probably emulating McLaren’s idea of having a low chassis, which aids the suspension. Therefore the step nose won’t be required
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
5th March 2012, 19:25
Didn’t think it was :P. I just saw a lot of people saying that they did, but it really didn’t look like it to me. Thanks :)
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii)
5th March 2012, 19:26
My mistake, having a second look at the car. It is.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
5th March 2012, 19:34
I still don’t think it is @YoungerHamii I think it’s just the outer side of the nose which raises and makes it look like it might be a step-nose.
Of course, I could be wrong, but the front of the nose looks like it slopes down more than most other 2012 cars for it to be a step-nose.
sozavele (@formula-1)
5th March 2012, 21:06
It is sloped mainly but has a very small step if you look very very hard.
SempreGilles (@sempregilles)
5th March 2012, 19:25
Very nice livery they got. I only wish they had some more sponsors, it looks so blank now.
And let’s hope it’s fast (enough) out of the box, so they can qualify in Melbourne and maybe beat Marussia on speed this year.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
5th March 2012, 19:31
It looks blank at the moment, but Brawn GP had it a lot worse, and their car looked beautiful. It does remind me a little of the Brawn, but the success rate will obviously be significantly lower ;)
Nathhu
7th March 2012, 22:35
Brawn success rate sky rocketed only because, Mosley wanted to put on a David vs Goliath show, to give confidence to people applying for 2010 entries that 40M spending underdogs can hope for miracles in F1.
And so illegal double diffusers were deemed legal.
Mosley simply forgot to mention the small detail about the massive resources Honda Bosses from Japan had sunk in the project and had to pay before they parted ( to keep Regulators, labor departments in UK happy).
Another trivial matter overlooked was the idea was originally of a Super Aguri engineer and was planned to go on Aguri Car before Nick Fry mysteriously pulled plug on the Super Aguri project, in spite of Super Aguri boss lining up sponsor after sponsor to be vetted by Nick on behalf of Honda Bosses.
S.J.M (@sjm)
5th March 2012, 19:33
Yeah, as Ive just realised that it doesnt have the “This is a cool spot” notes placed on it which made the 2011 car look less empty.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th March 2012, 20:37
In hindsight it really highlights the brilliance of that livery, doesn’t it?
S.J.M (@sjm)
5th March 2012, 21:04
@bascb the 2011 livery was arguably the best part of the entire team, let alone the car. Money well spent indeed and to think they still managed the 11th place without putting said money into its (if it exists) R&D dept
BasCB (@bascb)
5th March 2012, 21:17
Fully agree with that @sjm, their livery last year was a great idea.
David B
5th March 2012, 19:26
Like a lot the livery.
But where are the sponsors? Not romantic, I know, but without money HRT has a short life ahead. Hope I’m wrong…
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
5th March 2012, 19:35
it has more sponsors than last year’s car, though. They’ve been closing on some deals recently.
David B
5th March 2012, 19:28
It seems in Italy we think the same thing at the same time! :-D
sam3110 (@sam3110)
5th March 2012, 19:28
Ummm, is that a crack in the end of the sidepod?
Sushi Meerkat (@sushi-meerkat)
5th March 2012, 19:42
that’s the cool
ing ductspotThe Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
5th March 2012, 19:56
lol good one
MahavirShah (@mahavirshah)
5th March 2012, 19:28
I like this car both livery and outward appearances. The design seems similar (in some sense) to most of the other teams. I think the car is definitely going to be a step up from last year. Can Melbourne get here any faster :) !!!
barkun (@barkun)
5th March 2012, 19:36
nice livery … and decent looking car…. hope they can get some results and a few more sponsors too :)
Andy
5th March 2012, 19:50
Why would they want such a small bump in the nose? Surely the little advantage they got out of the very slightly higher nose is offset by the bump which disattach the airflow over the nose. Either they should have gone with a complete rise in chassis and flat nose like most team, or bumpless nose, something they need to do next year anyway.
vjanik
6th March 2012, 10:07
airflow under the nose is much more important than the air flowing above it in terms of creating downforce. otherwise why would the smartest engineers in motorsport go with such a concept? what makes you think you understand it better than they do?
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
5th March 2012, 20:04
If looks equals speed, then we’re seeing a championship runner-up. Unfortunately it doesn’t, so this in my opinion very pretty car will probably have much tv coverage… while being lapped multiple times. Still, I love it.
The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
5th March 2012, 20:06
Looks ok (would have been better with bright red and yellow) but whats with the **** yellow legs???
Chris (@mayhem74)
5th March 2012, 20:21
say hello to the new car that will be taking out half the field @ turn one in every GP.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
5th March 2012, 23:57
@mayhem74 I doubt it! They have two pretty experienced drivers on the grid. No Liuzzi to spear the field.
