The HRT F1 Team has come in for further flack following the employee troubles it suffered a fortnight ago.
A supplier to the now defunct Spanish outfit has publicly accused the team of supplying “misleading information” after revealing that HRT actually went into official administration on November 12th – the date it announced it was up for sale.
In a statement its owner Thesan Capital stated they were “in talks with a number of groups interested in buying the team.” Though this is unlikely given the new revelation.
Formtech Composites, the company behind the statement, also confirmed that HRT’s owners had transferred ownership of the team to a Luxemburg based fund in order to make it difficult for suppliers to chase the debts owed to them.
In the present situation, Formtech and other suppliers can only claim 30% of the debt, leaving them massively out of pocket.
The carbon fibre component manufacturer said it would “investigate further into the true shareholder ship of HRT and Thesan Capital SL.”
Adding: “It has come to our knowledge that [HRT] owe a substantial amount of money to other suppliers in the motorsports industry.”
The team has been embroiled in a few controversies recently with it coming to light in Brazil that both Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan were given the choice as to whether they started the race on safety grounds. Both chose to do so despite the teams financial troubles which meant several components on their cars were deemed unsafe, including brake discs.
Employees of the team were also involved in a stand-off back at the Spanish factory following their return from the season finale. Team managers refused to release personal belongings from the factory until employees agreed to sign contract termination notices.
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