Caterham F1 Era End

maocheng

•                                                                 News                    
                      Wednesday at Barcelona               
              
  

               

• Added: Wed 22 Feb, 2012

   

                        

T02 Barcelona - Day 2, Wednesday 22nd February 2012

Driver: Vitaly Petrov
Chassis: CT01-#2
Total laps: 69
Best lap: 1.26.605

Vitaly Petrov: "I think that was a prettypositive day. We completed 69 laps and got through most of what wehad planned. This morning we had a couple of issues with theseating position and the brakes, but you expect that from a new carand they were little things that we were able to fix quickly. Inthe afternoon we put in a few more long runs and that'll give us alot of data to work on tonight and I think tomorrow it will be moreof the same.

"Physically I feel really good. It's obviously been a whilesince I've been in a car, but I've kept up my fitness levels and Ienjoyed myself on track, so it's a good first day back. One thing Ihave noticed is that this car behaves a little differently from myprevious experience and I think I may have to adjust my drivingstyle to get the best out of it - I've been quite aggressivebefore, but I think this car responds better to smoother inputs, sothat's something I can work on, and work with the engineers on.Let's see what we can come up with for tomorrow."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A veryreasonable first day with Vitaly in the car. We spent some timethis morning getting him acclimatised, focusing particularly on thebrakes, but he has settled in well and did exactly what we asked ofhim today. We have a few points to work on tonight, one of thosebeing to understand how to give him a setup he feels mostcomfortable with, so tomorrow we expect to be able to continue toprogress when he's back on track for the second day."

Riad Asmat, Caterham Group Chief ExecutiveOfficer: "A good way to introduce Vitaly to the team ontrack. He acquitted himself well today, putting in a decent numberof laps and working well with us to fine-tune the basic setups weneed to give him so he's comfortable in the cockpit. As first daysgo this was pretty much faultless, and that's exactly what wewanted from him."

maocheng

T02 Barcelona - Day Three
                                                                                                        Circuito de Catalunya, Barcelona - 23rd February 2012
                                                       
                                                        Driver: Vitaly Petrov
                                                         
                                                        Chassis: CT01-#2
                                                         
                                                        Total laps: 70
                                                         
                                                        Best lap: 1.26.448
                                                         
                                                        Vitaly Petrov: “We spent quite a bit more time today looking at various areas of the car to help me find a setup I’m really comfortable with and can push on from. Once we’d sorted out this morning’s issue we were able to try a few different setup options in the afternoon and by the last couple of runs I think we were heading in the right direction, both mechanically and with the different tyre compounds.”
                                                         
                                                        Steve Nielsen, Sporting Director: “That was a bit of a difficult day where we struggled to give Vitaly the sort of setup he wants. He did a good job today to drive around a couple of basic issues we knew we would encounter, but those will be solved with new parts that are coming for the next test, and they should not affect Heikki tomorrow. We have saved a number of tyres up for tomorrow and that means we can run through the whole tyre program we had set for the last day of this test which means we should leave here with a better understanding of how the 2012 compounds behave and decent amount of data we can use to prepare for next week’s test.”
                                                         
                                                        Riad Asmat, Caterham Group Chief Executive Officer: “This was one of the tougher days we have had this winter, but we will learn a good deal from today. This morning we had a front suspension problem that we worked hard to fix and the solution meant we were able to lap consistently this afternoon. That sets us up better for tomorrow when Heikki’s back in the car and we are catching up with the plan for this week, so more hard work tonight and a clear day tomorrow and we should be able to achieve the targets for this test when the session ends tomorrow.”

maocheng

T02 Barcelona - Day Four
                                                                                                        Circuito de Catalunya, Barcelona - 24th February 2012
                                                       
                                                        Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
                                                         
                                                        Chassis: CT01-#2
                                                         
                                                        Total laps: 70
                                                         
                                                        Best lap: 1.26.968
                                                         
                                                        Heikki Kovalainen: “This is the sort of test you look back on and think we’re pleased to have got behind us, but we have still learnt a lot here and have ironed out quite a few issues that could have been more serious later in the season. Things haven’t exactly gone as we would have liked, but I think we all know where the car can and should be when it gets real in Australia, so now the challenge is to regroup in time for next week and make sure we come back here ready to put in a final week of hard work on track and get back to where we want to be.”
                                                         
                                                        Mike Gascoyne, Caterham Group Chief Technical Officer: “Heikki’s first laps this morning went according to plan and he was reporting that the car felt more like it had in Jerez. Unfortunately we then had a small electrical issue in the engine so we decided to make a precautionary engine change which obviously cut short our track time in the morning.
                                                         
