1098 replies to this topic

[spaceace1977]

Over? https://twitter.com/MyCaterhamF1

 

Anyways, will they make the jump to the midfield pack?

[Petroltorque]

It all depends what you class as midfield. Their best hope is if they can be on the tail end of the ultimate pace. Last year that was 103% and Caterham were at 104%. The other Confounder is that their 2014 challenge has been disrupted by trying to regain tenth spot last year. Their initial plan was to run their 2012 car and concentrate on 2014. So in short; tail end of midfield possible.

Edited by Petroltorque, 07 January 2014 - 16:43.

[CrossF1]

New twitter account for them as it says on the description: https://twitter.com/CaterhamF1

[mlsnoopy]

Challenging for Q3 as the rest of the midfield. Don't think so.

[InSearchOfThe]

Optimistic plans. Doesn't every team, every year release a statement with lofty goals? Nothing new.

[GhostR]

It all depends what you class as midfield. There best hope is if they can be on the tail end of the ultimate pace. Last year that was 103% and Caterham were at 104%. The other Confounder is that their 2014 challenge has been disrupted by trying to regain tenth spot last year. Their initial plan was to run their 2012 car and concentrate on 2014. So in short; tail end of midfield possible.

 

I'd agree if you'd been talking about the 2012 push hampering 2013. It clearly did. I'm hoping that they learned from that, especially after they pre-emptively declared that 2013 was all about maximising their potential for 2014 when they were justifying the use of old car and ditching of Kovalainen.

 

I'm hoping to see them make a big enough gain that the battle to get out of Q1 is all about (at least) which 4 cars will fail to advance rather than which 2. Would be icing on the cake if Marussia can be up there as well.

[mechadaniel]

 

Anyways, will they make the jump to the midfield pack?

 

I'm thinking they have every chance, the early chassis crash test makes like it look like the 2014 car is on schedule. They now have facilities, equipment and staff comparable with the midfield so they should be up there 

 

Still hanging on for driver announcements....

[spaceace1977]

Caterham will be at all 3 tests and will unveil their car on 28/01. Good job!  

Edited by spaceace1977, 08 January 2014 - 17:21.

[Iranie]

I'm enthusiastic about Caterham this season. Some might say that the huge rule changes favour the established teams with more resources but in my opinion this is the time for Caterham to shine. If they got the design right they will be good, I'm sure of it. Even if the car isn't necessarily a real bullet, they still got the chance if they have a reliable package. In F1 innovativeness and hard-work will be rewarded at one point or another. I think that it's Caterham's time to get some credit this season.

Edited by Iranie, 08 January 2014 - 17:40.

[Jackmancer]

I don't expect them to BrawnGP' the field, but I think they'll beat Marussia and perhaps STR.

[Ross Stonefeld]

I don't see a dramatic improvement, they haven't got the budget. Last of the Renault cars unfortunately. 

[Francesc]

 

Caterham will be at all 3 tests and will unveil their car on 28/01. Good job!  

 

 

Well, they have been full working on the 2014 car since mid 2012.

[senna da silva]

I don't expect them to BrawnGP' the field, but I think they'll beat Marussia and perhaps STR.

 

I'm not convinced of that. Marussia has excellent CFD capabilities and considering the new Ferrari lump over the also ran Cossie they should do well. Plus Bianchi is no longer a rookie.

[Darren1]

Caterham are now at Leafiled (Last winter they had the disruption of moving) and have picked up a few experienced staff members from other teams.  However I can't help but think that with Moto 2, the cars, the pushbikes etc etc etc they have too many things on their plate

[mechadaniel]

Sky news say that Pic leaving the team is confirmed on French TV:

 

http://www1.skysport...the-2014-season

 

And that there will be a driver announcement on Tuesday morning, presumably the 21st.

 

Don't hold out much hope for Heikki, from his posts on twitter he doesn't seem to be preparing for a season in F1, but fingers crossed for Kobi 

[sosidge]

Would be awesome to see KK back in F1.

[Nemo1965]

Well, if they announce AND Heikki and Frijns, I would get really optimistic. First, because that means that they have secured some serious money. Second because Frijns is really, really talented (though he as bit of a overinflated ego, like most Dutch sport-'personalities'.

[Henrik B]

Swedish broadcaster Viasat now confirms that Marcus Ericsson is a Caterham driver in 2014.

 

Edit: Haven't found a english source yet, but this google translated headline is perhaps good enough for now - I'm sure better articles will follow: http://translate.goo...__6NH-sLwuTiccA

Edited by Henrik B, 21 January 2014 - 10:26.

[Anja]

Well, if they announce AND Heikki and Frijns, I would get really optimistic. First, because that means that they have secured some serious money. Second because Frijns is really, really talented (though he as bit of a overinflated ego, like most Dutch sport-'personalities'.

 

I'm afraid you're gonna get disappointed...

