HRT F1 car bought by Pirelli to be sold on eBay

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Pirelli are to sell a car used by HRT in 2011 which they bought after the team’s collapse last year.

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Pirelli set to put Formula One car up for online auction (Metro)

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery: “Our marketing department said nobody seems to want to use it. So I said let’s put it on eBay for charity.”

Toto Wolf [sic] Q&A: We have a mountain of work to do (F1)

“We’re already working on 2014 and we’ll gradually raise the percentage of people working on next year’s car. I would say that in May we will reach a point where more than 50 percent will work on the 2014 car.”

Mercedes not panicked by Bahrain woes (Autosport)

“[Ross] Brawn conceded that Mercedes was still marginal on tyres and risked similar problems whenever temperatures rose, though he believes Bahrain exaggerated the situation.”

Vettel can forget about strolling to title, says Hamilton (The Sun)

“I don’t think it will be the same for Seb in all the races plus Red Bull have seemed to struggle in some qualifying sessions.”

Webber: Teams will get used to the tires (NBC)

“The consistency’s important with the tires. We see some teams are very consistent with tires: we see Lotus doing two stop strategies, the McLaren doing four stops with Jenson Button who is a very smooth driver on the tires. So it’s still a very big factor.”

The ups and downs of F1 (Toro Rosso)

Daniel Ricciardo: “Today’s lap chart makes pretty grim reading: I had the slowest lap of the race, eight-tenths slower than one of the Marussias and I finished the race only 9s clear of one of the Caterhams. As I haven’t forgotten how to drive in the last seven days, there’s something wrong with the car that we need to understand.”

Meanwhile in Izvestia (Joe Saward)

“The newspaper says that the commission is being created because of revised estimates into the costs involved, which have gone from the planned $250 million [£163.8 million] to $380 million [£249.1 million].”

Sakhir Sunshine (ESPN)

“The hospitality was great as it was trying to keep the media on the right side with all the events that surround the race.”

Tweets

Comment of the day

@AdrianMorse on Mark Webber’s F1 prospects beyond the end of the year:

I would like to see him in F1 next year, but where is he going to go? Another season with Red Bull seems very unlikely unless there is shock departure from Sebastian Vettel.

I think he should have taken Ferrari up on their offer last year (especially now we know the Ferrari is so quick). He could have driven in red for a year or two and then gracefully bowed out. With Massa’s (relative) resurgence in form, I doubt he will get another offer this year.

That doesn’t leave many teams that could offer him a seat, especially with all other teams except McLaren expecting some sort of sponsorship to be brought along. The most likely option would be a switch between Webber and Kimi Raikkonen, but even then I think Lotus have other drivers lined up.
@AdrianMorse

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Image © HRT F1 Team

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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64 comments on “HRT F1 car bought by Pirelli to be sold on eBay”

  1. I’d love to see the look on the face of the guy who spends tonnes of money on that HRT thinking he can drive it, only to find out he doesn’t have any of the required equipment to start it up after it arrives haha!

    1. @nick-uk once during an IPL cricket match in India Vijay Mallya had installed his Force India car in the stadium. When I casually mentioned this to a frnd who didnt knw a thing abt F1, he said ‘yeah, for the man of the match’!!!(its common fr sponsors to gift road cars to MoM.). So I guess like my frnd will buy HRT thinking its a road car :p

    2. did you ever see this great thread about getting an old F1 Honda RA107 running?:

      http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9325&hilit=ra107&sid=2fe82995c0da3bb27eef6cb5187bb11f

      we should pass it on to the winner..!

      1. WOW! To get a modern day F1 for 34k, even if it came without an engine and steering wheel… It is such a bargain!

    3. Plus, with Pirelli 2013 tyres on, it wouldn’t last 10 km :)

    4. forget starting it, it doesn’t even have an engine

      The Italian company acquired the engine-less car

  2. There is no better day to buy a lottery ticket! Even if I could never drive it, owning an F1 car would be the epitome of F1 fanaticism.

  3. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    25th April 2013, 1:13

    Personally i think that Webber and Raikkonen could be essentially traded for eachother.

    He says he only wants to stay in Formula 1 if he’s in a competitive car, so:

    – Lotus seems like the most likely place he’d go if he’s to stay in Formula 1, especially if the Kimi-Red Bull rumors are true.
    – He can’t really stay at RBR, just because of a certain German lad, and an older Austrian.
    – He cant go to Mclaren, because they’re rebuilding for the future,
    – He cant go to Ferrari because Massa is coming back on form.

    But you never know, things in F1 change so quickly that he could indeed end up resigning with Red Bull.
    Who knows.

