HRT F111 launch – first pictures
2011 F1 cars
HRT have revealed the first pictures of their 2011 F1 car, the F111.
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Team principal Colin Kolles said: “The F111 represents a significant step forward for Hispania Racing.
“We have made a big improvement for starting our second season in Formula 1 and what you see in our new car confirms Hispania Racing´s commitment to F1.”
The F111 was designed by Geoff Willis and Paul White. The team confirmed it will have an adjustable rear wing. However it will not have a Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
HRT aim to run the car for the first time in the pre-season test at Bahrain which begins on March 3rd.
Team president Jose Ramon Carabante said: “We feel really proud of the car our drivers will run this forthcoming season.
“Despite a challenging first year, we managed to finish on the 11th position in the World Constructors Championship. Now, we are very pleased to introduce the first specification of the F111, which means a huge design-effort from our side.
“This is only a first step as we are planning several updates during the season.”
The car’s distinctive livery was designed by Daniel Simon of Cosmic Motors. He said, “I miss fearless visual statements and large beautiful numbers on today’s racing cars.
“Playing with the restrictions of what you can do to a complex F1 body is fun. There are many don’ts, but I found a way to lay courageous racing essence on the car.”
However aside from sponsorship from Tata, thanks to new driver Narain Karthikeyan, the F111′s bodywork features few sponsors.
Instead the bodywork shown includes the messages: “This could be you” and “This is a cool spot”.
2011 F1 cars
- HRT F111 seen for the first time in Barcelona
- Williams FW33 livery revealed
- Force India VJM04 – first pictures
- Virgin MVR-02 launch – first pictures
- McLaren MP4-26 launch – first pictures
- Toro Rosso STR6 launch – first pictures
- Mercedes W02 launch – first pictures
- Red Bull RB7 launch – first pictures
- Renault R31 launch – first pictures
- Sauber C30 launch – first pictures
- Lotus T128 launch – first pictures
- Ferrari F150 launch – first pictures and video
Browse all 2011 F1 cars articles
Images © Motioncompany
slr said on 8th February 2011, 8:17
That looks horrible, and the worst thing is that it has a shark fin.
slr said on 8th February 2011, 8:22
Okay, after looking at it a bit more, it doesn’t look that bad.
OEL said on 8th February 2011, 9:02
“the worst thing is that it has a shark fin”
No the worst thing is it has a HALF shark fin, like the RB7 because of the rules.
tee geba said on 8th February 2011, 9:04
cant polish a turd
mateuss said on 8th February 2011, 10:14
Did you see the Mythbusters episode where they did polish a s***!
tee geba said on 8th February 2011, 10:23
no…. what did it look like?
An HRT?
mateuss said on 8th February 2011, 10:48
No, more sleek and glossy :p
TommyB (@tommyb89) said on 8th February 2011, 12:11
It looks amazing!!
Now THAT is a livery. Well thought out and big numbers on the car, every car should have this feature.
Love it!
PT said on 8th February 2011, 13:22
Yes, Daniel Simon’s point on what’s missing in F1 liveries now is spot on. The half shark fin spoils the car’s shape, but the livery is striking and splendid. Let’s just hope it attracts new sponsors.
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey) said on 8th February 2011, 15:52
I have to say as over the top as this might seem, I agree with you that it’s a nifty livery. Proof that you can get attention WITHOUT fluorescent colors and silver.
Also, SO SO SO SO agree with him about the numbers! More big, bold numbers! Numbers are striking and give us an easier time of telling which car we’re looking at.
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 8th February 2011, 17:35
I agree about the numbers. Those are great. Other than that though it’s a terrible livery. It looks like an overdesigned sportsdrink or yogurt container… and doesn’t anyone find it ironic that the sidepod (which last year featured all their driver’s names) says “this could be you.” Is that a joke or what? They should just start on auction on eBay for their second seat.
Bullfrog said on 8th February 2011, 19:24
Liking the numbers. At last someone’s learning from racing in the States. Why not have the driver’s name in big letters though – the numbers are meaningless these days as they keep changing?
But that chequered flag design is sooo lame. Clearly designed by someone who knows nothing about racing, it’s like the next Chelsea shirt having footballs all over it.
AG said on 8th February 2011, 12:44
That is actually false. There was an episode of Mythbusters where they took some crap, rolled it into a ball, and after a couple of hours gave it a polish like an shiny new eight ball.
Nobody does very well on their first season, especially when they come in January like HRT did last year.
