Perez-Sala proud of HRT efforts to get new F1 car running at Barcelona
HRT team principal Luis Perez-Sala said he was very proud of the Spanish squad after managing to get its new car running before the start of the season
The Cosworth-powered F112 took to the Barcelona circuit for the first this afternoon, after a day of very hard work for the team.
The car made it to the circuit from Munich in the afternoon and the team worked against the clock to get it ready for Narain Karthikeyan to shake it down.
"I'm very satisfied today as it is a very important day for us because we were able to test some things out with the new car during this filming day," said Perez-Sala.
"I'm very proud of each and every member of this team because everyone has contributed their little bit for this to be possible. Now we have to focus on Australia because we still have a lot ahead."
The team reported no setbacks during the test, which covered over ten laps.
Indian Karthikeyan said the F112 felt like a step forward compared to last year's contender.
"The first impressions are quite good; it's definitely a step up from last year," said Karthikeyan. "We couldn't do any set-up work or stuff like that but everything seems to be working fine and there are no major problems so we can look forward to the season now.
"Everyone has worked hard and the new team management has put everything together in a very short period of time. They've done a proper job with the car and I'm sure that it's a big step forward from last year, so hopefully we can take the competition to the teams we were fighting last year".
Team-mate Pedro de la Rosa was also at the track, and although he didn't drive the car, the Spaniard said it had been a special day for the team after it managed to get its new car running before a grand prix for the first time.
"Today has been a very special day because the car saw the light for the first time; Narain did some installation laps and then various times laps without any issues.
"This is very important, it might not seem like it, but any sort of mileage before Australia is vital to see that the car is in good conditions. From here it is our job to try and improve it and make it progress".
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