Karthikeyan's F1 team, HRT, may be bought by Carlos Slim

Just a day after announcing that they are all set to move from Valencia and establish a permanent base at the Spanish tennis open headquarters Caja Magica in Madrid, news has emerged that Formula One team HRT is already looking for a new buyer. If a report in an authoritative German newspaper, Die Welt, is right, Thesan Capital, the Madrid-based investment company that bought the Spanish team from Jose Ramon Carabante last year, is already looking to get out. The prospective may be Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world, who already backs Sauber through Sergio Perez and his Mexican companies. India’s Narain Karthikeyan recently signed a deal to continue with Hispania Racing (HRT) as the team’s second driver this year. He will have a new teammate in Spanish veteran Pedro de la Rosa for 2012. [caption id=“attachment_208587” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Narain Karthikeyan’s team may have a new owner according to reports. AFP”] [/caption] The Indian ace will join the team in Barcelona on February 21 for the second official pre-season tests. But if the reports are to be believed, the team is already in trouble. HRT’s 2012 car - the F112 - is expected to be unveiled then. De la Rosa is currently driving last years car during the first pre-season trials in Jerez. The latest owner’s desire to sell follows the departure of team boss Colin Kolles, who left with almost every one of the team’s 120 employees back to his Greding based company. So in essence, all the staff is new. Kolles also took all of HRT’s technical equipment back to Greding, Germany, leaving the team in a lurch ahead of the forthcoming season.