I hope they do well. In fact I would love it if all the cars are so competitive that anything could happen the next race. This of course isn’t very likely, but you never know…
nosajm9bys (@nosajm9bys) said on 8th February 2011, 9:04
No, it looks good, it also looks quick. I like it, I mean compare it to last year’s car which look rank.
tee geba said on 8th February 2011, 9:09
just a bit glitter sprinkled on it
bosyber (@bosyber) said on 8th February 2011, 15:29
Well, that makes it a lot better than last year then, doesn’t it?
IceMan said on 8th February 2011, 9:24
Interesting even wind tunnel data can’t confirm whether a car will quick. :)
Hallard85 said on 8th February 2011, 19:29
This thing should be pretty fast…I think it might be powered by jet turbines, considering the warning in front of the sidepod intakes:
“ATENTION
STRONG SUCTION EFFECT,
HOLD ONTO SOMETHING WHEN STEP HERE”
Awesome. Just awesome.
Pinball said on 8th February 2011, 9:07
It’s the best livery I’ve seen on any car this year. Well played HRT, well played.
sw6569 (@sw6569) said on 8th February 2011, 9:16
it has ‘cool spot’ on the side.
That makes it AWESOME :)
Hare (@hare) said on 8th February 2011, 10:26
Yup.. so you can push it without burning your hands! ;)
Movement (@movement) said on 8th February 2011, 9:42
The trouble I have with that is that since HRT had zero sponsors, they could have done almost anything with their colours. I mean, they do not have to please anyone apart from themselves; so why not go for somtheing a little more exciting or radical. Imagine a back-marker in stealth black – raw carbon fibre, just clear-coated. Or how about fluorescent pink! I mean, they could have done almost anything, they literally have a blank sheet (and very little money) to work with, so they should have blasted the competition out of the water on their livery. This is not very exciting when you see it in that context!
Woffin said on 8th February 2011, 11:38
Exactly! It’s so frustrating seeing another red and white car. As you said, they could have done anything with the livery really with having no commitments to any sponsors except Tata. We may still end up with even more red cars this year as well if Tony Fernandes loses his court cases and repaints his cars with AirAsia branding. Not to mention Williams getting red in the design from PDVSA. Sigh.
bosyber (@bosyber) said on 8th February 2011, 15:34
Yes, the fact it is yet another a mostly white, with red and black, car is the biggest flaw to me in this livery. For the rest I like it a lot.
The car now sports something like a real front wing, and the sidepods are pretty nicely undercut and rather narrow at the back. As I understand it, the high wide nose is good for aero, but not as good for the mechanical grip part, so maybe for starting teams like Virgin and HRT it is the best choice to go lower. Good to see a car from HRT before the start of the season, even if for now only a rendering.
John H said on 8th February 2011, 22:22
Blue?
John H said on 8th February 2011, 22:23
link
Luis said on 8th February 2011, 15:54
Exactly! [2]
It’s an impressive improvement from last year’s car, though.
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey) said on 8th February 2011, 15:56
are you guys serious? When have you ever seen a car with checkered flag pattern on it in F1? That, I’d say, is pretty brave for a backmarker. Personally I like it.
S.J.M (@sjm) said on 8th February 2011, 17:10
I think that a chequered livery is going to confuse the front drivers when they come to lap them … “The chequered flag? already?”
sheep said on 8th February 2011, 20:34
Naked carbon fibre would just be porn!
JazO said on 8th February 2011, 9:19
Interesting they have a chequered flag painted on it…I wonder how often they’ll be seeing that during the race!
Shimks said on 8th February 2011, 10:47
LOL!! :)
SeattleChris (@seattlechris) said on 8th February 2011, 10:27
Surely you must be joking. This is a major, visual, improvement over last years car. When I first saw it I thought it was surprisingly refreshing. Number on the side; love it. There are too many red/red highlighted cars now however… It makes me actually miss Jaguar! Is purple an illegal color in F1? They should call up UPS and see if they can get a brown car on the grid LOL. On the side it can read, “What can brown do for you?”
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey) said on 8th February 2011, 15:58
And bring in Dale Jarrett to drive the truck? ;) Or maybe he can be their second driver!
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 8th February 2011, 17:40
I mentioned that a few weeks ago. I think a UPS sponsored brown and gold car would look fantastic! Getting really sick of all the red and black, red and white, red and silver, etc. There are other colors!!!
SeattleChris (@seattlechris) said on 8th February 2011, 19:17
Agreed!
Fixy (@fixy) said on 8th February 2011, 15:55
It looks like the BAR Hondas!
