Hispania have secured the services of Spanish businessman Juan Villalonga, the ex-Telefonica CEO.
Villalonga was responsible for bringing the mobile telecommunications giant into Formula One sponsorship, having partnered with Minardi, Renault, McLaren and through its O2 subsidiary, BMW-Sauber.
HRT owner Jose Ramon Carabante says the arrival of Villalonga will ‘substantially strengthen’ Hispania’s ability to generate sponsorship income.
“He has always felt, as I do, a clear passion for motorsport,” said Carabante.
“We will substantially strengthen our ability to generate innovative activities in marketing and sponsorship with his incorporation.
“We will also be able to make the best of his leadership, knowledge and relationships in the fields of technology and communications, and therefore be able to fully exploit the opportunities we are given after this tough first year.”
Villalonga added: “Formula One is always associated with innovation, research and technology, and Hispania Racing must be represented on that level, with a stable leadership”.
Aware of the huge investments required to have a competitive team, Villalonga stressed that for him, “the key is the quality and not the quantity of sponsors”, and that his immediate goal is to help “develop new relationships with them, leading to the creation of more value for all implicated parties”.
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