Caterham F1

For their opening three seasons in Formula One, Caterham looked like the only credible motor racing operation among the three "new teams."

While HRT, the Spanish outfit, were always heading towards extinction and Virgin, who would later become Marussia, encountered a number of calamities—the most notable of which saw the team participate with a fuel tank that was too small to reach the end of a race—Caterham, formerly known as Lotus, seemed to have a plan.

That much was clear in the respective driver line-ups of each team.

Caterham, for 2010 and 2011, employed two former grand prix winners in Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli—who was replaced by Vitaly Petrov, a one-time podium finisher, in 2012—while HRT, by the end, were racing with veterans in the shape of Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan and Marussia often appeared to pick drivers' names out of a hat to find a team-mate for Timo Glock.

The instabilities encountered by both their rivals left Caterham with something of an open goal to claim 10th place in the constructors' standings, which they did with relative ease in years one and two before delivering a crushing blow to Marussia by stealing 10th at the final round of the 2012 season.

By that point, Caterham, to all intents and purposes, were ready for the next step, ready to join the midfield and compete with the likes of Scuderia Toro Rosso, Force India, Williams and Sauber for points finishes, something that, despite their advantage over their closest rivals, had always eluded them.

Their decent stature in Formula One at the end of 2012 makes the events of this week—which, according to BBC Sport saw Caterham permitted by Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's supremo, to miss the next two races in the United States and Brazil after entering administration—difficult to digest.

A team that was set to become an established part of the grid less than two years ago is now staring at the end having, you would presume, run their last lap.

The downfall of Caterham can be traced back to the latter stages of 2012, when the momentum surrounding the outfit was blunted through their own actions as they failed to gradually build upon their early progress, choosing instead to overhaul an operation that produced promising results.

Tony Fernandes' decision to hand the team principal role to Cyril Abiteboul in November 2012 was the first sign that the Malaysian was beginning to lose interest in the F1 project, opting to spend more time on his football interest, Queens Park Rangers, for whom he acts as the team's mascot and, occasionally, the club's chairman.

https://twitter.com/tonyfernandes/status/523402689481568256

The changes were not confined to the boardroom either, with Caterham disposing with the assurance provided by former McLaren driver Kovalainen, a servant of the team, and Petrov in favour of Charles Pic, who had completed just one full season for Marussia, and Giedo van der Garde, who made his grand prix debut at the age of 27 at the beginning of 2013.

It was almost an open invitation for Marussia—who had not enjoyed the finest winter themselves, having replaced Glock with Brazilian driver Luiz Razia and then replaced Razia with Jules Bianchi as financial worries mounted—to take 10th place in the teams' standings and proved that, despite knocking on the door of the midfield, Caterham retained the philosophy of a backmarker.

Bianchi, of course, allowed Marussia to break into the top 10 for the first time in the team's history with a 13-placed finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix, with Caterham failing to genuinely threaten that result over the course of the remaining 17 races of last season. 

The frustration that had set in the previous winter had, as a result of Marussia's rise, evolved into panic in the build-up to this season, with Caterham changing their entire driver line-up for the second successive season—a sure sign of a team with little sense of direction—as Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson inherited the seats of Pic and Van der Garde.

On the day of the announcement of his new drivers in January, Fernandes—little more than a month after QPR announced plans for a new 40,000-seater stadium—effectively told the team's staff that it was a case of do-or-die for Caterham.

He was quoted by BBC Sport as stating:

If we're not competing then we have to seriously examine ourselves and ask "does this make sense?"

My message to the 250 people here (at the factory) is we have to go for it this year. This is it—the final chance.

We've given you the best infrastructure, the best potential drivers, but it is now down to all of you to go and do it.

If we're at the back I don't think I'm going to carry on. Nothing is set in stone, but after five years with no points there is a limit to one's patience, money and motivation so it's an important year.

The 2014 regulation changes, on paper, presented Caterham with an opportunity to reset, forget the disappointment of 2013 and finally join the midfield, but they found themselves further away than ever after Bianchi worked his magic once again by scoring two points for Marussia in Monaco, leaving Caterham with no chance of hitting back.

The most valuable thing that Caterham have is not the cars, the F1 entry, or the premises. It is the staff. Who is fighting for them?

— Jason Swales (@Jason_A_Swales) October 22, 2014

Fernandes, as a consequence, offloaded the team after just eight races, with the news of a sale to "a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors" confirmed by Caterham ahead of the British Grand Prix.

https://twitter.com/tonyfernandes/status/525013496917143552

Since then, it has become a question of surviving, clinging on by their fingernails as the team have descended into the type of dysfunctional operation that they may well have scoffed at just a few years ago, with staff locked out of the team's headquarters, as per the BBC, as the team tears itself apart.  