Damon (@damon) said on 8th February 2011, 17:19
That shark fin is beautiful! It’s perfect!
Jesus said on 8th February 2011, 18:49
‘This could be you …but you wouldn’t want it to be.’
Dizzy-A (@david-a) said on 11th February 2011, 19:15
You should put a sponsor on there – Godspeed Racing.
Jarred Walmsley (@jarred-walmsley) said on 8th February 2011, 21:08
Considering the 2010 livery, I think this looks considerably better
Sherman Tank said on 9th February 2011, 10:46
Livery is OK but i’m pretty sure thats the only chequered flag that cars gonna see this season.
Cyberaxiom (@dave-m) said on 8th February 2011, 8:17
Good work Keith, I haven’t seen that anywhere else online. Glad they’ve changed the livery and an interesting nose too.
Hare said on 8th February 2011, 8:19
*cough* *nudge* That’s last years car *cough*
Hare said on 8th February 2011, 8:20
haha, just kidding! Who’d a thought they’d have a car design ready.. it’s gonna be 3 weeks until they’re scheduled to test it though?
BasCB said on 8th February 2011, 8:42
It’s probably packed up and being sent to Bahrain by now. They certainly do not have the money available for a 3rd chassis for testing in Europe, instead focussing on getting the second car ready for a shake off before the Bahrain GP weekend.
RIISE (@riise) said on 8th February 2011, 9:16
“Your Logo here”, HAHAHA!!
But I quite like it.
John H said on 8th February 2011, 22:10
“Shake off.” Love it.
Sush Meerkat said on 8th February 2011, 9:51
Its a digital picture right?
Is the car actually built yet?, needless to say I’m shocked…
Prof Kirk (@prof-kirk) said on 8th February 2011, 11:13
“This Could be you!” -> That cracked me up, because it probably could be your name on the side of a HRT car. eg, how often they change drivers lol.
But despite that slight ironic phrase, it is marketing genius and I appreciate and love it. Similar to the BAR “look left, look right” but for advertising.
–
All in all, the livery looks stunning, car design appears to have made progress in basic areas but I heavily doubt the parts will be nearly as refined as that of RedBull, because mm’s in alteration is where perfection is with motor racing. At least it will look good at the back of the grid.
zecks said on 8th February 2011, 13:09
Definitely a CGI, just look at the tires.
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 8th February 2011, 17:42
That was exactly my thought. Especially since that’s where they had their drivers’ names last year.
Hare said on 8th February 2011, 8:18
Happy Racing Theme!! Finally… no more dull grey..
Todfod (@todfod) said on 8th February 2011, 10:35
I’m actually surprised. I think HRT has come up with the most original and eye catching livery this year. I still think the car will stink performance wise, but atleast they look good. (Which is actually better than Virgin, which looks crap and will under perform)
‘Your logo here’ & ‘This could be you’ really cracks me up. I guess they do not have a lot of sponsors, but at least they are putting media space selling ads on their vehicle.
Hare (@hare) said on 8th February 2011, 11:00
I’ve seen other iterations… most notably this one :)
http://twitpic.com/3xnzj4/full
Todfod (@todfod) said on 8th February 2011, 11:11
Thats hilarious man!
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 8th February 2011, 17:44
Perfect!
Cyberaxiom (@dave-m) said on 8th February 2011, 8:18
All the “Your logo here”, “This could be you” logos are an interesting approach to getting advertising revenue, but why not?
Movement said on 8th February 2011, 8:20
“this could be you!” haha its terrible: they should really not be there if that is what they’re having to resort to! And the car looks like the most backward of the lot that we’ve seen so far…
Hare said on 8th February 2011, 8:22
Well it’s not the Eeyore approach…
Eeyore sales pitch : ‘this could be you, but it probably wont be, I’ll probably be doing this pitch 10 races in… *sigh* ‘
Movement (@movement) said on 8th February 2011, 9:45
no its, not, its just embarrassing! “here we are, competing in what is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport, but we are so S*it that we can’t attract any sponsors. Neither can we build, design, or develop our own car. If you want to be associated with a miserably failure, you can put your name here, where it gets seen about once a race by the spectators on TV, only when it has broken down!”
Maciek said on 8th February 2011, 9:57
Or in other words – if you haven’t it made it yet, why bother trying anything at all, right?
