HRT F112 – Different set up for Hispania duo at Monaco

  At Monaco Karthikeyan only raced a rear wing having a mini plane on the beam wing (yellow arrow) for extra downforce . Furthermore  “THESSAN” sponsorship logo was added on the endplates .

HRT F112 – New rear wing at Spain

    HRT managed for a small team to produce a major upgrade pack for the first 2012 European race at Spain . The new package apart from the new front wing , middle zone and rear bodywork changes included a new rear wing . The endplate bottom of the new wing is  less boxy bottoms and has horizontal gills instead of circular . Clearly the middle zone changes (analyzed here)  triggered the endplate changes close to the diffuser area which look now more Red Bullish .

HRT F112 – A Two year step back on development for bargeboard at Spain

         F112 launch version lacked any bargeboards but soon a set of 2011 (F111) alike flow conditioners added on the car before Melbourne . At Spain the team moved not a year back but two instead by placing a 2010 (F110) alike set ! The two years dated  bargeboard has a saw tooth upper profile and does not extend behind the sidepod panel (no1 in the image below) but ends exactly where the floor surface starts . That itself proves that old parts could sometimes be more effective than newer ones and should never be forgotten  .Worth’s remembering though that F112 chassis is based on the same 2010 Dallara chassis opted to regulation changes .

 

        The new bargeboards dictated the sidepod panel’s  vertical slot to move slightly to the rear (no 3) , some changes to the rear zone and finally  the floor vanes become thicker , longer and more aerodynamic (no 2) to cope better with the new set .

HRT F112 – New front wing hit first European race

 

       At Spain a new front wing made appearance with a revised and more elegant second flap . The horizontal slot that divided the second flap is now gone while the main flap turned from red to black color . HRT raced the new wing even at low downforce tracks of Canada , Belgium and Italy but of reduced attack angle to minimize drag .

    A positive change for the team was the addition of sponsorship logos at endplates since Belgium ( KH-7) and flaps since Monza (ermestel) . Sponshorship is vital for each team and one of its main economic funding sources .

 

“KH-7” logo addition on endplates at Belgium

 

“ermestel” logo addition on flaps at Monza

HRT F112 – front wing development up to Bahrain

   A higher downforce front wing replaced the pre season testing version at Australia . The more advanced  Australian wing had additional upper decks ( in black) which boost downforce production . The upper decks have been reshaped at China and gained a bending downwards profile close now to the endplates .However  both the Australian and Chinese wing specs are not new but instead  copied from last season . Becomes apparent that low budget prevents the team to deliver new parts. Nonetheless HRT ,apart form the front wing, proceeded  to numerous revisions on the car up to Bahrain, including brake components , nose vanes , bargeboards  and rear end revisions  .

HRT F112 – nose vanes development up to Bahrain

Australia - Melbourne
1.Skirts , hanging under the nose cone
2.Vanes , this time hanging under the chassis behind the skirts, added at Australia.

    Up to Bahrain HRT presented three nose vane versions . Initially at Barcelona on March the F112 had a pair of skirts (No1) hanging under the removable nose cone . The addition of Bargeboards at Melbourne came alongside with extra nose vanes (No 2), which were placed behind the skirts .This combination of skirts/vanes expanded the air channel under the nose but another more elegant and  smaller vanes  arrived at China and retained since then .

China - Bahrain
Renault school vanes , hanging under the nose cone

HRT F112 – bargeboard addition at Melbourne

 

         A set of bargeboards was present on F112 at Melbourne even though the initial version of the F112 lacked any . Bargeboard is a small piece of bodywork placed in front of the sidepod and act as flow conditioner .Its aerodynamic role was restricted since 2009 , due to changes on technical regulations ,  but  bargeboard still contributes a lot to drag reduction and cooling .

 

HRT F112 – protection from heat

 

  HRT moved so far (Launch to Bahrain) to up to four different  F112 bodywork versions around the exhaust area to protect the car from heat . In extreme hot Bahraini conditions the black colored heat protective bodywork expanded down to the floor level . Even the team since Melbourne  had the upper wishbone of the rear suspension wrapped in thin gold foils to reflect heat .

