The stories about Toyota doing a deal with HRT for next year continue, but none of them really make much sense. What is clear is that the team is not going to move to Cologne because Toyota needs the facility for its future Le Mans programme.
Our sources in Spain insist that a Toyota deal was signed a few months ago by team owner Jose Ramon Carabante, but the Spaniard then changed his mind because of the cost of the deal and has been trying to negotiate his way out ever since. Clearly the folks at Toyota in Cologne would need to be paid something for their efforts in the interim, which apparently amounted to continuing the development of a 2011-version of the 2010 car, which has never been raced.
It makes no sense at all for the Spanish team to part with money and get nothing at all from the situation, and a logical compromise would be for HRT to pay Toyota a sum in settlement for the lapsed deal, but to get something as well. If the team were to acquire the intellectual property rights to the Toyota chassis and then use the data to build their own car then everyone would be happy. There are a number of knock-on effects of such a course of action, notably that the HRT team would need to find a wind tunnel capable of running 60% models as Toyota’s work has all been done with a 60% wind tunnel. This is good news for Williams as the Grove team has a 60% wind tunnel available (it has two) and so it makes sense for HRT to expand it deal with Williams.
There has been speculation that as part of the deal HRT might agree to run Williams F1 test driver Valtteri Bottas, who has lost out on a chance at Williams because the team is taking on pay-driver Pastor Maldonado. This is possible, but one can also imagine a situation in which Williams might agree to loan out Nico Hulkenberg to HRT as it does not want to lose control of the German, who has a longterm contract with Williams. This would give HRT a driver with potential and useful experience. The word is that the team has now found a backer to replace the Carabantes, but it remains to be seen whether or not they want to face up to the failure or go trying to raise money in Spain, where no-one seems interested in anything other than Fernando Alonso. If there is a deal with a Repsol or a Telefonica it would have happened by now…
It will be interesting to see who pops up in the next few weeks. However, it is also clear that things are on the move at HRT.
Ho bloody hum. Maybe the new HRT backer is Dany Bahar! After all, why can’t Proton be both the new Ferrari and the new Red Bull, owning two teams!
This is idle speculation, but I’d think that Hülkenberg’s contract would (however long-term it may be) contain clauses that would allow him to get out of it, if Williams fail to give him a race seat in their car?
His manager is Willi Weber, after all..
Good for HRT. I hope they prove Bernie “they’re cripples” Ecclestone wrong.
Hi Joe,
Is the Maldonado deal definitely done? If so, I really think they’re making a mistake. Hulkenberg is ready to take over from Barrichello in my opinion. Maybe Rubens is the one on the way out? Probably not.
Regarding HRT, it really seems that they are becoming the Williams junior team. Williams must be delighted to have this funding from them, but really, where is this coming from? How much does Sakon Yamamoto actually bring to the team? Can it really be that much?
THe “secret” backer would be Juan Villalonga (former Telefonica’s chairman).
Amount of investement: 10 % HRT
Date of announcement: Tomorrow
[...] Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/more-on-hrt-and-toyota/ [...]
[...] Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/more-on-hrt-and-toyota/ [...]
Ho hum indeed. Joe where do your “rumours” come from? I’m sure your sources are sound. But I’d be much more likely to pay attention to your blogs if you stuck to the point and didn’t bore us with your waffly posts about how lovely it is to travel business class all over the world. Been there, done that. Stick with the F1 story Mr S.
Mon Pen,
To each his own. You may not like it but think it through and you will understand that it serves two important purposes. People always want to feel included and F1 never does that. Telling people what it is like to go to these places is part of that process. I discovered that more than 20 years ago with the Globetrotter column in Autosport magazine and the same style of thing has always been popular. Secondly it delivers an important message in a subtle fashion. I attend the races, unlike a lot of other F1 “reporters”, bloggers and “experts”. This means that the blog has a great deal more credibility. So, I have no problem with you not liking it, but it works for me.
Joe, I am full of admiration that you can respond so civilly to a tosser like M le Pen above. Why doesn’t he go somewhere else? It’s a free world…
WOT! Absolutely never change your style Joe.
I appreciate your response.
My point is baby in bathwater. There are some true gems in your blogs and yeah we know you hav a pitpass blah blah and youare on first name terms with blahdy blah but jeez you have to wade through a lot of waffle to find the interesting stuff.
No offence intended, I just happen not to care, for example which class you fly, where and how, just get to the point.