Vitantonio Liuzzi says HRT still have hopes of beating Lotus to tenth place in the constructors championship.
In a Q&A released by the team he said the team have “made good progress since Australia.”
“The steps taken and reliability have been good and we managed to overtake Virgin in the championship. The development slowed down a little with the changes in ownership but now we are a consistent structure and we are looking strong for the future.”
Liuzzi said the team would “love” to overtake Lotus, “but it is not an easy target, especially if you look at where we started in Australia.”
“But we are on the same points and have half a season to improve and try and achieve a better position in the constructors championship. We are following the right path and are in the right place.”
Both teams are yet to score but Lotus are ahead by dint of having two 13th place finishes to HRT’s one.
He added: “I have had a few unfortunate DNF’s but, overall, the speed is better, we are more competitive and we are racing with other teams, which is the most important thing. I give myself an eight out of ten.
“I already consider it a successful season but if we could achieve our biggest target of finishing tenth in the constructors championship, then that would be perfect.
“But we have to be realistic and continue pushing to show that we are competitive. We have to improve our pace compared to the leaders from now until the end of the season.”
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BasCB (@bascb)
12th August 2011, 12:09
Good luck and I hope to see them battling it out on track. Would be nice to have HRT (and Virgin) close to Lotus and close to Williams, STR as well for exiting battles.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
12th August 2011, 17:25
That’s something that surprisingly, I can’t remember seeing. I’d love to see some wheel-to-wheel action over the final running position!
BasCB (@bascb)
13th August 2011, 19:03
Sure enough, if it happened, FOM would not show a single second of it (or maybe only on the season review DVDs)
Icthyes (@icthyes)
12th August 2011, 12:16
That would be zero then.
Realistically HRT need a 12th place and hope Lotus doesn’t get one either, or two more 13th places. Good luck with that.
Sush Meerkat
12th August 2011, 12:55
I reckon They have a chance at Singapore, well any team has a chance at Singapore, because its a long and arduous race.
Not only is it a battle of attrition but since its a closed track the chances of a safety car bunching up the field is quite high, then most back end of the middlefield are game.
Even overtaking a Team Lotus would be considered a giant killing feat from HRT.
Izzy
12th August 2011, 13:11
They don’t have to overtake. Lotuses are so unreliable they just have to let them DNF. And be faster than Virgin.
Fixy (@)
12th August 2011, 14:42
Yes, they’ll need luck, but it isn’t as impossible as it sounds. In a chaotic race, both Lotuses could retire and Liuzzi could finish 12th, and that would be it. Still on the same points, not something spectacular. As they have been capable of scoring a 13th place, 12th place isn’t too much too ask from them, although it can’t be achieved in a race with zero retirements.
Lin1876 (@lin1876)
12th August 2011, 12:49
It’ll be tough for them, but Lotus’ awful reliability means that of all the teams, HRT are most likely to nick a point in a race of extreme attrition after the Lotuses break down.
I hope they can do this. I see more spirit there than I see at Virgin, and I’d like to see them become another Minardi or Super Aguri, even if they stay at the back.
Sush Meerkat
12th August 2011, 12:58
Yeah they seem to have gone from a total joke to a Little Team that dares to dream big.
Part of the reason is because Collin Kolles seems to have stopped talking, we are hearing more from the drivers now in PR.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
12th August 2011, 13:30
Considering Lotus’ recent misfortune HRT would do well to capitalise on that…just a case of actually doing it though.
Honestly, I can’t see them doing it. I can see the bottom 3 looking like 2010’s bottom 3. I would love to see them do it though. They seem to have much more stability this season, both on and off track so who knows!
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
12th August 2011, 17:28
Really? Perhaps they’ve improved quite a bit since Australia, but I remember when they first let their drivers out in practice how nervous and twitchy the cars were as they came past me. I was shaking my head and thinking “how can they have made such a huge step backwards since last season?”
As you say, I can’t see it happening.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
12th August 2011, 21:23
Well rumours regarding them collapsing have been very quiet this year…as far as I can tell their recent buyout came from nowhere.
BasCB (@bascb)
13th August 2011, 19:05
I already heard other rumours, that the money from the buyout did not end up getting payed yet!
