Italian GP: Race notes - HRT

09/09/2012

An exciting Italian Grand Prix took place today in Monza. An event where Pedro de la Rosa reached the 100 Formula 1 Grand Prix mark, reserved for a chosen few, which topped off a positive weekend for HRT Formula 1 Team. For the seventh time this season, both F112's crossed the chequered flag with Pedro de la Rosa in 18th position and Narain Karthikeyan in 19th. With a one-stop strategy, both drivers started off with medium compound tyres, but it was the hard compound used in the second half of the race that worked better.

Pedro de la Rosa: "I'm more than satisfied with the result, especially keeping in mind how we started the race. The start wasn't easy but I did what I could because the medium tyres didn't work well. In the second half of the race, on hard tyres, I started to run well and I'm happy with our pitstop because it was very good. I'm happy with this 100th Grand Prix although I would have liked to have done it better. We have to continue improving and in Singapore we hope for the planned upgrades to help us take that step forward."

Narain Karthikeyan: "I had a great start and overtook both Marussias, but on the first corner we had a slight touch that, besides making me lose positions, damaged my front wing. The car was oversteering and we made the most of the pit stop to the change the front wing, which made us lose a substantial amount of time. Then the blue flags started coming out and we also had to change our driving mode to avoid excessive overheating and reach the end of the race. Nevertheless, I'm happy because the car is performing well and surely, if we continue working hard, we will achieve a good result. Now the Asian swing begins and I'm very excited about racing close to home in Singapore."

Luis Perez-Sala, Team Principal: "I'm happy with how the race went; we experienced no problems and the car proved its good reliability. We carried out a one-stop strategy which worked well and finished one lap off the winner, which proved that we had a good performance. We've closed the gap to the head of the field at a circuit that we knew would benefit us. Overall it's been a positive weekend with Ma's debut and Pedro's 100th Grand Prix, and now we're looking forward to Singapore, where I hope we will be able to continue progressing."

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