Narain debuts new HRT at Barcelona

The new HRT F112 completed its first laps at the Barcelona circuit on Monday ahead of its grand prix debut in Australia in less than two weeks.

The Spanish squad took advantage of the filming day regulations in order to shake down its new car after having been unable to get the car ready in time for the Barcelona test last week.

Indian Narain Karthikeyan was the man in charge of driving the car in its maiden outing late in the afternoon at the Circuit de Catalunya, after a frantic effort by the team to get the car ready in time.

Karthikeyan's team-mate Pedro de la Rosa and reserve driver Dani Clos were also at the track following the proceedings.

The HRT car will be powered by Cosworth engines for the third year in a row.

Despite everything coming down to the last minute, Karthikeyan seemed pleased with the initial impressions.

“The first impressions are quite good; it is 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.”

HRT's car was unveiled on the same day as rivals Marussia, although the Anglo-Russian team is yet to pass all the mandatory crash tests. The Marussia was in action at the Silverstone circuit.