[Jamiednm]

KK (deservedly) back in F1 with Caterham, alongside Marcus Ericsson.

Edited by Jamiednm, 21 January 2014 - 10:34.

[ensign14]

I don't expect them to BrawnGP' the field, but I think they'll beat Marussia and perhaps STR.

 

You might need to review that.

[CatInTheBag]

Great news. KK and Marcus Ericsson. Not surprised as has been speculated a couple of days ago. Hope Heikki in for test driver. They need someone who knows the car before. Or will it all be just a farce, because of the new regulations. Happy.

[rjsports]

Test drivers have already been confirmed, Frijns and Rossi.

[CrashPad]

Amazed to see Ericsson get the seat, feels like he's been cruising in GP2 for ages, far too long to ever get an F1 seat I felt...

Always seemed a bit inconsistent to me, but who knows, maybe he'll surprise me. 

 

Oh and great to see Koba back 

Edited by CrashPad, 21 January 2014 - 11:23.

[UPRC]

KAMUI! YESSS! It's a joy to see him back, because he's a natural racer. I can't wait to see what he can do this year, and I sincerely hope that Caterham can move up the grid a bit.

[dau]

Happy that Kamui is back, but i'm not sure about Ericsson. Not that he's totally hopeless, but i would have preferred some continuity from 2013. Then again, both VDG and Pic had just one season at the team and were pretty much rookies anyway, so maybe there wasn't that much they could bring to the team. Would've expected them to retain Kovalainen as a reserve and test driver, some Heikkixperience would surely have been helpful for the tests.

[Richard T]

Dont forget caterham basiclly raced with a 2012 car last year to put resources on 2014. And when Bianchi got 13th in Malaysia it was over for caterham.

 

They might have a more competitive car this year

[dau]

Someone wrote Caterham seemed to have ditched their yellow and i didn't know what he meant. But it does look like they have new corporate colours judging from their Twitter page. 

 

 

There's still yellow on their website though.

 

Edit: Actually, there's not, i just had the old one still in the cache. So, goodbye yellow, hello light green then.

Edited by dau, 21 January 2014 - 11:41.

[mechadaniel]

Happy that Kamui is back, 

 

Yeah, I'm really happy that he has got the seat, and it is not going to hurt the team to have such a popular driver, especially when expanding car sales in Japan

 

Would've expected them to retain Kovalainen as a reserve and test driver, some Heikkixperience would surely have been helpful for the tests.

 

Well, he didn't start 2013 as the test driver either.

[mechadaniel]

Someone wrote Caterham seemed to have ditched their yellow and i didn't know what he meant. But it does look like they have new corporate colours judging from their Twitter page. 

 

 

There's still yellow on their website though.

 

Edit: Actually, there's not, i just had the old one still in the cache. So, goodbye yellow, hello light green then.

 

Yup, looks like losing the 'My' from the twitter account was the first step in a rebranding, the team has suddenly become British:)

Well, I guess Caterham Cars couldn't be more British - is Jaguar Land Rover an Indian company? 

Edited by mechadaniel, 21 January 2014 - 11:54.

[proviz]

The big question still remains: where on earth does Ericsson's money come from?

Rather intriguing, too, that Eje Elgh felt the need to be so misleading in December. Not at all typical of the character, as I've seen him. Or was he somehow passed by in this affair?

[Piif]

A bit surprising, this combo. Was still anticipating Heikki in the other car but then again, he didn't do himself any favours with his Lotus stint and I guess his F1 career is now over.

[onewingedangel]

Interesting that Caterham will be using the Toyota wind tunnel and have brought in Kamui specifically mentioning his development experience with Toyota.

 

Perhaps Caterham (cars) is looking to work with Toyota as part of their expansion plans.

[dau]

 

Yeah, I'm really happy that he has got the seat, and it is not going to hurt the team to have such a popular driver, especially when expanding car sales in Japan

 

 

Well, he didn't start 2013 as the test driver either.

 

You're right, but it would have made sense to use him in preseason testing rather than bringing him in somewhere in the middle of the season.

[Talisman]

Interesting that Caterham will be using the Toyota wind tunnel and have brought in Kamui specifically mentioning his development experience with Toyota.

 

Perhaps Caterham (cars) is looking to work with Toyota as part of their expansion plans.

 

Unlikely as they'd have to kick Renault out of bed first, and Caterham have a wide-ranging deal with the French company already.

Truth is also Kobayashi has long severed his links with Toyota, hence why he went to Ferrari rather than them for 2013.

[FredrikB]

The big question still remains: where on earth does Ericsson's money come from?

Rather intriguing, too, that Eje Elgh felt the need to be so misleading in December. Not at all typical of the character, as I've seen him. Or was he somehow passed by in this affair?

The rumor says TetraPak/Rausing. But i don´t have a clue. Marcus claims he don´t know. Yeah right...

