• HRT news

HRT hopes to close gap in Monaco

HRT has been able to start developing the F112 after relocating to new headquarters © HRT

Enlarge

Related Links

• Race:
• Monaco Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Pedro de la Rosa

• Teams:
• HRT

HRT is aiming to close the gap to the rest of the field in Monaco due to the nature of the street circuit.

With Barcelona testing a car's all-round performance Pedro de la Rosa finished the Spanish Grand Prix three laps down while Narain Karthikeyan failed to finish. De la Rosa, however, says that the team is excited for the race in Monaco because the track does not put a large demand on aerodynamic efficiency.

"Monaco is by far the most difficult and technical circuit in the entire Championship," de la Rosa said. "The only trick to this track is to do miles and not change the car's set-up too much because you can find more time in the driver than in the car. We must try to do as many laps as possible on Thursday in order to build up some confidence for qualifying because it's the most important thing in Monaco.

"In the race the most important thing is to manage your strategy well and it's more than probable that there will be a safety car so luck can also come in to play. We're all really looking forward to the race because it's a less aerodynamic track than Barcelona and, therefore, we expect to be closer to the leaders than in the last grand prix."

Team principal Luis Perez-Sala also revealed that the team would have some more updates to add to the F112.

"It's a very demanding track mechanically, where drivers need great ability and suffer physically and psychologically because you can't make any slip-ups and therefore you need to be fully focused at all times," he said. "It's a tough test for the car's reliability and even more so if it is hot. We have minor upgrades for this race which we hope will help us to close the gap to the front pack."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.