New HRT F112 seen for the first time in Spain
2012 F1 cars
HRT have launched their 2012 F1 car, the F112, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.
Narain Karthikeyan was at the wheel for the car’s first laps.
HRT did not manage to have the car pass its crash tests in time to be able to participate in pre-season testing, which concluded at the circuit on Sunday.
HRT F112 pictures
Here are the first pictures of the HRT F112:
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- HRT F112, 2012
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- HRT F112, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Pedro de la Rosa, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Pedro de la Rosa, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT F112, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
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- Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, Barcelona, 2012
2012 F1 cars
- New HRT F112 seen for the first time in Spain
- New Marussia MR01 breaks cover at Silverstone
- A closer look at the Caterham CT01
- Mercedes W03 officially revealed in Spain
- Picture: Mercedes W03 spied at Silverstone
- Mercedes W03 spotted testing at Silverstone
- Williams FW34 launch: First pictures of their 2012 F1 car
- Toro Rosso STR7 – first pictures and video of Toro Rosso’s 2012 F1 car
- Red Bull RB8 launch – first pictures and video of Red Bull’s 2012 F1 car
- Sauber C31 launch – first pictures and video of Sauber’s 2012 F1 car
Browse all 2012 F1 cars articles
Image © HRT
Andy Redden (@andyredden-on-f1) said on 5th March 2012, 19:02
Liuzzi still at the team?
Fixy (@fixy) said on 5th March 2012, 19:05
Ready to replace Karthikeyan. HRT have been stupid to replace Tonio, but wise at the same time to keep him. If the car happens to be a championship contender, they’ll immediately put him in the car to score wins and wins, something which neither Pedro or Narain could do.
:P
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65) said on 5th March 2012, 19:10
They have been clever, in my view. De la Rosa is a better driver (in my view) and has LOADS of experience at McLaren as tester. He can push the team foward better than Liuzzi.
It’d have been better if Liuzzi was in the second car, but they need the money so Karthikeyan is there. It’s a good compromise…
BasCB (@bascb) said on 5th March 2012, 20:32
That, and the fact Liuzzi probably did not have anything better to do this season
lukaskhan (@lukaskhan) said on 5th March 2012, 22:35
to the point where he just turned up anyway.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 5th March 2012, 23:46
@BasCB Pretty much. Had a better offer come along he certainly wouldn’t be at HRT.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum) said on 6th March 2012, 9:28
@BasCB @lukaskhan @AndrewTanner Liuzzi isnt even in the team overalls….looks like they just pulled him from a roadside cafe and brought him along
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 6th March 2012, 13:01
@malleshmagdum They probably can’t afford them.
Leggacy said on 5th March 2012, 22:00
Championship contender? Lol that’s a good one.
djdaveyp85 (@djdaveyp87) said on 5th March 2012, 19:02
I like it, the colour anyway. I hope they are at least within 107% regularly this season, my one worry is they may have difficulty keeping up again. I have a real soft spot for this team for some reason.
JCost (@jcost) said on 5th March 2012, 20:21
Yes, I really dig that livery.
me said on 7th March 2012, 0:09
they will beat marussia again and that will make it 3 times in a row and that with half of their(marussia) budget, and for a weird reason i want them to succeed too
lukaskhan (@lukaskhan) said on 7th March 2012, 0:19
@me your not the only one buddy. I got a warm feeling when they came 11th last year, again, in front of (then) Virgin. And that they could have done better then (the then) Lotus team if it wasn’t for one lucky result.
I dislike that people write them off, yes, they’re completely off the pace, but they are an absolute, brand, spanking new team. They’ve had ownership issues, they’ve had major budget issues, but they are still there and they still haven’t come plum last – which is a major feat given that they bring no upgrades at all.
S.J.M (@sjm) said on 5th March 2012, 19:06
Nice Livery on an otherwise empty car. Didnt they have more sponsors last yet? or was it just more was happening on 2011s livery
Like the Marussia, its a tad dissapointing in that it looks more GP2 then F1. I know they have less money and having a group of people running them change, but this is their 3rd car now and Id like to think they [both] could have designed something better. Still, Ill try hold my judgement till Melbourne, but as I said on the Marussia one, I fear both will fall foul to the 107% rule.