                                                        “In the afternoon we got back to where we wanted to be, with long-run fuel loads throughout the afternoon, and I think we caught up quite a lot of the time we had lost this morning. We definitely have work to do in preparation for next week, but we know the areas we need to focus on, and we will have the race one aero package here for T03, so we have plenty of reasons to look forward to the last test of the season.”
                                                         
                                                        Riad Asmat, Caterham Group Chief Executive Officer: “In contrast to last week in Jerez, T02 has been a pretty tough week for us, but this is why we come testing. Everyone in the team has worked hard all week to make up the time we have lost to what are relatively small issues each day, but they are all issues that take time to fix while the sessions are on and need to be attended to immediately.
                                                         
                                                        “We go straight from here to a day of aero testing in Spain next week, before returning for the final test in Barcelona and we will all be working flat out here and back at the factory to make sure we can maximise our time on track at T03.”

maocheng

Thursday at Barcelona
Added: Thu 1 Mar, 2012

T03 Barcelona: Day 1 report - Thursday 1st March 2012



Driver: Vitaly Petrov
Chassis: CT01-#3
Total laps: 123
Best lap: 1:24.876



Vitaly Petrov: "Today the car was working very well from the first installation lap and right up to the final lap this afternoon. We managed to work through the whole tyre program and put in solid lap times all day, as well as working through a number of other setup programs that are helping me find the right balance I can really push with. My race seat will be in the car for Sunday so I think we can make more progress then, when I know I'll be fully comfortable in the car, so I hope we can build on what we have done today over the next couple of days and leave the test in very good shape for the first race."



Mike Gascoyne, Caterham Group Chief Technical Officer: "That was an excellent day for us, despite the very late change of driver we had to make this morning. We ran 123 laps and completed the whole program and even though we will not have Vitaly's race seat ready until he is back in the car on Sunday, he was much more comfortable in the car and improved his times and his feedback throughout the day.



"This morning we were focusing on further tyre evaluation and setup work, and in the afternoon session we completed a number of long runs which has helped us take a step forward with the setup options for this car. Taking into account the number of laps we ran today, and the fact Vitaly is feeling ever more comfortable with the team and in the car I think we can say that this has been the perfect start to the test for the whole team."



Riad Asmat, Caterham Group Chief Executive Officer: "A good day for us - the sort of day that gets us right back on track with preparations for the first flyaway races. Vitaly did a very good job for us, stepping in a the last moment to replace Heikki who has been suffering from food poisoning today, so thanks to him for putting in a faultless day in the cockpit. I also want to thank the team at the factory and here on track for the hard work they have all put in to fix the reliability issues that we had to deal with last week. Quite a few of the team have been in Spain for over two weeks now, covering the first test in Barcelona, the aero test we ran earlier this week and now the final test, so to see the step up in performance and reliability is a good testament to the dedication and perseverance of everyone involved in our team, here in Spain and back in the UK."

maocheng

Friday at Barcelona                                                   

• Added: Fri 2 Mar, 2012

   
                        

T03 Barcelona: Day 2 report - Friday 2nd March 2012

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen
Chassis: CT01-#3
Total laps: 104
Best lap: 1:23.828

Heikki Kovalainen: "I'm pleased with how todayhas gone. I'm still not quite 100% after a bit of food poisoningkept me away from the track yesterday, but I'm pretty much over itand the way today has gone is good news. We keep going in the rightdirection and seem to have put the little issues that were holdingus up behind us and the number of laps we've now run means I'mstarting to be able to fine tune the setup and find a balance I'mreally happy with. There's still more to come in outright pace andwe'll work more on that tomorrow, but I think we can say this hasbeen another good day for the whole team."

Mike Gascoyne, Caterham Group Chief TechnicalOfficer: "Once again a very productive day. Heikki wasrunning a very similar program to Vitaly's plan yesterday with tyreevaluation this morning and long runs with high fuel in theafternoon and with 104 laps completed we managed to run through thewhole plan. We are clearly making progress and what is particularlyencouraging is that we know there is still more to come."