The Caterham affair is a result of trying to run before you can walk—and it would probably be for the best if the team were put out of their misery.

Andre Lotterer's cameo with the lowly Caterham team at the Belgian Grand Prix was one of the feel-good stories on a weekend of ill-feeling due to the outbreak of war at Mercedes.

Little was expected of the German driver when he was formally announced as Kamui Kobayashi's replacement less than two days ahead of the first free practice session, despite the outfit championing the 32-year-old's experience, feedback and expertise in changeable weather conditions.

His main goal for his first (and probably last) grand prix weekend, you suspect, was to avoid the kind of humiliation that Luca Badoer suffered at the same circuit in 2009.

Badoer, of course, deputised for the injured Felipe Massa at the Valencia street circuit and Spa, where he finished—according to the official Formula One website—over 100 seconds adrift of the race winner, Kimi Raikkonen, who was driving an identical car. 

Since then, every driver who has ever made his Formula One debut, or has stepped into a seat, during an existing campaign—especially due to the shortage on in-season testing—has run the risk of coming down with a dose of what we like to refer to as "Badoer Syndrome."

Most of them, it must be said, have evaded the condition.

Vitantonio Liuzzi, for example, replaced Giancarlo Fisichella—Badoer's successor at Ferrari—for the final five races of 2009 and earned himself a full-time seat for 2010.

Nick Heidfeld took Pedro de la Rosa's seat at Sauber for the last five grands prix of 2010 and scored the same amount of points as the Spaniard had claimed in the preceding 14 events.

Daniel Ricciardo, meanwhile, recently explained to Jonathan Noble and Ben Anderson of Autosport how his midseason bow with HRT in 2011 helped to shape the driver who has won three races this season.

If any driver was susceptible to Badoer Syndrome, however, Lotterer—despite three Le Mans 24 Hours wins to his name—was surely the prime candidate, with his last involvement in F1 in 2002, when he held the role of test driver at Jaguar.

The Duisburg-born driver, however, approached the Belgian Grand Prix with a refreshing sense of freedom, which was reflected in his driving.

He out-qualified teammate Marcus Ericsson, who has participated in every race this season, by an entire second, according to the official F1 website. 

And although his race lasted only one full lap, his performance on Saturday alone justified his participation in the event, with the German telling Caterham's official website:

I am pleased with my race weekend—I made no mistakes and did a reasonably good job. Of course it would've been fantastic to finish the race and do a whole Grand Prix, but it's still been an amazing weekend. I can go home happy even though it didn't really end the way I would've liked it to.

I want to thank Caterham F1 Team for this amazing opportunity—it's been fantastic to experience Formula 1, I got a lot of support and the team has been great.

The strength of Lotterer's showing, albeit alongside a driver who has no business sitting in the cockpit of a Formula One car, raises questions over whether F1 is picking its talent from the right areas.

GP2, the series which this year travels along with F1 to 11 grand prix venues, has in the past provided the self-appointed pinnacle of motorsport with drivers of the calibre of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg.

A GP2 champion, however, has failed to progress to Formula One the following year for two seasons in succession, with first Davide Valsecchi and Fabio Leimer overlooked for race seats in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

And the winner of this season's crown, either current leader Jolyon Palmer or Williams-backed driver Felipe Nasr, is unlikely to find a place on the 2015 grid—a sad reflection on a competition that was not too long ago regarded as the training ground for the stars of tomorrow.

In its absence, formulae such as the GP3 Series, where Valtteri Bottas and Daniil Kvyat cut their teeth, and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, where Ricciardo, Jean-Eric Vergne and Kevin Magnussen rose to prominence, have edged their way to the forefront.

For Formula One talent-spotters, it is very often junior single-seaters or nothing.

The true beauty of Lotterer's appearance at Spa, though, was found from whence he came.

Le Mans, and the World Endurance Championship, is something of a retirement home for F1 drivers.

Take a look at the entry list for this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans and you see names such as Fisichella, Heidfeld, Mark Webber, Alexander Wurz, Mika Salo and Jan Magnussen to name just a few who had previously competed in Formula One.

A bunch of competent drivers, of course—but a bunch of drivers whose best days are unquestionably behind them.

