HRT will be moving its base to Spanish capital city Madrid this year. At present, the outfit which entered Formula 1 in 2010 has its administrative facilities in Murcia, although this week’s decision comes following intense evaluation and will see the squad move to the Manzanares Park Tennis Center, also known as La Caja Mágica.
The Caja Mágica (Magic Box) facility has been used for a number of purposes since it opened in May 2008. As well as its clay tennis court, which would have been used for the 2016 Olympic Games should Madrid have won the bid, the venue was home to Real Madrid’s basketball team for the 2010-11 season. In November 2010, it hosted the MTV Music Awards of Europe and continues to welcome a number of concerts.
Operating on part of the premises which host the Masters 1000 Madrid Open, HRT will user the Indoor Sur (South) and Indoor Central buildings which cover a total of 11,000m². Remodeling of the zones is set to begin at once and the company is confident that the first team workers will be able to use the site within a month; the technical and operational sides will then move in when the European season begins in May.
“We’ve been working hard for months and establishing our permanent headquarters was very important,” explains Luis Pérez-Sala, former Grand Prix driver and new HRT Team Principal for the 2012 season. “Finding a space in which we could all work together was vital in order to optimise work and generate a good team feeling, a sense of belonging.
“When the adaptation of the facilities is completed and every department starts working under the same roof in a few months, we will only have one step left to take - which is to have the design department in Madrid too. All this implies, not only becoming a place to feel identified with and carry out activities for the team, its sponsors, suppliers and fans, but also an important reference in technology and R&D in the centre of Madrid.”
Although is yet to score World Championship points, HRT’s stronger race finishes than Marussia (née Virgin Racing) have confirmed a Constructors’ Championship finishing position of 11th for both the 2010 and 2011 F1 campaigns.
Personalities
Luis Perez-Sala
Teams
HRT F1 Team
Other
Get your official Formula 1 tickets at Sportstadium.com
English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
