MARCH 5, 2012

HRT and Marussia challengers break cover

The new HRT F112 made its debut at Barcelona late on Monday, taking advantage of the filming regulations to conduct a shakedown ahead of the Australian GP on March 18.

The new HRT F112 made its debut at Barcelona late on Monday, taking advantage of the filming regulations to conduct a shakedown ahead of the Australian GP on March 18.

The car was not ready in time for the final Barcelona test and needed 24-hour shift work to make it to the track in advance of the first race.

Narain Karthikeyan did the honours and said: "First impressions are quite good; it's definitely a step up from last year.

"We couldn't do any set-up work but everything seems to be working fine and there were 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 time."

Meanwhile, the Marussia MR01 ran for the first time at Silverstone for a promotional event after being delayed by a failed crash test.

Team principal John Booth said: "It has been a long and frustrating wait but we can now start working towards the first race.

Marussia drivers Timo Glock and Charles Pic were each scheduled to have some track time, albeit with the car on demonstration tyres as opposed to the latest 2012 Pirelli compounds.