HRT Formula 1 Team: Spain's First F1 Team and Its Short Life on the Grid

HRT Formula 1 Team, a Spanish constructor, competed from 2010 to 2012. It began life as Campos Meta, later became Hispania Racing, and was the first Spanish outfit to compete in the sport. In late 2012 its owners failed to find a buyer, which kept it off the 2013 grid.

How did the team begin as Campos Meta?

The team grew out of a partnership between Adrian Campos, who ran Campos Racing, and Enrique Rodriguez of Meta Image, a Madrid sports agency. Campos Racing already ran a European F3 Open team, and it had run the GP2 team later known as Addax. The pair began studying a Formula One entry in February 2009.

Campos Meta set up its headquarters at Meta Image in Madrid, while the technical centre sat at Campos Racing's base in Alzira, Valencia. The FIA named the team on 12 June as one of three new entries for 2010, alongside US F1 Team and Manor Grand Prix.

Money was the team's chief worry from the start. Bernie Ecclestone had already raised doubts on 22 December 2009 over whether the team would be ready for the opening race of 2010. Campos owed 7 million euros to Dallara, and the team struggled to find funding even as it made its plans. Dallara built the 2010 cars in Parma, using Cosworth engines.

In January 2010 Tony Teixeira, principal of A1 Grand Prix, was linked to the team as a potential investor. He saw Campos as a route for the troubled A1 series into F1, but his proposed buy-out met resistance from established teams. Carabante took control in February instead.

In October 2009 Campos struck a deal with the Region of Murcia for new facilities at the Fuente Alamo science park. Earlier, at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the team had confirmed that Bruno Senna, nephew of Ayrton Senna, would be one of its drivers for 2010.

Spain's first Formula One team raced for three seasons before a buyer could not be found in time.

Why did a Spanish Formula One team matter?

Spain had never had a Formula One team that raced, and an earlier attempt called Bravo F1 never made it onto the grid, in 1993. The Campos Meta project was the next serious try, and it drew backers from Spanish business and sport.

Its shareholders from March 2009 included Jose Ramon Carabante, a Spanish businessman, and the basketball players Pau Gasol and Jorge Garbajosa. Their involvement gave the project visibility beyond motor racing, which mattered to a team entering the sport for the first time.

Campos Meta's Madrid base handled marketing and administration, while the new facilities in Murcia were the engineering home that the regional deal had promised. Its Spanish identity was clear from the start, even though the first cars were built in Italy.

Why was the team renamed Hispania?

The Campos name gave way on 19 February 2010, when majority shareholder Jose Ramon Carabante took full control. Colin Kolles replaced Adrian Campos as team principal, and the team was renamed Hispania Racing F1 Team, a name taken from one of Carabante's companies. The headquarters then moved from Madrid to Murcia.

In early February 2010 Adrian Campos had told BBC Sport that the team was struggling to find funding, and a deal to pay for the chassis had been in doubt. Karun Chandhok was confirmed as the second driver on 4 March 2010, the same day the F110 was launched with a Cosworth engine and a Dallara design.

How did the 2010 season go?

Without any pre-season testing, the F110 only ran its first laps at the Bahrain weekend. Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok qualified 23rd and 24th, and both retired from the race. Chandhok's first classified finish came in Australia, where he was 14th and last, and Malaysia brought the team a double finish.

In qualifying Chandhok was 1.7 seconds slower than Senna, and Senna was just over eight seconds behind pole sitter Sebastian Vettel.

Both cars started from the pit lane in Bahrain. Chandhok went out on the second lap, and Senna's race ended on lap 18 when his engine overheated. Australia was little better: the cars were 6.6 seconds off pole and 0.34 seconds slower than Lucas di Grassi's Virgin. Senna retired with a hydraulic failure, while Chandhok crossed the line five laps behind winner Jenson Button.

Malaysia gave the team its first double finish, with Chandhok 3 laps down and Senna 4. China repeated it, with Senna 16th and Chandhok 17th, the last cars still running at the flag. Monaco ended badly for Chandhok, who was set to finish until a crash with Jarno Trulli.

Senna was taken out of the British race at short notice, and Sakon Yamamoto was named in his place. The team then said Senna stayed on as a driver for the remaining races. Yamamoto replaced Chandhok for four races, and Christian Klien stood in at Singapore because of food poisoning.

Chandhok later said, in 2020, that a dispute between Campos and Dallara over chassis payments meant the launch car ran all season without upgrades. The only alteration was moving the side mirrors inboard before a mirror ban in China.

Hispania left the Formula One Teams Association after the 2010 season. The FOTA secretary-general said the team had not paid its 2010 membership fee, while Hispania blamed the organisation's bias against smaller teams.

What changed for the 2011 season?

The team parted with Dallara in May 2010, so the 2011 car, the F111, came from a different technical set-up. Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi were the drivers, and Thesan Capital bought a controlling stake on 4 July 2011, keeping the team name and structure.

A Toyota plan had been agreed in the summer of 2010, but Toyota cancelled it in November 2010 because payments were missed. Juan Villalonga, a former Telefonica chief executive, joined in November 2010 to help with communications, technology and sponsorship. The team had earlier tested GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado, who later went to Williams.

Narain Karthikeyan was announced on 6 January 2011, and Vitantonio Liuzzi was confirmed as second driver on 9 March 2011, after a pre-season test in Barcelona. Liuzzi had been under consideration since February, and the team also tested Giorgio Mondini, a former Formula Renault V6 Eurocup champion. The F111 made its debut in the second practice session at the Australian Grand Prix, with Liuzzi completing an installation lap near the end of the session.

The 107% rule returned in 2011, and neither driver set a time within it in the opening qualifying. Canada was the team's best round, with both cars finishing 13th and 14th and leaving them ahead of Virgin in the constructors' standings. Karthikeyan was later penalised for cutting a chicane, which dropped him to 17th.

In July 2011 Thesan Capital, a Madrid investment company, took control from Jose Ramon Carabante. Its stated aim was to make the team more Spanish, and it said there were no plans to change the name.

Red Bull protege Daniel Ricciardo took Karthikeyan's seat at Silverstone and finished 19th, with Liuzzi 18th. Italy ended badly for Liuzzi, who spun into Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg at the start and took both out of the race. At the Indian Grand Prix Karthikeyan returned in place of Liuzzi and finished 17th, 31.8 seconds clear of Ricciardo.

The season closed with the team 11th in the constructors' standings, above Virgin.

Why did the team fail to survive past 2012?

Thesan Capital confirmed sale talks on 12 November 2012, and the owners put the team up for sale that month. A buyer had to be found by 30 November, the date when 2013 entry fees were due. No buyer came in time, so the team was left off the 2013 entry list.

The 2012 season began with Pedro de la Rosa, who signed a two-year contract on 21 November 2011. Colin Kolles left as team principal on 14 December 2011 and was replaced by Luis Perez-Sala, a change the team tied to a new direction and a move of its headquarters to Spain.

The team moved its operation to the Caja Magica complex in Madrid, which offered 11,000 square metres. The F112 was delayed by failed mandatory crash tests. Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan were then barred from the Australian race after both missed the 107% limit in first-part qualifying.

Reports later said the team went into liquidation. Its assets were sold to Teo Martin, whose firm recycles automotive parts, and he plans to use the cars in the EuroBOSS Series. Josef Kral, a Czech driver, has said he had agreed a deal to race for the team had it reached the 2013 grid.

What did the team achieve season by season?