Dom (@3dom) said on 5th March 2012, 19:11
Yeah like the livery. It looks far more “elegant” than the previous car in both the livery and the shape.
S.J.M (@sjm) said on 5th March 2012, 19:18
It does look like it flows better, the rear is tidyier and the sidepods are better managed. But as I said, it doesnt inspire confidence in getting anything except trying not to finish last to the Marussia’s. I dont know, maybe both will fluke a good finish in a race and I imagine a Wet race will be either teams preference for such.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum) said on 6th March 2012, 9:33
@S.J.M hope either Marussia or HRT win a wet Monaco GP….Would be fun to watch
JCost (@jcost) said on 5th March 2012, 20:45
BBVA is prime sponsor on NBA. Santander “pays” Ferrari’s bills, Movistar is spending too much money on Moto GP… poor guys, they can’t even attract big Spanish companies…
Jonathan189 (@jonathan189) said on 5th March 2012, 21:29
At least they are still being sponsored by hormone replacement therapy.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum) said on 6th March 2012, 9:35
they are badly in need of a Hormone Replacement Therapy! Or should i say “need more money”
lukaskhan (@lukaskhan) said on 5th March 2012, 22:36
They had things in the sponsor spaces such as “Cool Spot” and “This could be you”
realracer (@realracer) said on 5th March 2012, 19:09
Actually a really nice car and livery well done.
Lin1876 (@lin1876) said on 5th March 2012, 19:09
It’s actually a really nice looking car in my view, and it looks like a step forwards from last year’s car. Hope they have a good year, like @djdaveyp85 I have a soft spot for this team. They remind me of the racers’ spirit more than any other team on the grid. I like that.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum) said on 6th March 2012, 9:36
@Lin1876 yep, i didnt expect this team would last….They are still in F1, which is great
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65) said on 5th March 2012, 19:11
Reminds me of the first Force India, with the gold and white colour scheme.
Gotta say I like it! even if it looks as basic as a cereal box.
Fixy (@fixy) said on 5th March 2012, 19:13
I really hated the livery of the VJM01, but I love this one.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 5th March 2012, 20:36
I am with you, I thought of that FI livery as well @fer-no65, although as @fixy writes, this one looks a lot better, even if it feels a tad lower level series livery to me.
ScuderiaVincero (@scuderiavincero) said on 5th March 2012, 22:39
Hah! I thought the same! Pity it’ll be spending its time at the back of the grid though, because this car is gorgeous!
dennis (@dennis) said on 6th March 2012, 8:13
@fer-no65
That’s exactly what I thought when I noticed the front wing flaps. “Now that’s basic looking.”
Especially when you compare it to the hugely detailed wings of Red Bull and McLaren, where every kink and turn has a function.
OG Kush (@ogkush7) said on 5th March 2012, 19:14
I hope they have better luck this year. The livery is nice.
Its interesting that Liuzzi is in the picture while Clos is the test driver.
Maybe since they are stuck with him, they might as well put him to work. They could throw him in for Monza and round up some one off sponsors…
kosmic164 (@kosmic164) said on 5th March 2012, 21:43
or round up half the field in a first corner crash like last year :)
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum) said on 6th March 2012, 9:38
@kosmic164 nice one mate
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1) said on 5th March 2012, 19:15
I have to say that I really like that livery, it’s far better than the previous two iterations.
I’m not sure if it’s a stepped-nose though, because the end of the nose slopes down, rather than it being flat, like the other 2012 cars.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii) said on 5th March 2012, 19:24
It’s not a step-nose, probably emulating McLaren’s idea of having a low chassis, which aids the suspension. Therefore the step nose won’t be required
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1) said on 5th March 2012, 19:25
Didn’t think it was :P. I just saw a lot of people saying that they did, but it really didn’t look like it to me. Thanks :)
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii) said on 5th March 2012, 19:26
My mistake, having a second look at the car. It is.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1) said on 5th March 2012, 19:34
I still don’t think it is @YoungerHamii I think it’s just the outer side of the nose which raises and makes it look like it might be a step-nose.
