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HRT gives Ma Qing Hua another outing

ESPN Staff
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Another chance for Ma Qing Hua © Sutton Images
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Ma Qing Hua will stand in for Narain Karthikeyan during FP1 at this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the third time he has done this for HRT this season.

Given that Karthikeyan has never raced at the Yas Marina Circuit it had been thought he might be given as much time as possible to learn the track, but HRT has opted to give Ma as much exposure as possible.

"After my two Friday outings in Monza and Singapore, I've continued to work hard both physically and mentally to be well prepared for opportunities like this one," Ma said. "Apart from the gym and the simulator, I've spent a lot of time going karting as its one of the best ways to train, keep fit and stay focused.

"To be able to continue gaining experience in a Formula 1 car and adding more miles to my tally is essential for me right now. I'm getting to know the car and the engineers more each time and this makes me more confident every time I step in the car."

Having been two seconds off Pedro de la Rosa's pace in Italy and 1.4s in Singapore, Ma has shown improvement already but he will be expected to get a lot closer to his team-mate's pace on a circuit with run-off areas as vast as Yas Marina

HRT's team principal Luis Perez-Sala said: "Ma has been training and I'm happy to be giving him another opportunity to step into the car at a circuit he'll enjoy and that will help him to continue progressing and accumulating experience".

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