HRT has released the first rendered pictures of F111, unveiling its new and distinctive livery.The F111 has been designed under the technical leadership of Geoff Willis and has been labelled as "a significant step forward" by team boss Colin Kolles. The press release did not state when the car would actually hit the track, but it is expected to make at least one appearance during the final pre-season test in Bahrain.
Colin Kolles commented:
"The F111 represents a significant step forward for Hispania Racing. We have made a big improvement for starting our second season in Formula One and what you see in our new car confirms Hispania Racing´s commitment to F1."
The team finished 11th and pointless in the 2010 championship but ahead of rivals Virgin by virtue of a higher finish. Although F110 did not feature any significant aerodynamic upgrades during the season due to lack of financial resources but the HRT intends to tweak the F111 over the 2011 season.
HRT president Jose Ramon Carabante commented:
"We feel really proud of the car our drivers will run this forthcoming season. Despite a challenging first year, we managed to finish on the eleventh position in the world constructors championship. Now, we are very pleased to introduce the first spec of the F111, which means a huge design-effort from our side. This is only a first step as we are planning several updates during the season."
The car livery has been designed by Daniel Simon and features a red-white paintwork in combination with new sponsor Tata, which comes to the team with Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan. However, the spaces on the sidepod and front and rear wings appear to be available for sponsorship by including messages like "your logo here". As it becomes obvious the main reason of the photoshoot is a desperate attempt of attracting new sponsors that would like to include their corporate logos in the international broadcast. Nevertheless, that move reminds strongly Paul Stoddart's European Minardi which was criticized for being "a mobile advertising panel" rather than an F1 racing car.
Kolles commented about the livery: "Daniel has created a wonderfully confident look for our new car which really captures the effort the whole team has put into developing the F111. The car design and the graphic design perfectly complement one another and mark the real beginnings of our ambitions."
