Dani Clos to drive for HRT in first practice in Spain

2012 Spanish Grand Prix

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Dani Clos will make his debut in an F1 practice session at the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend for HRT.

Clos will take over Narain Karthikeyan’s car in the first practice session on Friday and drive alongside Pedro de la Rosa.

The Spanish driver appeared for the team in the Young Driver Test last year.

Clos said: “I’m delighted to have this opportunity. It’s something I’ve fought for all my life; to make my debut in Formula 1 and, above all, to be able to do it at the Circuit de Catalunya which is something very special for me.

“Besides, I’m extremely lucky to be able to do it with a Spanish team, alongside another Spanish driver who I admire and at home. I can’t ask for more! It’s the ideal situation and I’m proud to be where I am with the people who have always been with me and still are.

“I hope to extract a lot of data from this practice session, contribute with positive things to the team and do my job in the best way I can. I feel 100% ready and I can’t wait for the moment I step into the car and hit the track.”

Clos joins Alexander Rossi who will also be making his first participation in an F1 race weekend on Friday.

2012 Spanish Grand Prix

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Image © HRT F1 Team

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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12 comments on “Dani Clos to drive for HRT in first practice in Spain”

  1. Will he do the same in Valencia? And what does this mean for GP2? Has Kral got his sponsorship renewed?

  2. Interesting. I want to see Alonso in this car for FP1 – now THAT would be something.

    1. I think Fernando would end his career before he sat in an HRT

      1. As would almost all drivers on the grid actually

        1. I wouldn’t be too sure of that @todfod!

    2. Now that would be something indeed!!

  3. And the point of this exercise is???

    1. To give a young Spanish driver an opportunity to drive in front of the Spanish fans and media. First and foremost it is a morale and P.R. boosting exercise, but it is also truly valuable to Clos as it gives him some real F1 experience. Sure it’s a little A1GP feeling, but I doubt if anyone would be disappointinted to see Rossi get another Friday practice drive when the teams come to Austin in 6 months time.

      1. So its more of a PR move than anything else, maybe it might bring a sponsor to the team. All about money in the end and nothing to do with Clos himself…

  4. i know this will be clos’ first go in f1 machinery – and it is only fp1, which we cannot read into, but i am interested to see how he compares to pedro during the session.

    1. I was thinking the same, although I’m not expecting much and expect Pedro de la Rosa to have a good second or so cushion on Clos. Furthermore, Clos’s GP2 performances have been less than desireable this year.

      This is probably 90% PR/Money making excercise, 5% driver development at HRT and 5% car evaluation from a different pair of hands.

  5. I hope they can hang on to him (if he’s any good in an F1 car). It’s nice to think that HRT could have some continuity for the future.

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