To suggest that Caterham are under pressure would be something of an understatement. A new driver lineup, a new car, a patchy history and the threat of the team owner walking away if there is not a significant improvement all appear to add up to a team on the rocks. This puts drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericcson in what can only be called an unenviable position to say the least.
Historically Caterham should be looking back with pride on fielding names like Heikki Kovalainen, and the Lotus heritage that gave birth to the Caterham team. However since the 2012 debut of Caterham as a race team, where they finished 10th in the overall standings, they managed to achieve…less in 2013, coming 11th overall in the season.
Ericcson however does bring a solid racing background crammed into a body just 23 years of age. A series of wins and podium finishes in GP2, along with solid performances in the Japanese F3 and Formula BMW, all point to the fact the kid can drive. Kobayashi however is returning to F1 after not having a drive last year, and while he has a good history driving in Formula Toyota his F1 drives have been at times questionable. He has been noted however as having an aggressive overtaking style, and he has had a podium finish in Suzuka whilst driving with Sauber.
The big question will be can Caterham actually field a competitive car this season. As is the case with all the teams, Caterham have a new look drive, and the CT105 is certainly a good looking set of wheels to be throwing around the track. Initial reports from the team indicate the preseason testing has uncovered a few wrinkles in the system, but all in all they appear on point for a solid attack. Kobayashi commented on the Caterham site after the Bahrain testing session “I’m very happy we were able to have two such good final days in Bahrain as it’s showed that our reliability is good and that could be very important in Australia and for the whole season, especially when you look at how quite a few of the other teams have struggled both here and in Jerez.”
Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul adds to this “It has certainly been as tough a pre-season as we expected, but to finish as by far the most reliable Renault powered team, and with some early indications that our relative performance has improved compared to this time last year is positive.”
“Despite the major rule changes introduced this season, our design philosophy was actually only slightly different to usual for a totally new car” Caterham’s technical director Mark Smith also stated, suggesting a confidence in their car as well as their new driver team.
It’s fair to say Caterham will probably not be focused on world domination this season, and rather will be focused more on consistency. If they can build a solid foundation and maintain it Caterham could become a real team to consider. First off though they need to make sure they find a flow early, which will require a lot of work from Ericcson and Kobayashi. The bottom line is, this season may be more than just a battle for points for Caterham, it may be more than a battle for support, it may well be a battle for survival.
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Picture Credit: Caterham F1 via Facebook