McLarenFanJamm (@mclarenfanjamm)
5th March 2012, 20:26
In short, I’m not keen. But well done to them for getting the car on track. To be fair to them, they’re showing a lot of grit and determination and I applaud them for that. Hopefully all the changes they’ve made behind the scene’s will stand them in good stead for the future. Good luck to them.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th March 2012, 20:39
I was just pondering that one @mclarenfanjamm, but do we actually have any indication that they did indeed run the car on track?
So far I have seen just these shots of the car being static and in the garage.
S.J.M (@sjm)
5th March 2012, 21:10
They have indeed run the car on track. Whether thats for more then 1 lap, I dont know.
BasCB (@bascb)
6th March 2012, 6:55
Yeah, saw them now, at least that means they would have done an installation lap or two.
andrewf1
5th March 2012, 20:44
i love the elegant simplicity of the livery. but what’s with the orange and green splashes on the inside of the rear wing endplates? i can tell it’s from the sponsor ‘KH-7’ as seen on the garage wall, but common…it ruins everything :( i know they lack sponsors, but even so i would scrap that off the car!
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
6th March 2012, 9:46
@andrewf1 They probably attached a discarded rear wing of a Force India!
Cacarella (@cacarella)
5th March 2012, 20:46
Whoa! That’s some serious rake they’re running on that car! ;)
Martin (@fifan12)
5th March 2012, 20:51
Wouldn’t look out of place in the GP2 Series… are we sure this isn’t a GP2 car?
Mike (@mike)
5th March 2012, 21:03
Did you decide that before or after you looked at the car?
Mike (@mike)
5th March 2012, 20:58
People are gett rather excited about this car, and I do support HRT strongly, but it is very, very similer to last years, in that most of the chassis is the same.
F112 compared to F111
You can see that there are only minor changes made, the nose is new, however the front win is the same, along with most of the car. The rear wing has be redesigned. That’s good. And the billboard is gone.
Having said that, for HRT to have development on the bodywork at all is a very good sign for the health of the team.
Cole Pfeiffer
5th March 2012, 21:05
Beautiful car. Reminds me of the Brawn GP, just in red/gold. Absolutely lovely.
I was not looking forward to this reveal, but now the HRT is my favourite car this year. I hope they get sponsors and manage to beat the Marussia again, so they can stay in F1 for a few more years. If they do, I hope they keep this livery.
I’m kind of split… I like Timo Glock and want him to be successful over at Marussia, but this HRT just look damn good. It’s a shame that these smaller teams struggle so much.
For now, though, I just want to see this sexy car on track. Looking forward to Melbourne.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
5th March 2012, 21:08
I really like the new livery. Sauber used to have a reputation for “fun” liveries but with the fairly poor showings of recent years, HRT may have actually inherited their mantle. It’s not cool to like the team but their plucky resilience and determination to stay in the top division of single-seater motorsport despite being years away from even scoring a point has endeared them to me. In fact, they may be my new favourite team. They might not have the most exciting driver line-up and I’m not one to follow the teams over the drivers, but if anyone can make the case for it then for me, it’s HRT all the way.
jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
5th March 2012, 21:35
This is my favourite livery this year, I really think Hispania are improving year on year, hopefully they can be more consistent and a bit more speed couldn’t hurt either, I really hope they can beat Marussia on merit this year and cement that 11th place.
Eduardo Malheiros
5th March 2012, 21:43
Damn, last year’s livery was the only good thing about HRT. Really gonna miss it…
txips
6th March 2012, 10:58
+1
rpiian (@rpiian)
5th March 2012, 21:45
Looks good. Looks kinda like the old Force India.
I dig it.
rpiian (@rpiian)
5th March 2012, 21:52
Also, I must say their livery is pretty clever. The “whitewash” filling of the step valley makes the stepped nose seem not as pronounced as some other cars.
F1abw (@f1abw)
5th March 2012, 21:51
Its a shame that they couldn’t have got some of those sponsors right on the bottom edge of the sidepod onto the main body of the car, at least they do have some sponsors this year
Denis 68
5th March 2012, 21:59
Liuzzi still in the team?. Not a bad idea from HRT as they will need to bring him back into one of their race seats at some stage during the season if they wish to beat Marussia in the constructors Championship again.
Wayne Gallagher
5th March 2012, 22:08
Really hope this is just the launch wing and they don’t turn up in Melbourne with it on the car. It is very basic.
Always had a soft spot for HRT even in their maiden season with Karun and Bruno. Wish them all the best.
Dizzy
6th March 2012, 1:07
that is the wing they will run in melbourne & its actually not that basic & a very clever design.
Most others have the front wing flap with the additional winglet flaps built over the top of the flaps in a tower structure.
hrt have built the winglets into the main wing flap rather than putting them into a tower formation.
lotus have something a bit similar but larger.
Yuri
6th March 2012, 1:07
I also hope that they use a different front wing on the first race.
It’s sooooo simple.
Simpler than the safety razor I use to shave my beard.
A Name
5th March 2012, 22:08
You cant polish a turd.
