HRT had reason to be positive after the British Grand Prix, as they managed to get both cars to the end of the race for the fifth time this season. Despite the driver's best efforts however, they were not able to stay ahead of their nearest rival – Marussia's Charles Pic.
Pedro de la Rosa led home Narain Karthikeyan as the cars finished in twentieth and twenty first respectively.
“The truth is the race went well. We had to gamble a bit with the strategy and try something different because, in our position, if you do the same as everyone else you won't advance. We risked it to one stop to see if we could beat Marussia. But it wasn't to be, although we weren't far off,” de la Rosa said as he paid tribute to fellow Spaniard Maria de Villota.
“The degradation of the tyres was less than expected so I'm happy. There was no rain in the end and we knew it would be tough, but I think we did well. Lastly, I would like to add that I'm happy to hear that Maria de Villota is recovering well, because we're all very worried. We hope she continues in this line and that we can see her soon”.
“It's been an unpredictable weekend weather-wise, and in the end today's race took place in dry conditions, in stark contrast to yesterday's qualifying. I had a small battle with Pic but my rear tyres started to wear out and I couldn't keep up with him so I pitted. In terms of pace we're right up there with Marussia but over a race distance we struggle because of the rear tyres. Now we have a week to work on Germany,” Karthikeyan said.
“Like everyone, I'm really shocked by Maria's accident and I would like to wish her a quick recovery,” he added.
“Overall today has been positive, since we performed better than expected at such a complicated circuit, even fighting with our rivals. Pedro did a one-stop strategy and his tyres held out well,” HRT's team principle Luis Perez-Sala said.
“We're advancing and improving which is the important thing.” he added