Of course, I could be wrong, but the front of the nose looks like it slopes down more than most other 2012 cars for it to be a step-nose.
sozavele (@formula-1) said on 5th March 2012, 21:06
It is sloped mainly but has a very small step if you look very very hard.
SempreGilles (@sempregilles) said on 5th March 2012, 19:25
Very nice livery they got. I only wish they had some more sponsors, it looks so blank now.
And let’s hope it’s fast (enough) out of the box, so they can qualify in Melbourne and maybe beat Marussia on speed this year.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1) said on 5th March 2012, 19:31
It looks blank at the moment, but Brawn GP had it a lot worse, and their car looked beautiful. It does remind me a little of the Brawn, but the success rate will obviously be significantly lower ;)
Nathhu said on 7th March 2012, 22:35
Brawn success rate sky rocketed only because, Mosley wanted to put on a David vs Goliath show, to give confidence to people applying for 2010 entries that 40M spending underdogs can hope for miracles in F1.
And so illegal double diffusers were deemed legal.
Mosley simply forgot to mention the small detail about the massive resources Honda Bosses from Japan had sunk in the project and had to pay before they parted ( to keep Regulators, labor departments in UK happy).
Another trivial matter overlooked was the idea was originally of a Super Aguri engineer and was planned to go on Aguri Car before Nick Fry mysteriously pulled plug on the Super Aguri project, in spite of Super Aguri boss lining up sponsor after sponsor to be vetted by Nick on behalf of Honda Bosses.
S.J.M (@sjm) said on 5th March 2012, 19:33
Yeah, as Ive just realised that it doesnt have the “This is a cool spot” notes placed on it which made the 2011 car look less empty.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 5th March 2012, 20:37
In hindsight it really highlights the brilliance of that livery, doesn’t it?
S.J.M (@sjm) said on 5th March 2012, 21:04
@bascb the 2011 livery was arguably the best part of the entire team, let alone the car. Money well spent indeed and to think they still managed the 11th place without putting said money into its (if it exists) R&D dept
BasCB (@bascb) said on 5th March 2012, 21:17
Fully agree with that @sjm, their livery last year was a great idea.
David B said on 5th March 2012, 19:26
Like a lot the livery.
But where are the sponsors? Not romantic, I know, but without money HRT has a short life ahead. Hope I’m wrong…
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65) said on 5th March 2012, 19:35
it has more sponsors than last year’s car, though. They’ve been closing on some deals recently.
David B said on 5th March 2012, 19:28
It seems in Italy we think the same thing at the same time! :-D
sam3110 (@sam3110) said on 5th March 2012, 19:28
Ummm, is that a crack in the end of the sidepod?
Sushi Meerkat (@sushi-meerkat) said on 5th March 2012, 19:42
that’s the cool
ing ductspotThe Last Pope (@the-last-pope) said on 5th March 2012, 19:56
lol good one
MahavirShah (@mahavirshah) said on 5th March 2012, 19:28
I like this car both livery and outward appearances. The design seems similar (in some sense) to most of the other teams. I think the car is definitely going to be a step up from last year. Can Melbourne get here any faster :) !!!
barkun (@barkun) said on 5th March 2012, 19:36
nice livery … and decent looking car…. hope they can get some results and a few more sponsors too :)
Andy said on 5th March 2012, 19:50
Why would they want such a small bump in the nose? Surely the little advantage they got out of the very slightly higher nose is offset by the bump which disattach the airflow over the nose. Either they should have gone with a complete rise in chassis and flat nose like most team, or bumpless nose, something they need to do next year anyway.
vjanik said on 6th March 2012, 10:07
airflow under the nose is much more important than the air flowing above it in terms of creating downforce. otherwise why would the smartest engineers in motorsport go with such a concept? what makes you think you understand it better than they do?