The prospect of Lotterer, who was previously, presumably, another member of that list, heading in the opposite direction and performing admirably was fascinating and a testament to the quality of the WEC field, which makes you wonder why F1 doesn't explore alternative categories in its search for talent.

The last driver to make the jump straight from endurance racing to F1 was Bruno Senna, who made his F1 debut for HRT in 2010 after racing at Le Mans for Oreca the previous year.

And the most recent to enter F1 having driven anything other than a single-seater the previous campaign was Paul Di Resta, who joined Force India in 2011 after winning the DTM title in 2010.

Both men grew into highly skilled racers, with the latter unfortunate not to replace Lewis Hamilton at McLaren for 2013. 

Lotterer, in his brief spell with Caterham has perhaps, reminded F1 that there is a whole world of talent out there.

It's just up to F1 to take full advantage of it.

MONTREAL — Caterham reserve driver Alexander Rossi will be on the track Friday morning for the first free practice session of the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix. The 22-year-old is aiming to become the first American driver since Scott Speed, in 2007, to race in a Formula One grand prix, and these practice outings are part of his development program.

On Thursday afternoon, I sat down with an apprehensive (his word), but self-assured Rossi in the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve paddock to discuss the new 2014 cars, a rough start to his GP2 season and F1's future in the United States.

"Excited is one of the emotions," Rossi laughs when asked how he feels about getting back in an F1 car for the first time since last season's U.S. Grand Prix. "I'm a bit apprehensive, I guess, because I don't really know what to expect. The cars are so different from last year. But I'm very much looking forward to it at the same time."

He has spent a lot of time in the Caterham simulator, but even the most advanced simulators are no replacement for time on the track.

"Because I haven't driven the actual car," Rossi admits, "I don't know how representative [the simulator] is. You realise that the braking is a bit different, and how all the systems work, but in terms of actual performance and grip and how the car behaves in a corner...I don't know."

Despite those unknowns, the young American projects a calm, quiet confidence in his own abilities. Without a hint of braggadocio, he says, "I feel 100 percent confident that I can step into a Formula One car tomorrow, in a race environment, and be able to extract the performance. And I've proven that every time I have gotten into an F1 car, being right on the pace."

Still, Rossi acknowledges that, "There's always pressure every time you get into the race car. There's always areas where you don't quite exploit it. And I think that is what makes motorsport so addictive for all of us, because every lap that we do, there's always areas where you can do a bit better. I don't feel that I've proven myself at all in GP2, nor have I in Formula One."

Although most American racers grow up aspiring to a NASCAR or IndyCar drive, Rossi has always had his sights set on F1. He left home—Auburn, California—at 16 to race in Europe, and has been climbing the ladder ever since, from GP3 to Formula Renault 3.5 to GP2.

He took his first GP2 victory at the end of last season in the Abu Dhabi feature race, but the first three events of the GP2 season have been disappointing for Rossi and his EQ8 Caterham Racing teammate, Rio Haryanto. Rossi has yet to score in 2014, although that is mostly due to factors outside his control. 

"I totally believe that the car is a good race car," he says. "Our races just haven't come together yet, for a number of different reasons. The key at this point is just not to get frustrated, even if people around you are starting to stress a bit. You just have to realise that it will come together at some point."

After Canada, Rossi will be back in the F1 cockpit during free practice for his home race in Austin in November. He acknowledges that, "Being an American gives me opportunities that I otherwise wouldn't have because, being the only American, it gives teams the ability to possibly find American sponsors. It's something I can offer that no one else can."

With the Texas race proving to be a popular event, even in the heart of NASCAR country, and a new American F1 team joining the series in 2016, Rossi is bullish about his country's F1 future.

"I think the fanbase is growing," he says, "but I don't think it will become a household topic of discussion until not only is there an American driver or an American team, but until there is a successful American driver or American team."

When asked whether F1 can break out of its niche in the U.S., Rossi is unequivocal. "100 percent. I think Americans definitely appreciate what Formula One is from an engineering standpoint, or in terms of the race experience. I think there are plenty people that are interested in it. And America has a big enough population to support all three series [F1, NASCAR, IndyCar]."

It has been clear for the last few years that F1 wants a second race in America to take advantage of that large population. "As a Californian, I would love for F1 to return to Long Beach—that would be amazing," Rossi says, referring to the rumours (which now seem unlikely, at least in the next few years, per ESPN F1) of a possible return to the circuit that hosted F1 races from 1976 to 1983. 

"However," he continues, "I don't really care where it is; I just want there to be as many American races on the F1 calendar as possible."

