United States GP: Race notes - HRT

18/11/2012

The inaugural Formula 1 race held today at Circuit of Americas in Austin, Texas, didn't disappoint and American fans enjoyed an amazing race from beginning to end. The nineteenth race of the season had a complicated start for HRT Formula 1 Team but both drivers improved their performance throughout the weekend to round it off today at the race. For the eighth time this season, both F112's crossed the finish line with Pedro de la Rosa in 21st position and Narain Karthikeyan in 22nd.

With no time to lose, the team heads to Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the last Grand Prix of the season that will take place at Interlagos from the 23rd to the 25th of November.

Pedro de la Rosa: "It has been a positive race overall. The car has performed well and the tyres worked better than we expected after the first day of testing. The start was good and I managed to push with the first set of tyres but I may have gone a bit too far and half way through the race I had front graining. But we changed to the hard compound half way through the race and everything worked well again. Five laps to the end, part of the carbon seat broke and I was afraid that I might have to retire but I managed to adapt to the new driving position and we were able to get to the chequered flag, which was not only important for me but for the whole team. Now it is time to look ahead and get ready for Brazil."

Narain Karthikeyan: "The atmosphere here was amazing and it has been a good race after all. Temperatures were our weak point on the first day but yesterday already improved and today we didn't have any problems during the race. The start was clean and our main target was to finish the race. And we have done it without any problems and keeping a good pace on both sets of tyres. We are now looking forward to the race in Brazil where we hope to do a good job and finish the season on a good note."

Luis Perez-Sala, Team Principal: "First of all I want to thank every single team member for their outstanding professionalism and attitude during this Grand Prix. It hasn't been easy but everyone has done a fantastic job and I am very proud of this team and its members. After a few races with one or the other car not being able to finish, it has been really good to see both Pedro and Narain getting to the end. Moreover, this two-car finish result has been particularly important for everyone's morale and to face the last race of the season with confidence and high spirits."

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