Karun Chandhok has been confirmed as the second HRT driver for the 2010 season, at the team’s official unveiling in Murica.
The former-Campos team announced its name change on Wednesday night in an FIA statement, but waited until the launch of its untested Dallara-built car to confirm Chandhok.
Chandhok becomes only the second Indian driver in Formula One, after Narain Karthikeyan’s one-off season for Jordan in 2005. The 26-year-old will line up alongside fellow ex-GP2 star Bruno Senna and has been touted to have a strong season by HRT team principal Colin Kolles.
“I am very pleased to use the Murcia site to officially unveil our car livery today,” said Kolles in a report by Autosport. “We also complete the driver’s team line-up with the Indian Karun Chandhok at the wheel of the car for our first ever season.
“We have been very impressed with Karun’s performance in GP2. India is a great country. It will be great for the sport to have an Indian driver on the grid for the first Indian Grand Prix. Everything is now in place after an impossible race against time to register the team’s name and I truly believe that we have an excellent platform to build on and move forward for a strong 2010 performance. Now we need to work together. We need to learn together and keep developing as a team.”
Team owner, Jose Ramon Carabantes, added: “The new HRT F1 Team, Hispania Racing F1 Team is born in Murcia. I am proud to welcome you in Murcia where the team has its roots and to have given to my country the pride of the first ever Spanish Formula 1 team.
“The name of the team contains the word Hispania, which is not only the name of one of my companies, but Hispania was also the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. That reflects now our team’s new identity. 2010 will be a major debut for the team and drivers at the wheel of our HRT F1 Team car.”