Dr Colin Kolles to leave HRT

[djinvicta]

As reported on the BBC website, Colin Kolles is leaving HRT. A new era perhaps?

[Hawkwood]

A brave (foolish?) new era perhaps.
Regardless of what people think about his temperament, he knows how to run a team on half a shoestring.
Plus with him leaving half the team goes as well as they are his employees, not HRT's.
Good luck to them, and to the good doctor.

[NewYankee01]

this isnt what the doctor ordered!

[Paradise City]

Is this from an argument they had? Does this throw the existence of the team into doubt or does HRT have an alternative solution in place - say one of those factories in Spain?

[Marbot]

If in doubt, they can always wheel out this seasons car. It's pretty much in 2012 spec already and has even passed all of its crash tests but one. Job done!

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by djinvicta

As reported on the BBC website, Colin Kolles is leaving HRT. A new era perhaps?

Era of what ? Failure ?

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Bononi

Era of what ? Failure ?

I have that distinct feeling that you don't like the 'new' teams?

From tiny acorns giants have grown......or have at least been bought by someone with more fertilizer.

[JeremySmith]

Right now Pedro is asking himself, "what the dickens did I just do"

[steve nielsen]

also a rumour I heard: Alguersari and Repsol to HRT

[Marbot]

Luis Perez Sala (former F1 driver) takes over from Kolles at HRT.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96748

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by Marbot

I have that distinct feeling that you don't like the 'new' teams?

From tiny acorns giants have grown......or have at least been bought by someone with more fertilizer.

Not the "new" teams theirselves but the structure that some have been built on.See, Lotus (Caterham ?) is going fine and they deserve their place, but teams that wouldn't perform in GP2 having F1 status is ridiculous, they don't add to the category and should give place to others with more solid bases. There should be rules/mechanisms to ditch teams like that and bring on new ones.

[thunderbolt]

http://www.f1sa.com/index.php?option...:f1&Itemid=157

In the wake of the 2011 take-over by Thesan Capital, HRT issued a media statement late on Wednesday to announce that Kolles will down tools on Thursday.
This is due to the new direction that the team has taken and the decision of the new management to move the team headquarters to Spain," it read.

http://blogs.bettor.com/HRT-denies-C...1-news-a118155
HRT denies Caterham is developing their car for 2012 Formula 1 season

Their statement read as, “After the recent information appearing lately in the media, HRT F1 Team is obliged to deny that Caterham Technology and Innovation, a subsidiary company of Caterham F1, will be in charge of the design and fabrication of the F112's monocoque.

Q:will it be built by Caterham Technology and Innovation
Q:would it still be a customer car

[Paradise City]

Why is it so many people don't like Kolles? Lots of people barrel roll into Kolles with criticism without exactly explaining why. I appreciate a Romanian dentist is a somewhat terrifying idea in a Peter Lorre kind of way but it seems to me he's done an adequate job with things? Keeping HRT ticking over has to be an accomplishment of some sort.

[bella]

that would depend exactly what mess he's created to keep it ticking over in the first place...

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by bella

that would depend exactly what mess he's created to keep it ticking over in the first place...

Well, HRT was in a desperate situation two years ago before Kolles entered the picture and today, while far from being a picture of health, have completed two full seasons. I still don't recognise this mad shark others seem to think he is.

[bella]

what i was referring to is the fact that if a team is up to their ears, there's usually some fairly unconventional accounting and fund-gathering exercises required to keep them afloat. these can often reappear and bite you on the backside - something your fair isle, spain, italy and greece are familiar with on a larger scale, i believe

but seriously. i don't know where or how he's got the cash to do f1 from, but it certainly worked this year.

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by bella

what i was referring to is the fact that if a team is up to their ears, there's usually some fairly unconventional accounting and fund-gathering exercises required to keep them afloat. these can often reappear and bite you on the backside - something your fair isle, spain, italy and greece are familiar with on a larger scale, i believe

but seriously. i don't know where or how he's got the cash to do f1 from, but it certainly worked this year.

Funny books, financial magic and big money from paid drivers is how many F1 teams operate and always have done. You can't single out Kolles for that alone.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Bononi

There should be rules/mechanisms to ditch teams like that and bring on new ones.

Agreed. There should be a minimum standard to achieve. But there should also be a realistic chance of achieving that standard and that's not going to happen if F1 remains as a spending competition. The RRA doesn't come anywhere near to making F1 a level playing field, it merely tries to prevent the top teams from overspending. So the problem is actually finding other teams that might want to replace those that get ditched, particularly if you think back to the original rules that brought the 'new' teams into F1 in the first place. If HRT bow out now, there aren't going to be other teams waiting in the wings trying to get in.

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by Marbot

Agreed. There should be a minimum standard to achieve. But there should also be a realistic chance of achieving that standard and that's not going to happen if F1 remains as a spending competition. The RRA doesn't come anywhere near to making F1 a level playing field, it merely tries to prevent the top teams from overspending. So the problem is actually finding other teams that might want to replace those that get ditched, particularly if you think back to the original rules that brought the 'new' teams into F1 in the first place. If HRT bow out now, there aren't going to be other teams waiting in the wings trying to get in.

Yes you're right, the point is that the top teams, specially some of them, have their own agenda.

[ghinzani]

Will he go back into practice now then?

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by ghinzani

Will he go back into practice now then?

Oh, good thinking. Bucharest is but a cheap airfare away. It'd be great for the scrapbook having had my teeth done by Colin Kolles. I'd probably wind up looking like Count Dracula but it'd be worth it.

[NewYankee01]

Originally Posted by Marbot

. So the problem is actually finding other teams that might want to replace those that get ditched, particularly if you think back to the original rules that brought the 'new' teams into F1 in the first place. If HRT bow out now, there aren't going to be other teams waiting in the wings trying to get in.

agreed, before the 13 teams were "confirmed" and when the 12 teams were confirmed with a possibility to do 13 teams after reading how the fia dealt with some of the teams trying to gain entry and are probably nowhere/bust/sold everything off if they were asked now having been 2 years ago, some appeared to be ready to operate, you can't keep teams "ready to operate" in f1 for 2+ years...