But I cant see anyone pulling the plug on the team, that would ruin the little its worth right now.
stewy33 (@stewy33)
12th August 2011, 14:08
HRT has come along way and you have to give them some credit. It takes about 5-6 years of collecting data and creating new parts that “work” before you can really find the pace of your car.
Obviously with rule changes each year it will slow the development of the car. We will see how they progress in the future.
MVEilenstein
12th August 2011, 16:09
A few good sponsors would go a long way toward this goal. I hope they can meet it.
TED BELL
12th August 2011, 16:58
Just imagine all the effort and all of the money to become less than the worst. What a waste of time.
Mike
13th August 2011, 15:09
So they should just pack it in?
If they have any racing spirit in them it wouldn’t be an option.
R3V3 (@)
12th August 2011, 18:00
i think that if you bring a tractor to the grid you could beat HRT… they are pointless like the old Minardi team, every race they get lapped at least 4 times
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
12th August 2011, 21:24
Where else do you propose they start out?
Alaina Harris
13th August 2011, 0:52
When I was a kid I wanted to be in the Beatles. Even though I couldn’t sing and couldn’t play the guitar I still wanted to be one of the Fab Four. Why pretend to be something you can never be?
MVEilenstein
13th August 2011, 3:29
Who’s pretending in this situation? What are you saying?
Mike
13th August 2011, 15:11
…. I never thought someone on here could offend me… let alone doing with F1.
BasCB (@bascb)
13th August 2011, 19:06
You mean the same Minardi team that gave us debuts of a lot of great drivers, including Webber and Alonso?
F1 98
12th August 2011, 19:24
Good luck but What are the chances
Chris
12th August 2011, 22:38
if HRT had even half of the tony fernandes dollars, they would wipe the floor with fernandes team
Mike
13th August 2011, 15:12
As I understand it Team Lotus’ budget was about double that of HRT.
LoneFanMX
12th August 2011, 23:16
A little luck and a bit more money, yeah that wouldn’t hurt HRT but I’ll be watching those pitstop times really close after reading Keith’s article on the matter. If HRT stop being last in this department, I’ll start believing.
RumFRESH (@rumfresh)
13th August 2011, 1:16
If they can remain more reliable than the Team Lotus cars I see no reason why they can’t challenge them. I doubt their pitstop times are helping but it’s all about finishing the race and although Lotus maybe a bit faster it really doesn’t matter if they can’t finish races.
Matty
13th August 2011, 9:26
I see a lot of potential in the HRT outfit.
Josh
13th August 2011, 14:32
I do find it funny that HRT, a team using a bastardised version of last year’s dreadful chassis, mated to a reasonable gearbox, reasonable driver and a very average engine have a chance of beating…a malaysian investment tycoon’s team with two very experienced drivers, a great designer, a world championship winning engine and gearbox combo with loads of sponsorship.
Go HRT!
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
13th August 2011, 18:39
HRT have potential, and I’m appauled that people think that they are useless.
Especially in today’s F1, teams have to start from the back, and work damn hard to stay there, let alone improve, so I for one hope that they can do so.
dfketr
14th August 2011, 19:48
The difference from HRT to lotus is about the difference of williams to rebull, ie about 2 seconds per lap – especially in qualifying where it has been consistently that gap. If HRT gets a lucky 12th place, while lotuses best finish all year was a 13th THAT DOES NOT mean that Hrt has beat lotus, that would be a very unfair way to rate the situation. lotus is considerable faster then hrt and virgin, but being essentially a 2nd tier racing series for those 3 teams, lotus is leading that 2nd tier by miles, and if hrt scored a 12 place because of cars failing in the 1st tier, it would be a huge insult to the hard work lotus has done to the declare hrt as the winners of the 2nd tier series.
HRT Fan
15th August 2011, 0:23
HRT has improved alot since Australia and now look like a proper F1 team.
Liuzzi has been doing a great job at developing the car and pushing the team forwards and is always very positive about the car and teams future in what is obviously a difficult season for him.
Full marks to him for remaining so positive and never giving up, and a smile never far away.