HRT hopes to pass final crash test on Wednesday, new car set for Barcelona test

The Spanish outfit is running with its 2011 car at Jerez in Spain this week, because the new car has not yet passed all of the mandatory crash tests. Team principal Luis Perez-Sala said he was keeping his fingers crossed the team would get the green light for its 2012 contender within the next 24 hours.

"We now just have to pass the last crash test tomorrow," he told AUTOSPORT. "That is the last step, and if we achieve that, we will be without problems and ready to run the new car [in Barcelona]."

Perez-Sala also said that he hopes to soon sign off plans for a factory move to Madrid, which could be completed shortly after this year's Spanish Grand Prix.

"The plan, as of now, is that we are in Valencia. But this is only a provisional location," he said. "We have to see if we sign a deal for Madrid or not. Nothing is done yet. Maybe tomorrow things will be different, but it is hard to say what happens before you sign anything. I hope, in the short term, that we can move to Madrid."

* For a full interview with Perez-Sala after his first day in the Formula 1 paddock as a team principal, where he talks about HRT's plans for 2012, click here.