With or without more American races, though, Rossi's target remains the same. "The goal has always been to get to Formula One," he says. "Now I just need to take that final step, and it is going to happen at some point. It's just a matter of when."

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For the 2010 Formula One season, the FIA allowed three new entrants to join the grid. With the addition of Lotus, Virgin and Hispania Racing (HRT), the number of constructors expanded to 12, the first time since 1995 that more than 11 teams participated in a season.

At the time, Virgin boss Richard Branson bragged that, "This will be the lowest-budget team in Formula One. Money's not everything," according to The Guardian.

Meanwhile, when asked how long it would take before Lotus could challenge the established teams, then-chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne told Formula1.com that, "A small, efficient operation has to look at doing so in three to five years, and that's our aim."

2014 will be the fifth season since the new teams joined. HRT folded after the 2012 season, Lotus changed its name to Caterham and Virgin was rebranded as Marussia.

In four seasons of racing, Caterham and Marussia have yet to score their first points and, to most outside observers, it may not look as though any progress is being made. But while the points have not yet come, there are other ways to measure whether the gap between the new(ish) teams and the more established constructors is closing.

One statistic worthy of examination is qualifying times. In Q1, when the cars are running on low fuel and the lower-echelon teams are scrapping to make it through to Q2, we can be fairly certain that drivers for those teams are registering the fastest times their cars are capable of.

With that in mind, the following chart shows the average gap between the highest-ranked Caterham and Marussia and the lowest-ranked car from the established teams in Q1, for the last four seasons:

Team	2010	2011	2012	2013
Caterham	+1.004 seconds	+0.591 seconds	+0.635 seconds	+0.672 seconds
Marussia	+1.353 seconds	+2.037 seconds	+1.859 seconds	+0.918 seconds

While not perfect, these numbers do give us an idea of where the two teams stand relative to each other and to the sport's more-established teams.

Recently, Marussia team principal John Booth told ESPN F1 that:

I think we've improved operationally, year in, year out. We look like a proper F1 team, we operate like a proper F1 team. ... Although the positions throughout the year were not that different compared to the year before, percentage wise we were much closer to the front and I think we finished a couple of races on the same lap as the leaders.

The qualifying numbers bear that out. After a significant regression between 2010 and 2011, Marussia has steadily improved. That improvement culminated with the team's first-ever finish ahead of Caterham in the 2013 Constructors' Championship.

In terms of race pace, for both Caterham and Marussia, the results are slightly tougher to decipher (at least without the teams' telemetry). Looking closely, though, improvements are also discernible on Sundays. This table breaks down the number times the lead car from each team finished on the lead lap or one (or more) laps down, by season:

Caterham	Lead Lap	+1 Lap	+2 Laps	+3 Laps	+4 Or More Laps
Marussia	Lead Lap	+1 Lap	+2 Laps	+3 Laps	+4 Or More Laps
2010	0	6	5	2	2
2011	1	7	9	0	0
2012	3	16	0	0	0
2013	3	11	3	1	0
2010	0	2	6	5	1
2011	0	3	9	5	2
2012	3	12	4	1	0
2013	3	10	5	1	0

Like the qualifying statistics, these numbers demonstrate that, despite a lack of points-scoring finishes, Caterham and Marussia are getting closer to the more established teams.

However, from 2012 to 2013, in particular, Caterham seemed to lapse. In a telephone interview, the team's head of communications, Tom Webb, explained to Bleacher Report that:

Knowing realistically that our aim for 2013...was to finish 10th, we knew it was unlikely we were going to be in a position to bridge the gap to the midfield. ... So we took a gamble, which was starting the 2013 season with a very slightly revised version of our 2012 car. ... It was a risk that we knew we had to take. However, what it has done, is it has enabled us to be able to focus on the 2014 car. For us, Marussia and, I think, quite a few other teams out there, 2014 represents an opportunity to start afresh.

Indeed, 2014 should provide a big opportunity for Caterham and Marussia, not only because the new regulations will force each team to completely redesign their cars, but also because the reliability of the new engines has not been established.

More retirements—which have become much less common in recent years—will give the back-markers more opportunities to score. Of course, as Webb cautioned, "We have to ensure the reliability is there for our cars, too."

Still, it is not a stretch to imagine a race early in the 2014 season where a few engine failures, perhaps a collision leading to a couple retirements, and Caterham and Marussia's increased pace combine to allow one of those teams to finally sneak into the top 10.