    1. Personally i think that Webber and Raikkonen could be essentially traded for eachother.

      You’re assuming that Raikkonen will happily give up everything he’s got for the sake of driving a Red Bull. He’s got a competitive car in the E21, and has built up a good relationship with the team around him. Why would he give up on a good thing for the sake of a car that is only marginally better and a team that has very publicly struggled to manage its drivers?

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        25th April 2013, 7:59

        I not assuming it will happen, I’m just saying that its one possible result.

        1. Then please, explain to me why Raikkonen would give up everything that he has – a good car, a strong team, and a good relationship with the people within it – for the sake of moving to Red Bull.

          Sure, Red Bull have Adrian Newey, and they produce strong cars. But the E21 is already a very strong car, so it’s not like Raikkonen would be moving from Sauber or Williams to Red Bull. And he’d be walking into a team that, like I said, has very publicly struggled to manage their drivers. Raikkonen already has strong relationships where he is.

          A lot of people seem to think that if a vacancy becomes available at Red Bull, then Raikkonen will automatically want to move there because they are they best team. But nobody seems to take into account Raikkonen’s current position. If he is happy where he is, then why should he move? Is it worth giving up on what he has for a car that is only slightly better and a team that can’t manage their drivers? If I were in Raikkonen’s position, I’d have to say no.

          Moving from Lotus to Red Bull might be a case of losing a nickel and finding a dime – but he’s already lost the nickel when he discovers that if he wants the dime, he’s going to have to take it from a funnel-web spider the size of a dinner plate.

          1. @prisoner-monkeys – I’m not trying to speak for @tophercheese21, who already said it was just one possibility of many, but I’ll give it a shot.

            What team has won the last three drivers and team championships? What team has had its cars consistently at the front the past 4 years, including the season that was at least half-dominated by Brawn? I am not an RBR fan, and I have enjoyed seeing Lotus’s results last season and this, but they are still behind RBR.

            Who was Kimi’s main sponsor when he was rallying? RBR

            Who is known for doing whatever he wants, is a former world champion who is not intimidated by other world champions, and is regularly known to not give a f*@k about the other driver on the team? Raikkonen. Do you honestly think that Kimi, having seen what Vettel has done to his teammate, would hesitate to do whatever he wants? I don’t.

            I get your points, and they aren’t without merit, but unless someone overtakes RBR there is no downside to the move.

          2. Chris (@tophercheese21)
            26th April 2013, 0:09

            @prisoner-monkeys
            I’m not trying to disagree with you.

            Infact I completely agree with what your saying, I too see little reason why Kimi would want to move from his current situation, other than maybe money, and/or a slightly better chance at winning a second WDC, to Red Bull.

            All I’m saying is that it could happen.

            When the rumors of Lewis leaving Mclaren to go to Mercedes started popping up last year, I thought that they were complete rubbish, why would he give up his position in a race winning car, and a great team, for a team that (at the time) was 1.5-2 seconds off the pace? And yet, he did move!

            Another example is the rumors of Vettel-Ferrari, I don’t think it will happen, because why would Vettel want to give up his currently dominating position on the best team, with the best brain in F1, with the best car? Why would he want to move to Ferrari who are still very much playing catch up?

            And yet, the rumors are there.

          3. @hobo – Raikkonen might have had Red Bull backing in 2010, but he hasn’t had it since. It’s proof of nothing.

          4. @hobo

            What team has won the last three drivers and team championships?

            Which team has won the last three Constructors’ Championships? Red Bull. Which driver has won the last three Drivers’ Championships? The Red Bull driver. Everything in the team is geared towards Vettel and Vettel’s success.

            Who was Kimi’s main sponsor when he was rallying? RBR

            A lot of people assumed that Red Bull were sponsoring him in the WRC as a placeholder for a return to Formula 1 in 2011. It never happened. It was only ever a commercial opportunity; since Raikkonen was a former Formula 1 World Champion entering the World Rally Championship, there was naturally going to be a lot of attention directed at him, which is why Red Bull sponsored him. And Raikkonen was driving for the Citroen Junior Team, which was an extension of the Citroen World Rally Team – a team tat Red Bull already sponsored. So the company’s sponsorship of him in another series three years ago that never amounted to anything once he returned to Formula 1 is proof of nothing.

            Do you honestly think that Kimi, having seen what Vettel has done to his teammate, would hesitate to do whatever he wants? I don’t.

            It would affect any driver, and Raikkonen is no exception.

            The Red Bull cars are currently only marginally better than the Lotus. The Red Bull team is hopeless at managing their drivers properly, which would likely cost Raikkonen any shot at the title with them, assuming they would allow him to tace with Vettel in the first place.

          5. @priosoner-monkeys – Don’t move the goalposts. You didn’t ask for proof, you asked for reasons (or an explanation) as to why Raikkonen might leave Lotus for Red Bull. Aside from the reasons you provided (but were not satisfied with), I provided more. That’s all. Possible reasons as to why he might jump. Faster car, more money, previous ties to the sponsor. It’s fine if you don’t like the idea but there are plenty of reasons why he might change teams.