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey)
5th March 2012, 22:09
That livery is PRETTY. I hope they keep this scheme because it really distinguishes themselves and is a frankly very classy color combo.
nivek252 (@nivek252)
5th March 2012, 22:22
Strangely basic front wing elements, maybe HRT have caught on to something all the other teams have missed……………..i think not
SamC (@samc)
5th March 2012, 23:05
the side view really makes it look like someone too heavy’s sat in it and snapped it just in front of the drivers seat!
Ben (@dirtyscarab)
5th March 2012, 23:35
Really nice livery and in my opinion probably the 3rd nicest looking car on the grid this year (Behind the McLaren + RB8).
I did notice a lack of bargeboards + aero devices. Also looks like there’s no drs device attached to the rear wing which may suggest this is just a ‘plastic’ car similar to what Mclaren launched. Hopefully they’ll add to it before Oz.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
5th March 2012, 23:51
I really like it! It’s great to see a bit more national identity (I’m seeing the red and gold as a tribute to the Spanish flag) in the sport.
The car looks incredibly basic, particularly the front wing. But I like that, it allows the gorgeous livery to stand out. That nice, chunky and round air inlet just speaks ‘cool’ to me.
They all look really happy to have made it to Barcelona and I couldn’t be happier for them. You could argue that it’s really not going to benefit them, but they told us they would get to Barcelona, and they did!
What a great little team.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
6th March 2012, 0:55
I’ve got to say – HRT has one of the most stylish liveries I’ve seen in a long time. It might be a case of style over substance, but if they’ve going to come stone-cold last, at least they’re going to look good doing it.
Dizzy
6th March 2012, 1:08
there biggest problem is that they made the back end wider in order to run kers, however they were unable to actually be able to afford to buy/run kers.
this means they have the kers design comprimises without the actual benefit of kers.
christian
6th March 2012, 7:24
this car is what it would look like if iron man and hrt had a love child best looking car on the grid apart form the ugly sponsor on the rear wing
Toxic (@)
6th March 2012, 8:23
I must admit that it looks very nice. Hopefully it won’t be as slow as last year. And that logo is so awesome. Best logo on the grid in my view.
kenneth Ntulume
6th March 2012, 8:56
After some careful study. I could conclude that HRT, is the second favorite team for MOST f1 enthusiast and a great uniter of all F1 fans.
Wish an eagle eyed advertising firm spots this, and gives them a slice of there budget.
bearforce1
6th March 2012, 9:03
Looks really nice.
Why couldn’t they make it to testing. Just one day after testing finishes they can run the car. It must be some reason other than the car not being ready. Sounds like they didn’t have the funds to go to the test maybe.
just.daz (@nemo87)
6th March 2012, 9:09
much prefered last years livery (minus the cheesy YOUR LOGO HERE bits)
bosyber (@bosyber)
6th March 2012, 9:15
The first time I saw the car+livery the goldish looked like vomit green (reason for cream on the Lotus?) and I wasn’t impressed, but having seen more of it: I like the burgundy/maroon/red and gold combo, and the way it is used.
There could be more of it, with a bit less white (or sponsors? maybe later, I hope), and it reminds me of the pics @keithcollantine recently posted of new GP2 liveries, especially the airbox/engine cover. Those aren’t bad efforts.
Good that they got the car on track, already a slightly better preparation than last year. The front wing is the same as end of last years, but they took a long time to introduce that late in the season, and it was a big step to modern times for the team, I think.
As 2010 showed, set up will be a big part of getting a weekend nailed for this team and for Marussia, having the car shaken down means they can start doing set up right away in Melbourne.
I am looking forward to seeing them get the most out of this car.
Finally, congratulations to HRT for thinking of the environment: parts of that tub must have lasted lasted for three years now!
BasCB (@bascb)
6th March 2012, 12:00
LOL
sid_prasher (@)
6th March 2012, 10:59
All the very best to them…I hope they are able to get more competitive…for the sake of all the hard work that they seem to be putting in…
Nick.UK (@)
6th March 2012, 14:53
Personally, I think the livery is repulsive!
kie
6th March 2012, 15:08
Great Logo.
Very Good Livery.
nice Shape.
No Sponsors :(
Questionable Overalls
Extended Dustpan for Front Wing
GO Hispania!
il Leone
6th March 2012, 18:32
HRT are very fickle with their livery, and the F112 looks like a GP2 11-13 car.
The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
6th March 2012, 20:49
Didn’t Super Aguri once have this exact livery design just without the gold and with Red Honda sponsor instead of blue Tata.
LawFish (@lawfish)
6th March 2012, 20:50
Your spy car’s a Mini?
Pandaslap (@pandaslap)
7th March 2012, 0:55
tragically beautiful/slow
Yusha (@freebird78)
7th March 2012, 16:08
I cant see the video. Says it’s private. How can i see it?
John H (@john-h)
7th March 2012, 22:31
The Cosworth sounds sick (in a bad way) in that video, either that or the mappings are at some strange setting for the shakedown.
Twiinzspeed
12th March 2012, 18:22
I figured they would have made the mirrors bigger. :)