Follow Matthew Walthert on Twitter @MatthewWalthert  

With the 2014 engine regulations set to shake up the sport of Formula One as never before next season, one team boss is of the opinion that it could alienate the smaller teams even further.

On the face of it, the switch from 2.4-litre V8 engines to 1.6-litre V6 turbo power plants represents a step into the unknown for every team on the grid and should lead to a more even playing field.

But Caterham boss Cyril Abiteboul told Autosport on Saturday that he thinks it could have the reverse effect as the bigger manufacturer-backed teams such as Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault could flex their spending muscles even further to guarantee success.

I think it is a small opportunity for us in that it is an opportunity to join the midfield—but I believe that we will only join the midfield. There is a reset but the midfield will be quite far away from the leading teams because I see the amount of resources that some teams are capable of putting into this.

The other thing is that in 2015, you will have four players—Ferrari, Red Bull with Renault, Mercedes and Honda—that have an obligation to be successful. They need to justify the level of spending that is currently being put into it—and that obligation to win is going to create a massive arms race between them. That is a big danger for Formula 1—that it will be those four and the rest of us behind.

In an attempt to further reduce spending in F1 and narrow the gap between the giants and the minnows, teams have agreed to a cost cap in spending in certain areas from the 2015 season onwards.

But Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo doubts that this will have any significant effect due to the sheer weight of resources the big car manufacturers have at their disposal.

"For the first time it has been said that we have to define a [cost] cap. You know why I have doubts about the cap—because it is very easy to cheat—particularly for [manufacturer] teams. And Ferrari could be one," di Montezemolo is quoted on Autosport. "I could go to Chrysler in Detroit to ask them to do something for us. Mercedes could ask their company. We have to find something that is credible but the cost is the problem number one."

Of course, it is hard to predict what is going to happen until the first few races of the 2014 season are out of the way. But with only three test sessions for teams to adjust to the radical new changes, Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner told Autosport that he expects engine reliability to be a big issue.

Reliability is going to be a fundamental issue in the first three or four races whilst teams get on top of the issues. It's inevitable, as 12 days of running over three tests is not that much for such a big regulation change. You are going to see some early issues with these power units.

If Horner is right, then there is every chance we could see the likes of Caterham and Marussia creeping up into the midfield and securing their first points in F1.

How long that success will last is another matter entirely.

Back markers, mobile chicanes, call them what you like, but they’ve been in Formula One pretty much from the outset.

Of course, they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, and many champions have voiced their grievances at having a result compromised by a slower car holding them up. But they are there for a reason, and it is my contention that they are a necessary part of the grid.

There are three tiers of team currently in F1. The front-runners consist of those who have won or are capable of winning races, currently Red Bull, Mercedes, Lotus and Ferrari. Next come the midfield teams of which McLaren have slipped into to join the likes of Force India, Toro Rosso and Sauber. Then we have the back markers, to which Caterham and Marussia belong.

Both teams stand apart from the rest as regularly finishing one to two laps behind the race-winning machine, and it has been the case for some time now. Marussia has effectively been in the sport since 2010 after buying out Virgin Racing, while Caterham, previously Team Lotus, have been patrolling the back of the grid for the same length of time.

There have been times this season that both teams have got close to the performance of Williams in particular, but more often than not they have been fighting amongst themselves at the back. So what, then, is the point of it all?

They Provide Another Interesting Variable

How often in the past have we seen back markers being instrumental in some of the greatest overtaking manoeuvres of all time?

If Ayrton Senna had not been distracted in coming up to lap Stefan Johansson’s Onyx at Hungary in 1989, we may not have seen Nigel Mansell sweep out to pass both of them. And who can forget Ricardo Zonta’s part in Mika Hakkinen’s stunning overtaking of Michael Schumacher in Spa when he split to the right of the BAR into Les Combes for a quite stunning pass?

The weather and tyres in particular this season have added to the spectacle but who can say they don’t get genuinely excited when the leaders come up to the back markers? Mark Webber, perhaps, when Giedo van der Garde chopped across his front wing when he came up to lap him in Canada.

They Offer Aspiring Drivers a Route into F1

Very few drivers get their first break as a Formula One driver in one of the top teams.

Even if they have impressed in the junior categories below F1, most stars of the future find themselves making their first steps in the big league with teams unable to challenge for race wins.

Damon Hill began his F1 career being lapped in a Brabham before finding himself in a winning car with Williams the following year.

Minardi is perhaps the best example of a team that has provided a schooling for some of the best drivers in the sport, including Jarno Trulli, Giancarlo Fisichella, Mark Webber and, of course, Fernando Alonso.