You know, last time I looked, attracting sponsors wasn’t the final say on anyone’s potential, not in my book anyways.
matt90 (@matt90) said on 8th February 2011, 14:23
If historis teams like Williams struggle for sponsors I think it’s a bit much to expect HRT to do a good job. Doesn’t Lotus just have Fernandes company logos? And same with Virgin. Advertising that a company could quite simply buy the space on it is the best thing they could do with the space.
Chris P said on 8th February 2011, 8:28
“This could be you”… driving if you give us enough money!
craig-o (@craig-o) said on 8th February 2011, 8:34
COTD for Chris P!
GeeMac (@geemac) said on 8th February 2011, 8:35
That’s more like it…
ajokay (@ajokay) said on 8th February 2011, 8:44
I thought exactly the same thing.
I was gonna say… they have’t seriously gone and put ‘Your Name Here’ messages on the side, but they have.
Which, in essence, is actually a good idea. makes the car look full. It’s clear they still have no money though.
What it is, however, if a very nice livery. Shame it’s in slightly boring colours. but, hey ho.
Hare said on 8th February 2011, 9:07
@Chris P Seems you are closer to the truth than you realise ;)
http://twitpic.com/3xna03/full
SeattleChris (@seattlechris) said on 8th February 2011, 10:33
It could simply say, “Got Money?” and if they really want to make the car go faster they should put “KIMI” on the side. Of course, this won’t make the car any more reliable!
Randy (@randy) said on 8th February 2011, 8:46
The “This could be you” and “your logo here” stickers are laughable. It’s like a DIY Blog site with Lorem Ipsum’s left all over.
Scribe said on 8th February 2011, 15:47
Randy you are underestimaiting the most hilarious livery in F1 history. Literally begging for sponsers on your car, HRT arn’t even hiding how desperate they must be. There not even attracting decent pay drivers, it’s amazing.
Only prize they’ll be winning this year is the All Formula Hilarious Most Comedic Team Award.
Lachie (@lachie) said on 8th February 2011, 8:19
Do the teams realise that red doesn’t ACTUALLY make the cars go faster?
Gridlock said on 8th February 2011, 9:44
Actually I believe the Concorde Agreement says that it does ;)
Palle said on 8th February 2011, 11:35
;-) sometimes it seems that way, but maybee it is not only because of the colour…
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 8th February 2011, 17:57
Ha! I think you’re right!
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn) said on 8th February 2011, 8:20
In a lot of ways the livery looks like a BAR and in other ways it looks like a Toyota, yet it somehow looks completely different. I like it!
mcmercslr (@mcmercslr) said on 8th February 2011, 8:23
There’s a bit of Mclaren in there too.
BasCB said on 8th February 2011, 8:43
Simon took what those cars did as well and made it look special. Most improved livery, that is certain.
HG said on 8th February 2011, 9:03
yeah very much so, i like it as well
Calum said on 8th February 2011, 16:51
Surprised nobody said Super Aguri tbh, wasn’t Mr Super (?) :P Aguri rumoured with this team ages ago… not saying he’s joining just because of the livery – and it might of been Team Zoran I’m getting mixed up with.
BROOKSY007 (@brooksy007) said on 8th February 2011, 8:20
Looks abit like the virgin, so glad its not grey!
Hare said on 8th February 2011, 8:23
So, the big question.. what are they doing with the diffuser this year? Where are the exhausts!?
BasCB said on 8th February 2011, 8:25
Possibly something alike the lines of the Virgin?
Hare said on 8th February 2011, 8:38
Lets hope so! I want them to be mixing it this year :)
BasCB said on 8th February 2011, 8:23
Wow, that came as a suprise! Now FI are the last to show their hand.
The result is a bit of a strange car. Looks a lot like last years car as well as the GP2 cars (the Dallarra connection from last season).
Combining the low and thin nose with the camera mountings like that, as well as the spiky V nose make me think back to the 2008 BMW.
I quite like the spaces saying “please buy some space on this car”. A lot better than just being empty, altough it would be preferrable to have a real sponsor besides TATA.
The back end looks pretty small, just like the Williams. I thought they would get an older type gearbox, but this should be quite an improvement for drivability.
Hare said on 8th February 2011, 8:35
Tata are actually a great sponsor to have, and if they can hang on to them, it would be ideal!
Maybe Tata should be backing FI though?
BasCB said on 8th February 2011, 8:44
That was why I mentioned them getting another sponsor besides TATA, never good to be reliant on only 1 company.
Hare said on 8th February 2011, 9:16
Tata are a real sponsor alright, they have real money as much as the next corporate down the line, multi-muilti-billion dollar turnovers Tata Group are basically a goliath in a plethora of industries across the board. Car manufacturing being one of them!
