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HRT won't be at the back for long - de la Rosa

Pedro de la Rosa: "We must take another step forward" © Press Association

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Pedro de la Rosa believes HRT will not be at the back of the grid for long and says its recent move to a new headquarters has transformed the team.

De la Rosa joined HRT at the start of this year and at the first race failed to qualify after the team again missed pre-season testing. However, he is confident it has made progress since and believes the recent relocation to its new base in Madrid will help push the team forward.

"The team is going through a period of change and growth and now we've got a fantastic headquarters that has transformed the team," he said. "We've got a base from which the team is growing day by day. No one has stopped pushing, no matter what the situation. And we've felt supported. It's not easy being at the back and finishing last. But what motivates us every day is that we see that we're improving and we believe that we won't be at the back for long. It's very nice to see that, despite the fact that it's being very tough, we believe in that step forward."

He added: "We've made steady progress but now we're at a key moment and we must take another step forward. My assessment is very positive because we set ourselves realistic targets, we've accomplished them and we're, more or less, where we expected to be. We've still got to improve more and we have nine races ahead in which to do so.

De la Rosa said HRT was measuring its progress by its qualifying performances and how close it manages to get to the fastest car in Q1. In the opening round in Australia it was outside 107% of the fastest time and therefore failed to qualify, but in Valencia it managed to get within 103.4%. De la Rosa said the target was to get even closer at one of the remaining nine races of the season.

"If we manage to qualify inside the 103% it will be a complete success," he said. "Especially doing so without KERS and a much less effective DRS system than the other teams. But it's going to be very difficult because at the last grands prix the difference has been a bit bigger. If we manage to be under 104% with the aero package for Singapore it will be a great finish to the season and the necessary momentum to start next season strongly."

De la Rosa said the HRT F112 performs better at circuits that are less aero-dependent.

"[The car's] main strength is that it has a great mechanical platform of suspensions and chassis and it has proved it at circuits where that is important. It is also reliable. Its weakness is its lack of downforce compared to other cars. We know exactly where we lose time and why, so we must work on that."

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