Money Talks

Perhaps there’s no getting away from the fact that there will always be new privateer teams wanting to get into the fast-moving world of Formula One.

Marussia operates on the smallest budget in F1 but still made a loss of £56 million according to Planet-F1.com.

But the sport’s Concorde Agreement, which all teams have to sign, entitles them to a valuable share of the sport’s revenue. According to the Financial Express, Marussia is the only team still to sign.

The cost of running an F1 team just for a season runs into tens of millions even with today’s emphasis on cost-cutting measures, but if there are willing investors and enough passion for the sport, the so-called "minnows" will continue to be a part of the grid.

Kimi Raikkonen admits to joining Ferrari

Amid growing speculation that Red Bull are set to announce Daniel Ricciardo as Sebastian Vettel’s partner at the team for the 2013 season, Kimi Raikkonen has let it slip at a party recently that he will be once again wearing the red of Ferrari next season.

Raikkonen’s manager, Steve Robertson, told Autosport on Monday that the Finn was no longer a contender for Red Bull, but details have emerged in Germany’s Sport Bild (via gptoday) that Raikkonen admitted to friends on a night out in Helsinki that he will be driving for Ferrari again in 2014.

Although Robertson denied Raikkonen would be joining Red Bull he did admit to Autosport that they are in discussions with other teams and that Ferrari is one of them.

"It's an option. My job is to talk to all the teams that have available seats, and that is what I will be doing."

But Ferrari was quick to play down talk of Raikkonen returning to Ferrari.

"Right now, we're really not giving any thought to the driver-market situation," a Ferrari spokesman told BBC Sport.

Whatever the outcome, it may not be after the Italian Grand Prix until the identity of Ferrari’s second driver is revealed. According to Paul Weaver of The Guardian, Ferrari will make a decision on Felipe Massa’s future within the team after Monza.

"Ferrari will not make a decision about his [Massa's] future until after next month's Italian Grand Prix in Monza, at the earliest, which gives the Brazilian at least two races to make his claim for a fresh contract, beginning with Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa."

And German paper Die Welt takes a different tack, stating that Nico Hulkenberg is the front-runner for the seat.

Heikki Kovalainen to drive for Caterham in Spa and Monza

Caterham team has announced that former first-team driver Heikki Kovalainen will once again get behind the wheel of the car for the first free practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix, according to Autosport.

Kovalainen, who was dropped by Caterham at the end of the 2012 season, will take over Charles Pic’s car for the Friday morning session and will also run in the first free practice session for the Italian Grand Prix in place of Giedo van der Garde.

Sergey Sirotkin to drive for Sauber

Sauber has announced that Sergey Sirotkin will get his first taste of driving a F1 car at the under-construction Sochi circuit next month.

"We are proud to be doing the demo run next month," team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said. "It will be a historical moment when a Russian driver drives a Formula One car for the first time at the track in Sochi."

The Russian has been hotly tipped for a future first-team drive with the team and visited the Sauber factory last week for a seat fitting in preparation for the drive on September 27.

"My visit to the Sauber F1 Team headquarters was busy," said Sirotkin. "I learned a lot about the team and many other things. I had a seat fitting, met the engineers and learned about the car and what happens over a race weekend. I also had a lesson with the steering wheel. I am happy because, if you had told me six months ago that one day I would visit this workshop and meet this team, I would have never believed you. It's great. The dream is so close to becoming reality now."

Michael Schumacher to partner Sebastian Vettel?

ESPN F1 has reported that Michael Schumacher will once again take part in the season-ending Race of Champions showpiece event for team Germany.

The seven-time world champion, who left Formula One at the end of the 2012 season after a three-year comeback with Mercedes, won the last Six Nations Cup titles in partnership with Sebastian Vettel.

"I announced after last year that I wanted to come back to win again," said Schumacher. "Both Sebastian and I are competitive guys and once we are sitting in any car and the visor goes down we just want to be first over the finishing line. The fact that it will be the seventh title this year makes it even more interesting, at least for me. So be prepared for a hot Team Germany to enter the ROC Nations Cup."

Fellow Bleacher Report featured columnist Scott Mitchell wrote an extremely good article on drivers who may not feature in Formula One next season.

Amongst those drivers were Giedo van der Garde and Charles Pic. While I graded van der Garde’s performance relative to those of his Caterham teammate, I’m going for a change of tack here and grade Pic on what he did in 2012.

Pic is the more experienced man, having driven for Marussia in 2012. And with precious little between the two teams, it seems a fair benchmark. So how much has he learned from last year and has he done enough so far? Let’s look at the evidence.