Riad Asmat, Caterham Group Chief ExecutiveOfficer: "Another very good day, and signs that we arestarting to find out what this car can do. The team have workedvery well today and apart from a minor issue this morning we haverun faultlessly and have shown pretty good pace, so I think we canbe pleased with what we have achieved today."

maocheng

Saturday at Barcelona                                                   

• Added: Sun 4 Mar, 2012

   
                        

Driver: Heikki Kovalainen

Chassis: CT01-#3

Total laps: 64

Best lap: 1.22.630 (lap 43)

Heikki Kovalainen: "A pretty good day. We were able to completethis morning's plan and we have found a good direction on setupthat is giving me real confidence in the balance which is what wewanted before we head to Melbourne. The afternoon session was cutshort by the rain but not before we had finished the tests wewanted to do on start procedures, pre-race programs and all thebackground checks you have to get done over the winter tests. Ithink we've now caught up with the time we lost last week so now weneed to make sure Vitaly has a good day tomorrow and put us in thebest possible shape for the first race in just over two weeks."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "Day three here has been anothersuccessful day for the team. We had a couple of new parts on thecar this morning and we have been able to satisfactorily test theirperformance, as well as running through the broader program we hadplanned for today. We have also made progress on each of the tyrecompounds we tested today and the times we set show that we havedefinitely made positive progress today. Tomorrow will be more ofthe same for Vitaly, making sure we find a baseline setup he iscomfortable with and running through a very similar program totoday."

Riad Asmat, Caterham Group Chief Executive Officer: "Anothergood day and more signs of the sort of progress we wanted to makeat this test, even with the interruption the rain caused thisafternoon. Heikki's lap this morning shows that we have taken asmall step forward in pace compared to where we finished the 2011season, but we still have a lot of work to do and we know we canfind more pace from this year's package. For me, one of the mostencouraging signs of how far we have come is the fact that we keepedging ever closer to the midfield and yet there is absolutely nocomplacency in the team. Everybody is working even harder than everto help us bridge that gap and with a team spirit like that we areputting ourselves in a very good position."

maocheng

T03 Barcelona - Day Four
                                               
                                                Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona - 4th March 2012
                                               
                                                Driver: Vitaly Petrov
                                                 
                                                Chassis: CT01-#3
                                                 
                                                Total laps: 101
                                                 
                                                Best lap: 1.22.795
                                                 
                                                Vitaly Petrov: “I am more than happy with how we went today. The team has done a fantastic job all day and we’ve been improving in every area each time we went out. I had my new seat today so I’m really starting to get comfortable in the car and the laptimes are coming down, the setup is improving and everything is working really well. The last lap before lunch was close to perfect for me, with the conditions and the way the car behaved, but we know there is still more to come so that is good news, it keeps us pushing.
                                                 
                                                “This afternoon we were looking at a race simulation and despite the slightly early end to the day it all went to plan. The degradation levels were manageable and we didn’t have any issues at all with any of the systems – KERS, engine, gearbox or anything mechanical. We do have work to do, that’s the same for everyone, but I think we have prepared as well as we can for Melbourne so for me this has been a really good first couple of weeks with the team.”
                                                 
                                                Mike Gascoyne, Caterham Group Chief Technical Officer: “We have had a very good final week of testing. Both drivers have made the sort of progress we targeted, particularly Vitaly who had his proper race seat today and is starting to find a balance he can really use. We still have some work to do to help him optimise the braking system, but that is about fine tuning his setup and I am sure we can have that ready for him in Melbourne.
                                                 
                                                “We can also be pleased that in the two key areas of reliability and performance we have been able to achieve what we set out to. The car has run pretty much faultlessly all week and we are starting to unlock the performance that we know this car can deliver. It looks like the midfield teams will be very tightly packed this year, and while we know the times from the tests do not tell the whole story, it does look like we have made a step from last year, so the target for Australia will be to maintain the strong reliability we have shown here, build on the performance both drivers have demonstrated and aim to be racing one or two of the teams who were just out reach at the end of 2011.”
                                                 
                                                Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “For me that is the best test our team has ever had. Both Vitaly and Heikki have performed very well behind the wheel and with both drivers putting in good times, and very decent mileage, we leave here in as good a shape as we could have hoped for. There is still a lot of work to be done, and we will not stop pushing because we know where we are likely to be when we get to Melbourne, and to be able to fight with the teams ahead will require even more hard work from everybody, but step by step we keep edging ever closer to them and the performance here, and in Jerez, shows we are on the right path.”

maocheng

Australian Grand Prix View
Added: Fri 9 Mar, 2012

Heikki Kovalainen: "After three pretty solid weeks of testing we're heading to Melbourne in good shape. We've clearly moved on from where we started in 2011, and are a long way ahead of where we were in 2010 but we're still all staying very realistic about what we can do this season. Apart from a few issues in the second test, which were all sorted out for T3, our reliability has been good, and both Vitaly and I put in laps that showed we are close to the pace we want to be. But as everyone knows the tests don't really tell you anything about where you are against everyone else, so we won't really know anything until Saturday in Melbourne.
  
"Whatever happens when we get there, I just want it all to start right now. I've had a great winter, worked hard and am heading into 2012 feeling fitter than ever. I've made a couple of changes off track that will help me focus even more on my job with the team and with the step forward we've taken with this year's car, I'm more keen than ever to get out on track and see how we've progressed again this year."
  
