Fuente Alamos' Formula 1 baby unveiled in Murcia

Murcia Regional news, Hispania Racing unveil new F1 contender

2010-03-06

So this is it, the Team Hispania Formula 1 racing car which will have it's headquarters here in Fuente Alamo, Spains' only F1 racing team.

After months of speculation the car was unveiled yesterday in a ceremony at the Auditorio in Murcia, the first time that the racing press have had a chance to see the car, which has not even been thoroughly tested yet, but is already on its' way to Bahrain for the start of the 2010 season.

The car has been built and designed by Dallara, and boasts a 2,400cc 8 cylinder Cosworth CA 2010, 18000 rpm  engine, putting it on a level footing with Virgin, Williams and Lotus, and bore virtually no sponsorship logos, as the newly formed team has only recently been bought out by Jose Ramon Carabante, changing its name from Campos-Meta to team Hispania. 

The reception given by the worlds racing commentators was optimistically positive, the general consensus being that the combination of design, engine and the choice of drivers should give the car a reasonably good chance of a respectable performance.

Both Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok, who becomes Indias' first ever F1 driver, are rookie F1 debutants, hungry for success and with consistent performances on the F2 circuit

 

Within a month the headquarters of the Hispania F1 team, referred to officially as HRT F1 will be ready in Fuente Alamo on the Industrial Park, with the administrative seat moving here immediately whilst the small question of the 20 million euro investment for  the completion of the testing circuit, wind tunnel and factory is resolved.

The region of Murcia, whose "No Tipical" logo was proudly emblazoned at the presentation, has sponsored the team in a 3 year, nine million euro deal, the core of which was to bring the team here to Murcia, and ensure that the cars are made in this region for the future.

This first car was manufactured in Italy, but the plans are to build the new factory in Fuente Alamo, delays have only occurred because of the change in team ownership, and the minor detail of the 20 million.

Adrian Campos initiated the formation of the Spanish team, but was eventually bought out by Carabante, owner of the Hispania and 2002 groups after the manufacturers became insistent that the full payment be completed on the car- build. Although he has remained with the team, it's been a bit of a rush to get this car ready to compete in Bahrain, so although testing is not completed, it was decided to go ahead and participate, even though team sponsorship deals have still not been finalized.

The car unveiled yesterday was a rather sluggish metallic colour, and surprisingly the colour was the top topic on all the racing forums, who were universally unimpressed by the torpid  paint job and lack of corporate branding. We spent a most entertaining half hour or so poking around on the F1 forums reading the discussions about the cars' design, looking at the photographs posted as the F1 anoraks dissected the technical details and debated the merits of the Red Bull RB5-esque dimpled nose, squabbled over the design efficiency of the cars tight sidepod and debated how the car could possibly arrive in Bahrain in 6 days and whether this was just a show chassis and the real car was already lying there in wait.

Carabante, however, was justifiably proud of his new enterprise, saying,

 

The new HRT F1 Team, Hispania Racing F1 Team is born in Murcia. I am proud to welcome you in Murcia where the team has its roots and to have given to my country the pride of the first ever Spanish Formula 1 team.".

"The name of the team contains the word Hispania, which is not only the name of one of my companies, but Hispania was also the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. That reflects now our team's new identity. 2010 will be a major debut for the team and drivers at the wheel of our HRT F1 Team car.

 

Rumours had been spreading recently that this factory would never be built, that the build would be happening in Germany and that the Fuente Alamo project was dead and buried, so let's just hope they sort out the minor details of the 20 million euros and start building that factory soon.

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