Luis Pérez-Sala named director of the HRT team
Luis Pérez-Sala has been appointed as the head of the HRT team, replacing Colin Kolles who was thanked by the Spanish team yesterday.
Following the acquisition of the HRT team by Thesan Capital, the investment fund has decided to change the direction of the team. The goal is to make it as Spanish as possible, hence the arrival of Pedro de la Rosa in particular. Colin Kolles was dismissed yesterday with immediate effect.
Kolles was replaced by Luis Pérez-Sala, who had only been serving as a consultant for HRT until now. The former Spanish F1 driver, who participated in 32 Grand Prix for Minardi and scored 1 point, expressed his delight at being chosen to lead the team.
This nomination is an honor but also a great responsibility. I joined the team as a consultant with the new owners and to contribute with my experience in any way possible, stated Luis Pérez-Sala in a statement published on the HRT team’s website.
The new director of the HRT team has a very specific goal: to grow the team. He knows that major tasks await him, such as bringing the entire team back to Spain. Until now, part of it was in Germany, the design part which had been entrusted to Colin Kolles’ company.
«We had to establish a base from which to grow gradually, and we can already see the first rewards of this work. But we must not lose sight of our perspective and be well aware that taking on responsibilities like designing the single-seater or moving our headquarters to Spain are enormous projects, and we still have a lot of work ahead of us.»
Luis Pérez-Sala also knows that setting up a Formula 1 team is a long process that will take several years, during which it will be difficult to achieve very good results because things need time to settle. However, according to him, the fact that an Spanish team has been registered in the Formula 1 World Championship is already a great achievement.
« We must be patient and keep in mind that we cannot expect to have a lot of success in the short term, but we can develop the team in a way that makes us proud. The mere fact that Spain has a team at the pinnacle of motorsport is already a great achievement; we are part of the G12. And this, aside from being an honor, implies a greater development of our structure and everything surrounding it, » added Pérez-Sala.
