10/04/2012
FEATURE BY MAT COCH
HRT is under new management. There is a new sign above the door and new faces behind the counter, but it hasn't yet managed to fully air the place out. It suffers with the prejudices of the previous owners but is working hard to change those preconceived notions.
HRT has always had a chip on its shoulder. The object of ridicule since the day it was founded, how it has limped its way in to its third year nobody can quite work out. In its first two seasons the team failed to come anywhere close to justifying its place in Formula One while off track it's had more commercial makeovers than new racing cars.
It has a new logo (its third in as many years) for 2012, a change which reflects the outlook held by the outfit's new owners. It's fresh and modern, chic and glamorous; all the qualities Formula One likes to appear to have.
Luis Perez-Sala must therefore represent its new ambition. A former Minardi driver, Perez-Sala was installed as the team's boss in place of Colin Kolles by new owners Thesan Capital, a Spanish investment company.
Thesan bought the company in July last year for an undisclosed figure. Typically investment companies take undervalued companies, transform them as cheaply as possible before selling them on for a hefty profit.
Buying HRT is a strange move. A back of the grid Formula One team with seemingly little potential without major investment doesn't seem the simplest way of generating a return for shareholders. It's also foolish in the extreme to think any Formula One team can produce a positive return, least of all HRT, but it has given the team a more solid foundation than it has previously enjoyed.
"They want to grow something viable," explains Perez-Sala of Thesan's strategy. "They want to grow something with a balance between income and expense... They know that it is not going to be easy.
"It is a risk," he continues, "but they knew it's a risk. They can lose but this is something they have in their mind."
"HRT is safe, at least for this season," adds Maria Serrat. The team's Communications and PR Director, Serrat helps Perez-Sala explain as his broken English is often found wanting for clarity outside of his native Spanish.
"We have in mind at least 3 years," she continues. "But first of all (the focus is on) trying to stabilise the team and create a stable foundation in order to be able to grow in the future. That's the work we are doing now; stabilising the income and expenses."
A cynic would suggest it has comparatively little of either. In 2010 the team is believed to have received just $3.1m (£1.95m) of sponsorship funds, with much of that coming courtesy of Bruno Senna's links with Embratel. Indeed much of HRT's original investment came courtesy of its drivers, with the Carabante family chipping in an estimated $16m (£10.1m) of its $46m (£28.9m) resources.
Still development on the car during the team's first two seasons was practically non-existent. While it initially claimed the 2011 car was new the team had to eventually concede it was in fact the 2010 design in drag. Geoff Willis was given the task of developing things early on but was given no money with which to do so. Maintenance standards were rather more relaxed than at other teams, and unsurprisingly the team went nowhere.
Perez-Sala is quick to distance both himself and Thesan from the Carabante era. A back-office shake-up has resulted in an almost entirely new management team and a more straightforward approach to Grand Prix racing.
"We have to prove, with these changes, that we are going to improve and we are going to be different," stresses Perez-Sala.
"It's something difficult to see form the outside," adds Serrat. "It's a new beginning; we are not starting not even from zero... We inherited a lot."
After installing new management the biggest challenge has been consolidating a host of small offices under one roof. "This team was complex; some people working from Spain, some from Germany, France, England, Italy," Perez-Sala reveals.
It was decided that, in an attempt to separate the team from the rest of the Formula One grid and create its own unique identity, it would set up camp in Madrid. "England's the best place but you're not going to survive because you have all the teams there and you are going to be the last one," Perez-Sala suggests. "There's nothing different that's why they went to Spain, to try something different."
Madrid is most certainly different, far removed from the Silverstone Triangle all teams bar Toro Rosso, Sauber and Ferrari inhabit. It's a move Toyota tried when it based itself in Cologne.
Madrid is a different beast to Cologne, however. The Spanish capital is a city without any Formula One experience or expertise, and its automotive sector is non-existent. Beyond a misguided sense of patriotism it's hard to understand why the team has elected to move to a region without the industry to surround it.
Madrid may prove to be a viable option for European based Formula One staff looking for an alternative to the two Italian teams but luring British personnel will likely be expensive, as Toyota discovered. Given the heart of Formula One lies in the English countryside it's a huge market the team is effectively writing itself out of. Even trivial tasks like dealing with suppliers and contractors, certainly those with experience, will prove more difficult to manage.
Still, it's an improvement on the team's previous set up, even if the design office will remain in a separate office in Munich.
Because of the challenges of moving office and restructuring the team from the ground up Serrat claims the team begins 2012 from a point somewhere on the far side of zero. Perez-Sala must first not only consolidate the team structurally, but also logistically while keeping it racing every other weekend. It's an unenviable job but one that seems to be made no easier by being based in Spain.
At least the team is happy with its designers. While the group won't be joining the HRT family in Madrid it will receive particular attention from Perez-Sala. "We need to grow in the design department because it's something that we have contracted out until now. We want to bring it in-house," he admits. "We have a team of aerodynamicists that is based in Munich. We are quite happy with them, we have a relationship deal with them, and one with Mercedes in the wind tunnel.
"We are with Williams. We want to be partnered with them and maybe increase the partnership because we know that you have to have a relationship with a top team." Technical tie ups with Mercedes and Williams are crucial to that equation as HRT buys in the technical foundation it is incapable of providing itself.
Much of that restructuring work won't be visible until next season. 2012 remains a legacy of the outgoing management regime, with the F112 having begun life under its guidance. While updates are planned (pencilled in for the start of the European season) it's unlikely the team will enjoy a sharp upturn in fortunes. As far as Perez-Sala is concerned the team has done well just to make the grid this year, let alone make any inroads in to his master plan.
"We missed the crash test at the beginning of February which was a really big surprise," he admits. It meant that, for the third successive year, HRT's car never made it to pre-season testing - only by bending the rules with a 'filming' day in order to shake it down allowed the car some on-track time before Melbourne.
The failed crash test hurt the team's preparations, but there were problems with suppliers which would have left the team battling to get the car ready in time anyway. Serrat claims these are inherited problems, a result of the previous owner, though it seems difficult to accept considering Thesan took control in July last year. The Carabantes, and the people they chose to run the team, are an easy excuse when fronted with a difficult question.
Things are changing, and perhaps it's fair that Perez-Sala doesn't yet have all of the answers. The team has its immediate future assured, which is undeniably positive, however some decisions still seem worryingly at odds with common logic.
Being owned by a hedge fund, on the surface, isn't a healthy way to run a Formula One team. It might be fine for this year and next, but what happens when Thesan Capital gets tired of making a loss on its investment? A typical team - not a winning team - requires about $80m (£50.4m) of investment annually. Can an investment fund focussed on returns afford to pour that sort of money in to the team?
At least questioning whether Madrid is the right place to base a Formula One team is better than questioning if the team has the money to see out the season.
It remains to be seen if HRT is just a team with a new logo, or if it really is the new team it claims to be. "I hope we can sit here with you next year and have another interview," says Perez-Sala with a wink. "Maybe we are going to be better, or worse, or at the same level, it's a possibility! We will see."
Note: Pictures courtesy of Nathan Wong at Speedshots
To check out previous features from Mat, click here