Hispania Racing Team completed its first laps and roll out on its debut at the Bahrain GP during the first practice session.

In the second practice session Brazilian Bruno Senna covered 17 laps with a fastest time of 2.06.968.

Despite the lack of pre-season testing, the team successfully fired up Bruno Senna’s car (no. 21) as he completed three installation laps in the morning free practice session. The fire up for Karun Chandhok’s car happened towards the end of the first free practice session. Despite running 17 laps with Bruno Senna, the Indian driver’s car did not roll out during the two first free practice sessions in order to prepare for a successful weekend in Bahrain.

Colin Kolles said he was proud of the mechanics and engineers who helped the team make history , “I am proud that our mechanics and engineers managed to make history today in Bahrain. Everything is going to plan, except the lack of sleep for all of us who worked through the night! To make history is not a simple task.

“The focus today for the team was to be operational and run. We are taking things one step at a time, and building on our competitiveness as the weekend and season goes on. Everyone has produced an amazing effort to make it happen and I would like to thank everyone for their dedication."

Karun Chandhok, the team driver on the other hand learnt to deal with problems in the big league, “Unfortunately I could not do any laps today as my car had some hydraulic and electronic problems. We knew coming in without any testing was always going to be a challenge and were quite unlucky to miss both practice sessions.

“This was not the debut I was hoping for, but this is the way it is and we will do our best for the remainder of the weekend. Tomorrow is going to be really tough as we have just one practice session before we head into qualifying. Bruno did get some track time so that is a bonus for the team. The mechanics have been working straight for the last 36 hours so I would like to thank each and every member of the team for their huge effort and commitment.”

Bruno Senna commented: “It was certainly a relief to make history this morning. The car ran as planned and everyone is happy and proud. There is still a lot of work ahead of us. Three laps this morning and seventeen this afternoon is a great start. Of course, we could not try the car at its limits. I am confident that we will be working ahead and I want to congratulate my mechanics, engineers and the whole team for their dedication.”