Australia: 2012 Q21 / 15th 2013 Q22 / 16th

Not too much of a difference then between last year and this to start with apart from the fact that Pic finished the race and finished in front of Marussia’s Max Chilton and van der Garde. In 2012, although classified 15th, he pulled into the pits five laps before the end with failing oil pressure.

Verdict: Nothing to judge on these results

Malaysia: 2012 Q21 / 20th 2013 Q 20 / 14th

An improvement on last season then, with Pic again proving the best of the tail-enders. In 2012 Pic was hampered by a clutch problem and had his first experience of extreme-wet tyres. And this year Pic was involved in an incident with Jean-Eric Vergne, losing his front wing when Vergne was released right into his path. Not really his fault, and he may have done even better without it.

Verdict: A slight improvement

China: 2012 Q22 / 20th 2013 Q20 / 16th

Pic stayed with experienced teammate Timo Glock throughout his debut Chinese GP en route to finishing the race, and this year he was even stronger, as he highlighted in his team’s post-race press release.

For me that was a good race, almost as good as we could have hoped for with our current performance levels and run to a good race strategy. The car felt good right from the start - the setup we went for worked well and I had a decent start on the soft tyres and came in just as they were starting to degrade heavily, came out ahead of Bianchi and for two thirds of the race I was pretty comfortably holding 15th place. Unfortunately on my third stop I came out in 16th and didn't quite have enough pace to fight so I finished in 16th

Verdict: Certainly learned from and improved on 2012 on a tricky circuit

Bahrain: 2012 Q19 / Retired 2013 Q18 / 17th

Was running well last year until an air valve failure ended his race, and this year Pic declared his result as the best of the season in his team's press release despite finishing a place lower than in China, and he was even holding Adrian Sutil at bay for a while.

That's our best race of the year so far and one the whole team should be pleased with. I quickly passed both the Marussia cars after starting on the medium tyres which held up for the first stint pretty well, allowing me to pit for the first time on lap 11. By that point the car felt good, well balanced and I was pulling away from the cars behind without any issues. We stayed on the hard tyres for the second stint and again the deg levels were good. I passed Gutierrez and was running comfortably in 16th until Sutil got past about two thirds of the way through the race.

Verdict: Another improvement, showing he is learning fast.

Spain: 2012 Q20 / Retired 2013 Q22 / 17th

Yet another solid improvement. Despite qualifying dead last, Pic made good ground from the start and he was actually catching the Williams of Valtteri Bottas by the end of the race as highlighted in his team's press release.

I'm really happy with today's performance. Finishing 17th doesn't really tell the whole story as we ended the race right behind one of the Williams cars which shows that we've made some good progress this weekend. The blue flags didn't help as without them I'd have had a much better chance of overtaking him, but it was still good that I could attack him in the last few laps. The car felt great for the whole race, particularly after my third stop when we went for a 25 lap final stint on the hard tyres and I was able to manage the degradation levels well which meant I could push right to the flag.

Verdict: Another good step forward.

Monaco: 2012 Q21 / Retired 2013 Q18 / Retired

Not much to judge Pic on here apart from his improved qualifying performance, although teammate van der Garde was 15th on the grid. An electrical failure did for him in 2012, while a gearbox problem ended his race just seven laps in this year.

Verdict: A better qualifying performance with greater experience of the circuit.

Canada: 2012 Q23 / 20th 2013 Q18 / 18th

Pic expressed himself happy to finish the race on his first outing in 2012, and he improved further this year, passing the Marussia of Max Chilton with 10 laps or so remaining.

Verdict: As with Monaco learned from 2012 and enjoyed another incident free race.

Britain: 2012 Q24 / 19th 2013 Q18 / 15th

Without doubt this was Pic’s best performance of the year to date, as he finished ahead of both Marussias and his teammate, and not far behind Jenson Button’s McLaren and the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez.

In his team's press release, Pic said.

For me this has been a good weekend, one where we've started to get a bit back to the performance levels we saw in Bahrain and Spain. The pitstops were good, we ran to a strategy that gave me a chance to fight the Williams cars until the flag and we have a lot more information about the updates we brought here

Germany: 2012 Q20 / 20th 2013 Q22 / 17th

Despite starting from the back of the grid due to a gearbox change, Pic made good early inroads passing Max Chilton, and, despite having to box on lap 35 with a slow puncture that put him last, he fought back to pass both Chilton and van der Garde.