If I was sponsored by Tata, I’d be damned happy. The thing is, whats their interest?
Motor industries being one of their interests, they own Jaguar, Land Rover, Daimler and a few others..
.. interestingly enough they also own a company called ‘Hispano Carrocera’…..
Hispano!!! Yes.. Spanish motor company!!!
… ironically.. they make busses! :D
BasCB (@bascb) said on 8th February 2011, 10:46
So maybe getting the jaguar emblem on top of the car instead of the camera mount is not so far off then!
I know they are big and have money. But obviously they do not want to use that to promote themselves (do they need that) instead leaving space for other sponsors.
So who will it be? Please, …
Hare (@hare) said on 8th February 2011, 11:16
They could change their name from HRT to HCRT..
Hispano Carrocera Racing Team :)
Jose said on 8th February 2011, 11:24
AKE HRTs :)
Anshumaan Tuteja said on 8th February 2011, 14:11
We have buses manufactured by TATA all over India!! its kinda their forte in automobiles..but their passenger cars are getting better every day, especially after they bought Jaguar and Land Rover :)
AH said on 8th February 2011, 9:02
So TATA sponsor Ferrari and HRT? nice…
GeeMac (@geemac) said on 8th February 2011, 9:22
Correct. Tata Consultancy Services sponsor Ferrari. Different division, same company.
BadAss said on 8th February 2011, 8:23
Now that’s a surprise xD I wasn’t expecting that… I mean WOW! and the livery looks great
Christopher Vissing said on 8th February 2011, 8:25
That’s interesting! I like :)
zecks said on 8th February 2011, 13:07
i really like the number location. It looks a bit indy lites but it the car looks so much more professional than the grey monstrocity of 2010
Don Mateo said on 8th February 2011, 8:25
“Your logo here”, “this could be you” and “cool spot” on the rear wing end plates – an entertaining way of saying “we have no sponsors!”
Seriously though I actually like this livery, and the car looks good, though I’d be interested to know exactly how much of it is actually new.
S.J.M (@sjm) said on 8th February 2011, 15:09
I think they should make up sponsors, like the Topgear team did on their 3Series racer. Imagine seeing names like
Peniston Oil & Larsen Biscuits being displayed to the world!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 8th February 2011, 15:31
Genius idea.
Adam Tate said on 8th February 2011, 15:39
Yes! Would that be legal within the regs Keith?
Loetkoe said on 8th February 2011, 17:13
Why not?
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey) said on 8th February 2011, 16:00
seconding this idea
Paul Grainger said on 8th February 2011, 8:26
Can the team really afford a livery that complicated?
BasCB said on 8th February 2011, 8:38
Who knows weather they actually payed for it. The artist is on the car with his signature, it’s a work of art!
Let us just hope it won’t be sold to the highest bidder ;-) that is the one slogan missing “you could be sitting here”
Solo (@solo) said on 8th February 2011, 10:34
What to you mean? Not having enough money to pay for the paint?
Yes we know they don’t have a lot of money but what you are suggesting is just ridiculous.
Jarred Walmsley (@jarred-walmsley) said on 8th February 2011, 21:24
I think its more the paying the artist for the design, but I agree with you thats ridiculous suggesting they don’t even have that much money
HamFisted said on 8th February 2011, 8:26
I think it looks good, certainly better than last years grey carp!!
John H said on 8th February 2011, 22:15
grey carp. My favourite kind. Tasty $:)
Hamish said on 8th February 2011, 8:26
Come on guys. We want more cars on the grid and all you do is bag them. They’ve made it to the 2011 season. That has exceeded the expectations of many already.
xtophe said on 8th February 2011, 8:49
Let’s wait until we see more than 3D renders.
Icthyes (@icthyes) said on 8th February 2011, 9:49
Hear, hear. All these moans about Virgin and HRT in particular. Then again, I don’t necessarily think these people do want more teams on the grid.
Hare (@hare) said on 8th February 2011, 10:01
Speaking for myself.. I want HRT and Virgin and Lotus on the grid and to do amazingly well. I sincerely do..
I think they’ve all done well to get to where they are now, especially Lotus. Virgin ( AKA Manor ) has a great record of delivering year on year improvements.
HRT we’ve yet to see, but they’re looking more and more serious all the time.
However.. it’s hard not pass up a chance to have a laugh at the lower order teams.
.. it’s much better that, than being shamefully disappointed because they couldn’t turn up to the grid. It’s all in good humour from my POV.