Hispania thrilled with perfect reliability

Hispania was celebrating after Sepang practice, having managed a totally trouble-free day for the first time in its short history.

The squad's race to make it into the field for the first race following its last minute restructuring meant it managed little mileage in Bahrain, and the teething troubles continued in Australia - although Karun Chandhok at least finished the race.

However in Malaysia today both Chandhok and Bruno Senna had no mechanical problems at all in the two practice sessions, and completed 110 laps between them.

"Both sessions were productive and ran as smooth as possible for both Karun and Bruno who could cover all the planned testing programme while driving most laps ever in their practice history," said team boss Colin Kolles.

"Technically everything worked well and this is very positive for the team to be running through a normal driving programme with a crew that worked very hard to make all of this happen.

"Now we need to go beyond and improve driveability of the car."

Senna was equally delighted with the amount of running HRT had managed.

"We were ready straight away when the first session started and that was a good feeling," he said.

"We managed all programmes, we had no mechanical problems. It is good to have the first 100 per cent reliable day and I'm happy about that."

Campos to race under Hispania name

The Campos Meta 1 team will race under the name HRT F1 - Hispania Racing F1 Team - following Jose Ramon Carabante's acquisition of the Spanish outfit last month.

The decision was announced on Wednesday morning, together with the news that the team will be presented in Murcia, Spain on Thursday.

It is expected HRT will then confirm Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok as its racing drivers, with Jose Maria Lopez believed to be on the verge of securing a deal to become the team's reserve following the collapse of US F1.

AUTOSPORT understands that team founder Adrian Campos, who sold his stake in the team to Carabante last month, will stay onboard as executive vice-president.

Hispania Racing, named after one of Carabante's companies, said it will continue to push with plans to build its base in Murcia, but it is expected to operate from Campos's factory in Alzira, Alicante in the meantime.

The team will be led by Colin Kolles, who has appointed as team principal and managing director last month.

"The new team name signifies a new birth for our Formula 1 ambitions and highlights the incredible effort that is going on behind the scenes to ensure we make a successful debut in Bahrain on 14 March," said Kolles on Wednesday.

"While we are a new team in the paddock, we will be very proud to stand alongside such legendary names as Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Lotus, as we hope to build our own reputation in the coming years."