Albers: Kobayashi and Ericsson will finish the season if they perform well

Christijan Albers became one of the leaders of the Caterham F1 team at the beginning of July following the sale of the team by its former owner, Tony Fernandes. The former Dutch F1 driver reflected on this first month at the head of the British-Malaysian team for GP Update.

« It has been [an] interesting month. You see a lot of things in the first few days. I was quite impressed by everything happening at the Leafield factory. I was also very impressed by how the factory was set up and by all the people working there. What I also noticed is that many people are a bit depressed because they haven’t achieved anything in four years. People are struggling with motivation, but we’re now trying to breathe new life into the team, » explains Albers.

The Dutchman also commented on the recent staff layoffs that made the headlines in F1 specialized media: « I don’t want to comment too much on this subject because it’s a delicate issue. What I would like to say is that we have set up a new structure in the team, in which I have complete confidence with John Iley as Technical Director, Keith Barclay as Chief Designer, and Miodrag Kotur as Team Manager by my side. I think this team can achieve a lot of success, and that’s, in my opinion, the most important thing. »

The former Spyker driver explains his involvement in the project to take over the Caterham F1 team: « I haven’t worked in the last two years due to family circumstances. The situation at home now allows me to work again. Since April, I have been studying things, and then this opportunity came along. Colin Kolles, a consultant for the project and someone I have worked with before, contacted me. He saw a role for me in this team because, on one hand, I have a lot of business experience – I have had several successful companies – and I have a good technical knowledge of a Formula 1 single-seater. »

Albers also touched on the operational side of the team, with part of it already focused on 2015 and another part continuing to improve the current base: « We have worked hard on the car for the 2015 season. We will very soon test the car in the wind tunnel. We are also working hard on improvements for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. It’s a race against time. We now have the two-week summer break, which will make our work difficult. We will spend all the time it takes to improve the car. »

Caterham is working hard to find new sponsors and partners in order to secure the necessary funds to aim higher than the current last place: « We are working very hard on this point. Our objective as a team is more focused on business-to-business, connecting companies with others. I think we can achieve a lot in this area. I hope there will be Dutch companies. I hope Dutch companies see that Formula 1 offers a good platform to connect with other businesses and enable more exchanges. »

Albers reviews the drivers who might interest Caterham in the future, such as the two Dutchmen – Robins Frijns and Max Verstappen – but he maintains his confidence in the current pair, provided they perform well: « Of course, I would like to see a Dutch driver. Let’s say Robin [Frijns] needs to improve his performances in several ways. I think he should focus more on that. I haven’t seen him enough in the car to say more. We’ll see what the future holds. [Max Verstappen] is doing great things right now. We need to see what he will do in the next championship where he will compete. Rumor has it, he’s signed a contract with Red Bull. I don’t know if it’s true, but he’s doing a great job. I will definitely follow him. I’m always interested in young talents who are fast, and Max is certainly one of them. As long as our drivers [Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson] perform well, they will stay in the car. »