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Kiss your career goodbye Sutil, ya big fecking tool!
Narain Karthikeyan will fill the final racing seat of the 2012 season after he was confirmed at HRT on Friday morning.
The Indian will partner Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa at the team, which will enter its third Formula 1 season this year.
Karthikeyan started the 2011 season as a racing driver for the team, but was dropped after the European Grand Prix, the eighth round of the championship, in favour of Australian rookie Daniel Ricciardo.
The 35-year-old from Chennai returned to racing for his home grand prix late in the season after four outings as a Friday driver.
Together with 40-year-old de la Rosa he will form the oldest line-up on the grid this year.
"It has taken a lot of hard work to make this happen but I am absolutely elated to feature on the 2012 grid with HRT F1 team," said the Indian. "I was pleased with our strong performance at the Indian Grand Prix, in front of my passionate home fans and I look forward to building on this result in 2012.
"I have been training hard since the end of 2011, ensuring I was ready for the rigours of F1 if an opportunity arose. I am delighted to have signed with HRT F1 Team. With the new management, Pedro, and the team, there is definite potential for progress.
"We need to understand that F1 is new to India, we hosted our first race only last year which was a resounding success. To build on that momentum, an Indian driver will certainly keep the interest engaged throughout the season. I am proud to secure an opportunity to forge a stronger connection between India and Formula 1 once again."
Team boss Luiz Perez-Sala added: "I am pleased to count with Narain for this season, as he will contribute continuity and stability. He is a quick, intuitive and secure driver who met his expectations despite a lack of continuity last year. Of the eight Grands Prix he contested in 2011, he only failed to finish on one occasion and had a great performance in the last race he took part in.
"I'm sure that the fact that he will continue to work and drive on a regular basis will help him take a step forward this season. And if he advances, so does the team. This is a year in which you could say that the team starts from scratch and everyone's input will be fundamental."
This news seems to have slipped under the radar today:Narain Karthikeyan will fill the final racing seat of the 2012 season after he was confirmed at HRT on Friday morning.
The Indian will partner Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa at the team, which will enter its third Formula 1 season this year.
Karthikeyan started the 2011 season as a racing driver for the team, but was dropped after the European Grand Prix, the eighth round of the championship, in favour of Australian rookie Daniel Ricciardo.
The 35-year-old from Chennai returned to racing for his home grand prix late in the season after four outings as a Friday driver.
Together with 40-year-old de la Rosa he will form the oldest line-up on the grid this year.
"It has taken a lot of hard work to make this happen but I am absolutely elated to feature on the 2012 grid with HRT F1 team," said the Indian. "I was pleased with our strong performance at the Indian Grand Prix, in front of my passionate home fans and I look forward to building on this result in 2012.
"I have been training hard since the end of 2011, ensuring I was ready for the rigours of F1 if an opportunity arose. I am delighted to have signed with HRT F1 Team. With the new management, Pedro, and the team, there is definite potential for progress.
"We need to understand that F1 is new to India, we hosted our first race only last year which was a resounding success. To build on that momentum, an Indian driver will certainly keep the interest engaged throughout the season. I am proud to secure an opportunity to forge a stronger connection between India and Formula 1 once again."
Team boss Luiz Perez-Sala added: "I am pleased to count with Narain for this season, as he will contribute continuity and stability. He is a quick, intuitive and secure driver who met his expectations despite a lack of continuity last year. Of the eight Grands Prix he contested in 2011, he only failed to finish on one occasion and had a great performance in the last race he took part in.
"I'm sure that the fact that he will continue to work and drive on a regular basis will help him take a step forward this season. And if he advances, so does the team. This is a year in which you could say that the team starts from scratch and everyone's input will be fundamental."
Not that anyone cares...
This news seems to have slipped under the radar today:Narain Karthikeyan will fill the final racing seat of the 2012 season after he was confirmed at HRT on Friday morning.
The Indian will partner Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa at the team, which will enter its third Formula 1 season this year.
Karthikeyan started the 2011 season as a racing driver for the team, but was dropped after the European Grand Prix, the eighth round of the championship, in favour of Australian rookie Daniel Ricciardo.
