With HRT bowing out of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone would be happy to see the sport lose one more team. "I'd rather have 10," the F1 chief executive told Reuters on Thursday. "I never wanted 12." HRT's departure leaves just 11 teams on the grid for 2013. It emerged recently that the struggling backmarker Marussia is the only team on the 2013 entry list that is yet to be offered a new Concorde Agreement deal. "It's just that 10 is easier to handle, for the […]

Marussia is the only team on the official 2013 entry list that is yet to be offered a new Concorde Agreement deal. The German website motorsport-total.com reports that the news could be particularly bad for the Russian-owned British backmarker, as Bernie Ecclestone is apparently considering scrapping the so-called 'column 3' benefits for the sport's new teams that debuted in 2010. Presumably, Ecclestone wants to scrap the column-3 entitlements because Caterham has moved into a higher status due to regularly finishing tenth in the constructors' world […]

Ranking the performances of the drivers in the 2012 season

HRT does not feature on the 2013 F1 entry list

Outgoing Williams driver Bruno Senna has said that he is not surprised that Valtteri Bottas has replaced him for the 2013 season. Williams confirmed on Wednesday that Bottas will join Pastor Maldonado for next season. "Since the beginning of my program with Williams I accepted that I had to share the car with Valtteri Bottas in 15 Fridays as a part of his preparation for a likely début in 2013", Bruno explained. Senna raced for HRT in 2010 before moving to Lotus for the last […]

Romain Grosjean and Pedro de la Rosa have escaped penalisation after their collision during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Grosjean tried passing de la Rosa at the final kink and made contact with the HRT racer, losing his front wing. The stewards decided that "The driver of car 22 [de la Rosa] felt that he was following his normal line, was aware that car 10 [Grosjean] was behind him and was aware of the speed delta. The driver of car 10 believed he had been […]

Pedro de la Rosa is hoping that he can end the 2012 season on a strong note, despite starting from the back of the grid. With HRT set to close down on Monday, Brazil will most likely be the final race for the struggling squad. "The track was damp when we went out but we decided to go for the dry strategy because the dry line would come up pretty quickly. The first laps were a bit tricky but it improved a lot towards the […]

Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton's lap of 1:12.458 edged out team mate Jenson Button by less than a tenth of a second. Mark Webber lines up in third place, with Sebastian Vettel only fourth. Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado share the third row, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso. Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg rounded out the top ten. The session started in damp conditions, which meant that the early runners struggled for grip, particularly in […]

According to strong paddock rumours, Sunday's Brazilian grand prix will be the last lap for ailing backmarkers HRT. Publicly looking for a buyer, it is reported that staff have actually already been served with pending redundancy notices that will come into effect after the chequered flag waves on Sunday. "None of us know what will happen," team driver Pedro de la Rosa, who was expected to stay at the Spanish team in 2013, admitted to reporters in Brazil. When asked about the redundancy notices, he […]

Bruno Senna has said that the Brazilian Grand Prix will be helped by the 'amazing' home support. Senna has raced in two Brazilian Grand Prix, finishing 21st with HRT in 2010 and 17th with Renault in 2011. "I’m extremely excited to go back home for the final race of the season", he said. "Racing at your home Grand Prix always has a different flavour to it and the energy and excitement you get from the crowd is amazing". "I’ve only had the chance to race […]

HRT team principal Luis Perez-Sala has paid tribute to the members of HRT after a difficult 2012 season. With owners Thesan Capital attempting to sell the team, the Brazilian Grand Prix may be the team's last race after three seasons in Formula One. "We are all looking forward to one of the best races of the season where the Championship title will be decided", he said. "At HRT Formula 1 Team, we will be facing our own challenge but I know that everyone will give […]

Narain Karthikeyan has hit back at Sebastian Vettel, following the latest bout of criticism from the reigning world champion. Vettel's Red Bull boss, Christian Horner, pointed the finger at HRT's Karthikeyan after Vettel lost the lead of the US grand prix on Sunday to Lewis Hamilton. "The race unfortunately hinged on one backmarker that didn't use his mirrors," he said. Vettel screamed angrily into his radio after losing the place to Hamilton, and some immediately thought the German was being critical of the McLaren driver. […]