          6. @prisoner-monkeys – If I could edit I would. Apologies on the name.

      2. +1

        If I was Kimi, I’d stay at Lotus. Plus, I don’t think Red Bull would pair Kimi with Seb, tehy would probably get a Toro Rosso driver and put António Felix da Costa to drive the second Toro Rosso.

      3. Do we know the details of his contract? If he wins the title it might be that Lotus have the option to extend and he obliged to stay put.

        1. If he wins the title, why would he want to go anywhere else? When Jenson Button left Brawn, it was because he knew he wouldn’t be able to defend his title with the team. If Raikkonen has confidence in Lotus to defend a title, staying with them is hardly an obligation.

    2. Not to mention the politics and the PR works at RBR. Eric said himself that Kimi is doing great because he’s doing less of what he hates.

      1. yet he’s the only F1-driver I constantly see in tv-commercials for all sorts of stuff. The Kimi anti-pr thing is a hyped up crock.

        1. You say that, but in every advert I’ve seen with Kimi, I couldn’t help but think that they rolled kimi in, he stood there for 1 minute “acting”, then wandered off.

          1. David not Coulthard (@)
            25th April 2013, 6:41

            And it probably happens only on a monthly or annual basis. His shot is then inserted digitally into an ad, I imagine.

            Perhaps all those CLEAR ads featuring Kimi were taken in 1 rather short session, or, as I push the boundaries a little bit, maybe those were the same shots inserted into different ads – who knows?

          2. Raikkonen probably likes doing all of those ads, because he only as to shoot them once. It might take up a day of his time, and then the ad can be put into rotation enough that it fulfils his PR quota.

            On the other hand, I’m led to believe that he hates attending sponsor fucntions. I seem to recall him being in Dubai to open a sponsor’s store during his time with McLaren, and it was painfully obvious that he didn’t want to be there.

        2. TV commercials and PR events are not the same thing. TV commercial, you just shoot it once and be on your merry way but PR event you have to stay there acting friendly and polite and signing autograph and stuff.

    3. (@tophercheese21) COTD for sure.

      Would also be great to see Kimi in a Newey car.

      1. Kimi was in a Newey car in 2005 and all it did was break down…

      2. I see your profile says you’ve been following F1 since 1998. Kimi drove Newey cars for several years in the early to mid 2000’s.

        1. (@jonsan) (@davef1) *correction* back in a Newey car.

    4. @tophercheese21 Lotus have got Valsecchi as a third driver, and I’m sure they would want him to replace any one of Grosjean or Raikkonen. They’ve also got a dedicated Junior Team, headed by Dane Marco Sorensen, who is in the Formula Renault 3.5 series this year. Also, it isn’t the philosophy of Team Enstone to hire people past their primes.

      1. Gerhard Berger?

        1. Ignoring the fact that he nearly won a race in ’96 and did win in ’97?

  4. The question is, how much?
    I know is often to see old F1 cars on sale but this HRT is only a couple of years old so I imagine it will be quite expensive, well for most of us :(

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      25th April 2013, 5:05

      I start with 5 bucks

      1. A 100 quid is my final offer for an HRT

        1. Drop Valencia!
          25th April 2013, 10:31

          $175000 my guess

  5. http://www.motoring.com.au/news/2013/renaults-conservative-redline-for-2014-f1-engines-36274
    A friend of mine stumbled upon this article. It quotes Rémi Taffin, Renault Sports F1 head of track operations as saying the 2014 Renault engine will only rev at a maximum of 12500 RPM rather than the 15000 rev limit.
    I’ve done a bit of googling and this isn’t showing up anywhere else besides a reddit thread which uses the same article so I’ll be taking it with a grain of salt until it is published on a reputable F1 site… but it is interesting nonetheless.
    Give it a read and share your thoughts :)

    1. @julian That’s what most people agree to. I mentioned it on the forums here a few times (most recently in the “2014 F1 cars will be 5 seconds slower thread”), you should have a look at the F1technical forums and more specifically the thread about the V6-engines. They will not rev anywhere near 15.000rpm because of the fuel-flow limit.

      1. GP2 cars pace will be far to close then surely?

        1. GP2 undergoes a regular change of chassis every three years. This year is the final year that the GP2/11 chassis will be used; the GP2/14 will be introduced next season. It will present an opportunity for the organisers to make changes to the engines as well.