Verdict: Quickly proving himself as the stand out driver in the battle of Caterham vs. Marussia

Hungary: 2012 Q21 / 20th 2013 Q19 / 15th

Finished ahead of Timo Glock in 2012 and again bettered both Caterhams this time around, although he finished just behind his teammate. Another solid race and yet again stayed out of trouble.

Charles' Midseason Marks:

Temperament: 8/10

Qualifying: 7/10

Race craft: 7/10

Final verdict: Judging on this year’s performances to date, I expect Pic’s performances to keep on improving, and he looks in a stronger position to hold onto his race seat than his teammate.

Exactly what have you got to lose pootling around the back of the field every grand prix weekend? No pressure, no expectation, all the glitz and glamour. It must be the best job in the world to drive for Caterham, surely?

For Giedo van der Garde, a young budding driver wanting to make his way in the sport in his debut season, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Especially when your results are graded purely against your own teammate and the two Marussia cars.

Here’s how the Dutchman has fared so far in 2013:

Van der Garde achieved his first goal of the season by out-qualifying teammate Charles Pic in Australia, although his Caterham was still an alarming half a second off Max Chilton’s Marussia. He also made a decent start, passing a few cars into the first corner on his supersoft compound tyre until a slow puncture on the medium compound cost him dearly. The net result: 18th and last place behind his rivals. But he confessed himself happy with the start to his F1 career in Caterham’s team press release.

“For me that was a reasonable start to my F1 career. It was really important to finish my first race and that's exactly what I did so I'm pretty happy with how it ended up.”

The Dutchman blamed oversteer on his option tyres en route to a disappointing last on the grid in Malaysia, but he fared better on race day, again starting well to pass cars before good pit work allowed him to get the jump on Max Chilton’s Marussia.

China and Bahrain were less encouraging, with more tyre woes leaving Van der Garde last on the grid and last on race day in China before a collision with Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso on the opening lap destroyed his front wing on the opening lap in Bahrain, effectively ruining his race.

Spain to Monaco: Finding his feet

Things looked rosy in Spain after Van der Garde enjoyed his best qualifying performance of the season, piloting his Caterham to 18th on the grid ahead of Jules Bianchi, Max Chilton and Charles Pic.

And the Dutchman really felt what it was truly like to be a Formula One driver on race day, fighting with Jenson Button and both Williams cars through the first two stints before a problem caused his left rear tyre to become detached, ending his race.

If his Barcelona qualifying performance was good, Monaco was simply stellar. Van der Garde made Q2 and a superb 15th on the grid ahead of Pastor Maldonado and Paul di Resta on merit and comfortably outpaced his teammate and Marussias. He was rightly proud of his effort but as quoted in his team's press release, Van de Garde was rightly keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

Honestly, it's a great feeling, but it's still part of the learning process for me. I've said since the start of the season that I'd make progress, and today showed how far we've all come in just six races, and there's more to come.

Van der Garde made a good start to the race until he was hit by Maldonado, damaging his floor. A loss of KERS on Lap 10 further hampered his progress, but he finished the race to complete an encouraging weekend.

Canada to Germany: Back to the drawing board?

A yellow flag on his final lap hampered his qualifying in Canada before a rookie error saw him chop straight across Mark Webber’s front wing, ruining his and the furious Aussie’s race and giving the stewards no option but to slap a five-place grid penalty for Silverstone. Van der Garde was understandably sheepish based on his quotes in his team’s press release.

Today wasn't a good day for me. I want to say sorry to Mark for the incident we had and I'll make sure I learn from the stewards' decision on the five-place penalty for the next race. Sometimes you make mistakes, but the important thing is to accept them, learn from them and move on.

A race long battle with Max Chilton saw the Marussia finish just ahead at the chequered flag at Silverstone, and Germany produced a mirror image with Chilton again pipping his rival.

Hungary for more

A decent qualifying run in Hungary saw the Dutchman comfortably ahead of his Marussia rivals before a fantastic race saw him finish 14th ahead of his main rivals—a huge fillip going into the remainder of the season, as he said in his press release after Hungary.

I'm really pleased with today's race, for me that was the best race of the year and it's great to put in a performance like that before we head off for the August break. I think it shows that the plan we'd set for this season, about learning and improving race by race, is working as I was right on the pace we'd targeted until about six laps to go when the tyres were pretty much gone.

Giedo’s midseason marks

Temperament: 6/10

Qualifying: 6/10

Race craft: 6/10

Summary: A real mixed bag in his first term, but there's encouragement for the second half.