Charles Pic will soon know his teammate at Caterham for 2013

After a 2012 season clearly below the team’s expectations as well as the paddock’s observers, Caterham approaches the 2013 season as one of rebound. The Malaysian team has undertaken numerous changes, with Tony Fernandes, for instance, handing over the operational leadership to Cyril Abiteboul. The latter, in an interview with the official Formula 1 website, reflects notably on the choice of Charles Pic, who was offered a multi-year contract with the Leafield team: « Charles is a very exciting prospect. During his first year in Formula 1, he was immediately quick, setting good lap times and completing long stints from his first day of testing. From there, he quickly developed, and his results against Timo [Glock] throughout the year were impressive. On circuits where he had already raced, he was particularly strong, and this leads us to believe he will be even faster in 2013, now that he has a year’s experience and has recorded all the circuits in his memory. »

Charles Pic is now at the heart of the Caterham project, and the Frenchman already seems to have made a strong impression on his new team: « We believe that Charles will continue to grow with us and with the infrastructure we can provide to find more performance and better develop his feedback to continue transforming him into one of the top drivers to come. He made his first visit to the team last Wednesday and immediately impressed everyone not only with his understanding of the car but also with its design. It proves that he not only knows how to race but also how to get the best out of his car. »

It remains to be seen who will support the native of Montélimar in 2013, with Cyril Abiteboul acknowledging that the Malaysian team was considering several options: « One option would be to choose someone from whom he can learn and whom he can use as a point of reference for what we expect from our two drivers. The other, more radical option would be to accept that 2013 is a transition year on which we will continue to build the team before a period of greater stability in 2014 while many things are going to change. Both types of candidates are being considered, and we are close to making a decision. »

Experienced and knowing the Caterham team better than anyone, Heikki Kovalainen updated on his situation on Friday, live on Finnish television MTV3: “Those are delicate things to talk about on a Friday night, live on television,” the Finn said, laughing. “I have a very good relationship with the team. Although the results have been quite mediocre over the three years, we maintain a good relationship. I believe both parties would like things to continue,” Kovalainen added, not forgetting to mention that he had no intention of paying to drive in Formula 1.

Other drivers are, however, in discussions with Tony Fernandes’ team, starting with Giedo van der Garde, the team’s reserve driver: « The decision is theirs and we can do nothing but wait and see. If all goes well, we will know within two weeks, » the Dutchman confided about ten days ago. On this occasion, Van der Garde also confirmed that a decision was expected at the very beginning of December before the team decided to postpone it, likely to take into account the change in financial dynamics due to the almost unexpected gain of the tenth place in the constructors’ standings.

Acquired thanks to Vitaly Petrov’s eleventh place at the Brazilian Grand Prix, this financial windfall could indeed encourage the Malaysian team to renew their confidence in the Russian driver: “I think it gives us a bit more chance to stay where we are. […] We think it could be a good point for us,” analyzed Oksana Kossatchenko, Vitaly Petrov’s manager, in an interview with GPUpdate.net at the end of November. “It does not depend on Vitaly, his results, or problems with the team, we are simply discussing business and the commercial opportunities we could offer. These are small details we need to work out […]. We need a bit more time. In a few days, not weeks, our project will become clearer,” promised Oksana Kossatchenko.

However, while Kovalainen, Van der Garde, and Vitaly Petrov are considered favorites, other financially-backed drivers have offered their services to Caterham. In fact, according to the Spanish newspaper Diario AS, the management company of Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua has opened discussions with Caterham and Marussia. A contender for a seat at HRT, the Shanghai native saw his hopes of being on the starting grids in 2013 dashed when the FIA released a list of teams registered for the 2013 championship that did not include the Spanish team.