          Also, even if next year’s Formula 1 cars are five seconds per lap slower than this year’s, don’t expect them to remain that way for long. Even if the engines are slower, the teams will find a way to make up the difference. When the regulations were rewritten for 2009, introducing skinny rear wings and limiting the use of aerodynamic aids on the bodywork, they were intended to slow the cars down in comparision to the 2008 cars – but the cars were immeidately producing quicker lap times. Lewis Hamilton set a time of 1:26.714 to get pole for the 2008 Australian Grand Prix; in 2009, Jenson Button did it in 1:26.202, and by 2010, Sebastian Vettel was on pole with a 1:23.919.

          So while the engines themselves might be down on power (though they are intended to produce the same amount of power as they currently do; the difference is in the way that power is produced), the teams will do everything they can to develop their aerodynamics, though the mandatory lower noses might hurt a few teams because it fundamentally alters the front-end aerodynamics.

      2. 5 seconds?

        It’s not all down to revs, is it?

        1. @jcost Read my thought about it here.

          1. thoughts*

        2. I think that if the power is being decreased this dramatically etc, then the teams should be given a little more aerodynamic freedom to make up the difference; this is just making it easier for someone else to come up with the ‘pinnacle of motor racing’

      3. Room for development, then? I don’t know all technical details, but I guess someone will find those 2.500 revs from the same amount of fuel. Maybe a smaller engine?
        What a massive feat it would be if F1 succeeds with this!

        1. I’ve always found it funny that people moan about how the FIA stifles innovation, and then as soon as they annouce regulations that will actually promote innovation – in this case, trying to produce an engine that produces the same power output as an older engine despite being smaller – they moan about how it will make the cars slower or sound terrible.

          Personally, I think the 2014 engine regulations are great. They’re not just going to encourage innovation, but practical innovation. Hopefully, the engineering process will be able to trickle down to road cars – something that things like off-throttle blown diffusers and reactive ride heights would never be able to do.

          1. While I am also glad to see an opportunity for innovation in engine development, I think this opportunity has been far to little, the engines will all be virtually identical and development will stop BEFORE the 1st. race!
            And Bernie is right, without development ongoing the races will be economy runs as the drivers strive to get to the finish without using full throttle.

          2. @hohum Actually I think I read somewhere that the engine freeze will be in April 2014, so that’s like 2 races!!

          3. @prisoner-monkeys – as @hohum has pointed out, they aren’t actually being allowed to develop the engines much at all and the regulations already severely restrict what they can do with them.

            It annoys me how the FIA are eliminating a lot of the development area for aerodynamics but not really replacing it with anything else. I’d actually like to see some proper engine development – they should just give a fuel flow limit, limit the amount of possible cylinders and only allow one turbo – after that let them do as they please!

          4. @mantresx, I thought it was March 14th. but my memory is far from infallible.

  6. I appreciate Mercedes putting so much effort to build a championship car for next year, but I fear they might be scaling-down on 2013 car too early. W04 has some pace to unlock and it’s being driven by two very good drivers and they have a real chance at the title, so why the team is investing half their skills into the unknown?

    1. @jcost, I agree, and I feel it’s a little early as an admission of defeat. In the only two fully dry qualifyings, they started from pole, so at least they are starting from the front. Obviously, their race pace is currently a bit down on RBR, Lotus, and Ferrari, but the season is long and so far Lewis has kept in touch with the standings leaders.

      The situation feels a bit similar to BMW Sauber in 2008, when Kubica was in the championship fight almost until the end, but his team didn’t really believe in it (and switched their resources to the 2009 car which turned out to be a dog).

    2. You are correct it could be that but a couple things might be worth taking into account.

      They have recruited more staff (and looking at their website still are) so while it might be half, it would be a bigger half.

      Also might be what they were doing each year (though after last years drop off not a great idea!).

      1. OK then.

        Because it’s a pity to let go 2013 without proper fight because W04, despite its not so good race pace, is probably their best car since 2010.

        If they find some pace when the car is heavy and conserve their tyres better, that car will be a regular podium finisher.

    3. Half of Mercedes is still a lot more talent and experience than all of a lot of teams.

  7. Jean Eric Vergne (23) and Giedo van der Garde (28) also have birthdays today…

  8. I don’t know how Hamilton defines “struggling”, but two pole positions, sitting out of Q3 (which I suppose could be interpreted as “struggling”) and going P9 and a front row doesn’t look like it to me!

  9. The Blade Runner (@)
    25th April 2013, 8:53

    I’d love to buy this, stick a TV on the front nose and sit in it whilst watching each GP!

      1. The Blade Runner (@)
        25th April 2013, 15:19

        @jcost OMG! I seriously need one of those. Perhaps I can justify selling my house, renting somewhere and investing in one?

  10. I’m surprised there’s a complete example of a HRT left after Karthikeyan’s exploits

    1. The Blade Runner (@)
      25th April 2013, 15:20

      Love it!

  11. The Great Sachin Tendulkar with Narain Karthikeyan. For those of you who dont know- Sachin Tendulkar is the Michael Schumacher of cricket

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