 

HRT F112 – TECHNICAL DETAILS

 

Engine:	Cosworth V8 2400cc CA2012.
Max rpm:	18.000.
Engine weight:	95Kg (minimum FIA regulation weight).
Chassis:	Carbon fibre and honeycomb composite Monocoque.
Front Suspension:	Carbon Fibre Double wishbone with pushrod operating torsion springs and antiroll-bar via rocker.
Rear Suspension:	Carbon Fibre Double wishbone with pullrod operating torsion springs and antiroll-bar via rocker.
Dampers:	Lineal Hydraulic dampers.
Fuel tank:	Kevlar reinforced rubber fuel cell.
Wheel:	Carbon Fibre with integrated electronics and instrumentation.
Steering System:	HRT Hydraulic servo assisted system.
Gearbox:	Williams seven-speed “Quick-Shift” sequential semi-automatic shift.
Clutch:	Carbon Multi Plate.
Brake material:	Carbon brake discs and pads.
Brake Callipers:	6 pistons all round.
Cooling system:	Aluminium oil, water and gearbox cooler.
Seat belts:	OMP.
CockPit:	Removable seat made of anatomically formed carbon composite and six-pointseat belt & HANS system.
ECU and logging system:	FIA standard ECU & FIA homologated electronic & electrical system.
Battery:	12V.
Wheel Rims:	Magnesium alloy.
Tyres:	Pirelli P Zero.
Overall width:	1.800mm.
Height:	950 mm.
Front track:	1445 mm.
Rear track:	1420 mm.
Car weight:	640Kg (Minimum FIA weight).

 

 

 

credit : Hispania Racing Team

The F112 covers its first kilometres at Montmeló

All the hard work has finally paid off today as the F112, the car with which HRT Formula 1 Team will compete this season, completed its first laps at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Barcelona.

Since the car passed the last crash test and was homologated, the team has carried out work shifts to cover 24 hours a day to make sure it could make it, for the first time in its history, to the first Grand Prix of the season having run previously.

The car was able to run after the team took advantage of one of the filming days available during the season.

The car made it to the circuit from Munich, Germany, just after one in the afternoon and the mechanics and engineers got straight down to business, working on relevant adjustments. It was a combined team effort, working against the clock, which saw its rewards four hours later when Narain Karthikeyan led the car out onto the track. Pedro de la Rosa, Dani Clos and Tonio Liuzzi were also present, as were Carlos Gracia, President of the Spanish Motorsports Federation and Salvador Servià, General Director of the Circuit de Catalunya.

The tests were carried out without any setbacks and the car carried out over ten laps. The team was able to check that the car functioned properly both from a mechanical and aerodynamic point of view as from a systems standpoint.

The team will prepare the necessary material in the upcoming days and head down under for the first Grand Prix of the season which will take place at Melbourne, Australia, in just two weeks.

Narain Karthikeyan: “Today was a shakedown of the F112 and I have had the honour to be the first driver to test it. The first impressions are quite good; it’s definitely a step up from last year. We couldn’t do any set-up work or stuff like that but everything seems to be working fine and there are no major problems so we can look forward to the season now. Everyone has worked hard and the new team management has put everything together in a very short period of time. They’ve done a proper job with the car and I’m sure that it’s a big step forward from last year, so hopefully we can take the competition to the teams we were fighting last year”.

Pedro de la Rosa: “Today has been a very special day because the car saw the light for the first time; Narain did some installation laps and then various times laps without any issues. This is very important, it might not seem like it, but any sort of mileage before Australia is vital to see that the car is in good conditions. From here it is our job to try and improve it and make it progress”.

Luis Péres-Sala, Team Principal: “I’m very satisfied today as it is a very important day for us because we were able to test some things out with the new car during this filming day. I’m very proud of each and every member of this team because everyone has contributed their little bit for this to be possible. Now we have to focus on Australia because we still have a lot ahead”.

credit: HRT