Chandhok: A load of problems

Karun Chandhok admits his Hispania team had "loads of problems", which, we're just guessing, could be why he didn't set a time in 180 minutes of practice.

The 26-year-old Indian did not even leave his team's garage during either of Friday's two practice sessions while his team-mate Bruno Senna managed just 20.

And when he did put in laps, the Brazilian driver was a massive 11.559s off the pace - so much for his claim that HRT would be a second quicker than fellow newbies Lotus and Virgin, who were five and six seconds off the pace respectively.

"We've had a load of problems, obviously coming late to the programme," Chandhok told the BBC. "We can't seem to get the clutch and gearbox working the right way.

"There have been about five occasions in the last 24 hours when we thought we would be okay, and then something went wrong. It's frustrating for the mechanics as well, because they have been working since last night.

"It's some sort of electronic or hydraulic issue, I don't think it's mechanical. It's not an ideal situation, but we've been a but luckier on Bruno's car which at least got out of the garage."

Chandhok, who also did not complete a single lap in pre-season testing as the team's financial woes were solved too late, admits the lack of running is posing a big problem ahead of his F1 debut.

"Even the teams who have been in F1 for a long time, there is a lot to learn, so for a new team and a new driver you can imagine that problem multiplies," he said. "It's not an easy situation.

"We all knew coming into the weekend that it is going to be tough, but we were at least hoping to do some sort of a shakedown today. That was the plan. It is what it is.

"Medium to long term I am optimistic, but it certainly looks like the first four races are going to be character building."

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