 

And i think Eje knew exactly what was going on. He is just professional enough to keep his mouth shut at the right moments. If he is not involved he can speculate as much as anyone. But not when he is involved in the deal.  

[Spillage]

James Allen ‏@Jamesallenonf133s

"If we are still at the back at the end of this year we won't carry on" - Tony Fernandes.

 

Literally a make or break year for Caterham, it seems.

 

Happy to see the returning KK, but I had a slight attachment to Pic and think he could've developed into a good driver so its a bit of a shame he's without a seat.

Edited by Spillage, 21 January 2014 - 13:22.

[CatInTheBag]

Unlikely as they'd have to kick Renault out of bed first, and Caterham have a wide-ranging deal with the French company already.

Truth is also Kobayashi has long severed his links with Toyota, hence why he went to Ferrari rather than them for 2013.

 

   Yes, I've read somewhere that they'll be using the Toyota 60% wind tunnel, beileve it or not.

 

 

 

[FullThrottleF1]

Tony Fernandes talking about if this year does not go right. Don't leave!

[mechadaniel]

   Yes, I've read somewhere that they'll be using the Toyota 60% wind tunnel, beileve it or not.

It came up at this morning's presser:

 

http://www.jamesalle...hrough-failure/

Edited by mechadaniel, 21 January 2014 - 14:20.

[CatInTheBag]

It came up at this morning's presser:

 

http://www.jamesalle...hrough-failure/

 

daniel

 

 

     Yeah, that was it.

 

 

 

 

James Allen ‏@Jamesallenonf133s

"If we are still at the back at the end of this year we won't carry on" - Tony Fernandes.

 

Literally a make or break year for Caterham, it seems.

 

Happy to see the returning KK, but I had a slight attachment to Pic and think he could've developed into a good driver so its a bit of a shame he's without a seat.

 

 

 

      Don't see any reports about it. Hope Tony was being misquoted.

[proviz]

The rumor says TetraPak/Rausing. But i don´t have a clue. Marcus claims he don´t know. Yeah right...

 

And i think Eje knew exactly what was going on. He is just professional enough to keep his mouth shut at the right moments. If he is not involved he can speculate as much as anyone. But not when he is involved in the deal.  

 

"Professional" is not a word I would use about blatant lying. If one is truly professional, there are always ways of answering awkward questions without actually telling a lie. When you get caught, the logical consequence is people won't bother asking you again.

[FredrikB]

"Professional" is not a word I would use about blatant lying. If one is truly professional, there are always ways of answering awkward questions without actually telling a lie. When you get caught, the logical consequence is people won't bother asking you again.

I simply disagree. He had nothing to gain from answering that question in any other way. 

[mechadaniel]

 

      Don't see any reports about it. Hope Tony was being misquoted.

 

James Allen didn't mention it in his report so prolly an off the cuff comment by TF when talking to him - I'd take that as meaning the team ending the season in last place again - there are good reasons why it happened last season, but if it happens this year despite the resources poured into the team then what they are trying fundamentally doesn't work - Caterham as a brand would be better off putting it's money into taking it's 2016 road car racing.

[chipmcdonald]

Hiring Kobayashi makes Caterham more legit to me than half the teams ahead of them. 

[Seanspeed]

They say that if they're at the back again, they wont continue?  I have a pretty bad feeling then.  They've really shown nothing that indicates that they're capable of fighting with the midfielders.  I suppose the new rules gives them a shot at coming up with something clever, but without a proper budget, they're going to be outdeveloped quick in a year like 2014. 

 

The Kobayashi signing *seems* like a good idea, and him driving for free *sounds* like some great deed for both parties, but in reality, it means Caterham have less money than they'd have otherwise.  I'm not saying its a bad decision, I'm saying its a risky one. 

 

And on Kobayashi's side, if Caterham aren't able to make any inroads on the team in front, he's going to have a very hard time standing out as even herculean efforts will still end up in disappointing results.

 

I don't like where this is headed, but I suppose they are throwing in all their chips and giving it their best, so I'll be rooting for them.

[UPRC]

I don't like where this is headed, but I suppose they are throwing in all their chips and giving it their best, so I'll be rooting for them.

 

Ditto. I've always had a soft spot for this team since they arrived and I really do hope that they move up this year, even if it's only a small leap forward.

[spaceace1977]

Mmmm…makes me wonder. Van der Garde mentioned today he could extend his contract with Caterham, but opted for Sauber as a better option for the long term future: 

 

http://www.gpupdate....ed-at-caterham/

[SonnyViceR]

Used to like Kamui, but his "whatever" attitude @ AF Corse last year was disappointing and a lame move like this just proves that he isn't thinking about the long game, just short term...

[emmanuelrubi]

Hiring Kobayashi makes Caterham more legit to me than half the teams ahead of them. 

 

Yup Lotus we are talking about you.