The HRT F1 Team has not been included on the provisional 2013 entry list issued by governing body the FIA on Saturday afternoon, all but confirming the Madrid-based outfit's demise. Having recently been put up for sale by owners Thesan Capital, a buyer could not be found before the deadline on Friday November 30.
Following last month's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, HRT announced that it was searching for a new owner. Despite the team stating that it was 'in talks with a number of groups' prior to the final two races of the season, an agreement could not be reached and the outfit is now almost certain to close down. Members of staff are set to be officially released and drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan will lose their seats.
Joining the sport as Hispania Racing in 2010, after Colin Kolles led a takeover of cash-strapped initial entrant Campos Meta, the team was able to finish the season ahead of fellow newcomers Marussia. Thesan bought the squad halfway through the following campaign, with a relocation to Madrid taking place in 2012. However, the squad failed to keep up with the on-track advances of its closest rivals this year, ending at the bottom of the Constructors' table.
Aside from the HRT development, the first batch of car numbers were also confirmed on the list. Front-runners Red Bull (Sebastian Vettel 1, Mark Webber 2), Ferrari (Fernando Alonso 3, Felipe Massa 4) and McLaren (Jenson Button 5, Sergio Pérez 6) handed in the expected numbers based on their respective drivers' 2012 positions.
Romain Grosjean is still awaiting confirmation of his seat at Lotus, while Mercedes has allocated car number nine to Nico Rosberg and 10 to Lewis Hamilton. Force India, Caterham and Marussia are the only other teams to finalise their full line-ups, with Sauber (Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Gutiérrez) and Toro Rosso (Jean-Éric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo) yet to determine car numbers for their signed drivers.
The 2013 FIA Formula 1 entry list is as follows:
1. Sebastian VETTEL Red Bull Racing
2. Mark WEBBER Red Bull Racing
3. Fernando ALONSO Scuderia Ferrari
4. Felipe MASSA Scuderia Ferrari
5. Jenson BUTTON Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
6. Sergio PÉREZ Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
7. Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN Lotus F1 Team
8. TBA Lotus F1 Team
9. Nico ROSBERG Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
10. Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
11. TBA Sauber F1 Team
12. TBA Sauber F1 Team
14. TBA Sahara Force Inida F1 Team
15. TBA Sahara Force India F1 Team
16. Pastor MALDONADO Williams F1 Team
17. Valtteri BOTTAS Williams F1 Team
18. TBA Scuderia Toro Rosso
19. TBA Scuderia Toro Rosso
20. TBA Caterham F1 Team
21. TBA Caterham F1 Team
22. TBA Marussia F1 Team
23. TBA Marussia F1 Team
GPUpdate.net's dedicated 2013 line-up section can be viewed here
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