HRT has confirmed that it is to relocate to Madrid's 'magic box' in search of the spark that will move it up the grid, but rumours continue to suggest that the team remains for sale.
As rumoured in recent weeks, the nomadic HRT F1 team has confirmed that its stay in Valencia will be a brief one, as its prepares to set up home in Madrid ahead of the 2012 F1 season.
After months of evaluation and negotiation, in which various options were assessed, the Spanish team has finally opted to relocate to facilities at the Complejo Deportivo Madrid Caja Mágica - or 'Magic Box' - made famous as a tennis centre.
HRT's facilities will be situated in the Indoor Sur and Indoor Central buildings, occupying a total surface of 11,000sqm, as the team co-exists alongside the Masters 1000 Madrid Open.
The move is the latest development in a hectic seven months since the team was taken over by Thesan Capital, in which the new directors have carried out a complete restructuring process designed to provide the team with stability and viability, as well as a new, more Spanish, identity.
To reach these targets, a lot of hard work has been focused on three fronts - a new car, a renewed operational and technical team and a permanent headquarters - which, besides from uniting the whole team in a workspace with F1 standards, will contribute an added value to the team, useful considering the latest rumours surroundings its future.
The signing of
Pedro de la Rosa last October accomplished another long-held desire, namely to have a Spanish driver, while the more recent confirmation of Narain Karthikeyan's return to the line-up completes an experienced, if hardly startling, line-up.
The renewal of the technical team started as soon as the 2011 season was over, driven by the exit of former team principal Colin Kolles and a large proportion of his German-based technical team, but new team members have so far been working out of a temporary logistical base in the Paterna area of Valencia, prior to the relocation to Madrid.
The new home had to meet very specific - and ambitious - requirements, and the Complejo Deportivo Madrid Caja Mágica provided facilities the team considers indispensable for its new chapter, including a versatile and sustainable space that house the different departments that make up the team, as well as being an area open to fans, sponsors, suppliers and collaborators.
“We've been working hard for months and establishing our permanent headquarters was very important," new team principal Luis Pérez-Sala confirmed, "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.