The 35-year-old from Chennai returned to racing for his home grand prix late in the season after four outings as a Friday driver.
Together with 40-year-old de la Rosa he will form the oldest line-up on the grid this year.
"It has taken a lot of hard work to make this happen but I am absolutely elated to feature on the 2012 grid with HRT F1 team," said the Indian. "I was pleased with our strong performance at the Indian Grand Prix, in front of my passionate home fans and I look forward to building on this result in 2012.
"I have been training hard since the end of 2011, ensuring I was ready for the rigours of F1 if an opportunity arose. I am delighted to have signed with HRT F1 Team. With the new management, Pedro, and the team, there is definite potential for progress.
"We need to understand that F1 is new to India, we hosted our first race only last year which was a resounding success. To build on that momentum, an Indian driver will certainly keep the interest engaged throughout the season. I am proud to secure an opportunity to forge a stronger connection between India and Formula 1 once again."
Team boss Luiz Perez-Sala added: "I am pleased to count with Narain for this season, as he will contribute continuity and stability. He is a quick, intuitive and secure driver who met his expectations despite a lack of continuity last year. Of the eight Grands Prix he contested in 2011, he only failed to finish on one occasion and had a great performance in the last race he took part in.
"I'm sure that the fact that he will continue to work and drive on a regular basis will help him take a step forward this season. And if he advances, so does the team. This is a year in which you could say that the team starts from scratch and everyone's input will be fundamental."
Not that anyone cares...
Humbug! I expected someone else to get the seat... ah well we won't see much of him over the season anyway....
Humbug! I expected someone else to get the seat... ah well we won't see much of him over the season anyway....
Disagree, he'll be lapped a lot.
Either that, or we'll see him parking his smoking car by a barrier or something... providing reliability is not rock-solid again that is!
Kevin Magnussen will drive for McLaren at the Young Driver Test at the end of the year after moving up a stage in the team's driver development programme.
Magnussen, the son of former McLaren and Stewart driver Jan Magnussen, will work on the 2012 car in the simulator under test drivers Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey before stepping into the actual MP4-27 towards the end of the year. He finished as runner-up in the British Formula 3 championship last season and will race in Formula Renault 3.5 this year.
"I'm really pleased by this new agreement with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes," he said. "The team has shown great faith in me so far and I feel that this is an important step in my career. F1 is a highly pressured, data-driven environment, and anyone who wants to get there and succeed within it has to master all the technical aspects of the discipline. This is a great opportunity and I look forward to working with the team and playing a part in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' future."
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh added: "Racing is the core business of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. By enabling talented drivers to fulfil their potential, our Driver Development Programme is a strategic investment in the future of that business and the sport as a whole. We've been delighted by Kevin's progress, aptitude and work ethic thus far. The time was right for him to take the next step and we look forward to helping him gain the experience he requires."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
Not really silly season as such but it will suffice hereKevin Magnussen will drive for McLaren at the Young Driver Test at the end of the year after moving up a stage in the team's driver development programme.
Magnussen, the son of former McLaren and Stewart driver Jan Magnussen, will work on the 2012 car in the simulator under test drivers Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey before stepping into the actual MP4-27 towards the end of the year. He finished as runner-up in the British Formula 3 championship last season and will race in Formula Renault 3.5 this year.
"I'm really pleased by this new agreement with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes," he said. "The team has shown great faith in me so far and I feel that this is an important step in my career. F1 is a highly pressured, data-driven environment, and anyone who wants to get there and succeed within it has to master all the technical aspects of the discipline. This is a great opportunity and I look forward to working with the team and playing a part in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' future."
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh added: "Racing is the core business of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. By enabling talented drivers to fulfil their potential, our Driver Development Programme is a strategic investment in the future of that business and the sport as a whole. We've been delighted by Kevin's progress, aptitude and work ethic thus far. The time was right for him to take the next step and we look forward to helping him gain the experience he requires."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
Remember talking about his dad recently, hopefully he does alright.
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