Vitaly Petrov: "Melbourne is obviously somewhere that will always be very special for me. Last year I scored my first F1 podium there and was given a really good welcome by all the Australian fans so I'm sure it will be the same again this year. I think it's pretty clear we won't be in a position to fight for a podium again but I think the goal will be to push the midfield teams as hard as we can and who knows what could happen.... Usually there are quite a few retirements in Australia, and there are a couple of areas of the track that don't leave any room for error, so I hope we're there at the end of the race and able to take advantage of whatever's happened ahead.
  
"It will also be a good weekend for me generally as I'm really enjoying life with my new team. It's still early days, but I've been given a great welcome by everyone and I'm starting to build a good relationship with my engineer, so i think we have a good year ahead of us, whatever happens. We spent quite a lot of time in Barcelona looking at how to fine tune the setups specifically for me, and while we do have more work to do in Australia we definitely made some real progress at the last test which puts me in as good a position as we could hope for when we get to Melbourne."
  
Mark Smith, Technical Director: "The Melbourne event poses the usual challenges of a race held on a circuit using public roads which are used once a year for the Grand Prix. This means that the circuit grip evolves significantly throughout the weekend and can therefore make it tricky to target the optimum balance in advance of the race. The tyres being used this year are the soft and medium compounds which we gained some useful insights into during pre-season testing, albeit in very different conditions on a different type of circuit.
  
"The ambient temperature in Melbourne can be expected to be somewhere between the high teens and the low twenties, so not that far off what we saw in Spain in February, but the nature of the circuit is different and places reasonably high demands on the brakes and consequently on entry stability. Equally, maximising traction out of the lower speed corners is generally an area of focus. Whilst the cars will have a high average speed at this circuit the aero setup will still be relatively high downforce. Overtaking here is difficult so KERS and DRS will be valuable tools and of course for Caterham F1 Team this will be the first opportunity to use KERS in a race environment.
  
"In terms of updates since pre season testing we will have a new front wing and bodywork cooling option available to us. The front wing is simply a logical step in aerodynamic development and has been an integral part of the aero package for a while, but will be introduced for the first time in Melbourne. The cooling option gives us more opportunity to optimise cooling requirements versus aerodynamic performance which is a further step forwards from the package we ran in Barcelona last week and gives us more options to work with at the first race."
  
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "Melbourne 2012 is a very important race for us and one I am possibly more excited about than any race we have participated in our two short years in F1. We shed the new team tag at the start of 2011, but for most of last season we were racing in what felt like no-mans-land. We were comfortably ahead of the two teams that made their debuts at the same time as us in 2010, and for a large part of last year we were what felt like inches away from the teams just ahead. Now it is time for us to take our place as a midfield team, and we have everything in place to do just that. If we do, and find ourselves racing teams like Williams, Toro Rosso and Sauber I think that will be an incredible achievement, from a starting point of an empty factory in September 2009 to racing teams who have decades on us in terms of establishment and development. If we are not quite there at the start of the season it will not be for lack of effort, and we will keep fighting all year to bridge the gap to what will be a very tightly packed group of teams just in front."
  
General
Race laps: 58
Air / Track temp (°C): 21 / 23
Pitlane altitude (m): 5
ATM Press (HPa): 1017
Hum (%): 60
Wind (kph): NNE 15
  
Timing
2011 Qualifying
P1: 1:23.529 (VET Q3)
P2: 1:24.307 (HAM Q3)
P3: 1:24.395 (WEB Q3)
CF1T best: P19 1:29.254 (KOV Q1)
CF1T delta to best Q1: +3.725 (104.1%)
  
2011 Race
P1: VET (1:29.844) L44
P2: HAM (1:30.314) L41
P3: PET (1:30.064) L55
CF1T best: P13 TRU (1:32.550) L52
CF1T delta to best race lap: +2.706 (103.0%)
  
Quick description
High average speed and medium-high brake severity
Generally smooth track surface and low grip (especially in FP1)
Bumps may negatively affect braking stability and bottoming out, particularly in T9
Kerbs not a problem
Difficult to overtake
Since race start was moved to 17:00 in 2009 some vision difficulties can occur at sunset
Track is usually dusty and leaves can stick in radiator inlets
Typical balance issue: rear stability can be an issue during braking and turn in
1st gear not used on track
  
Circuit particularity
Bumpiness: medium
Overtaking chance: low
Kerbs: smooth/medium
Ride height setting particularity: none
Engine severity: high
Gearbox severity: medium
Lat/Long grip: Lateral
Aero eff ratio: High
Safety car history: 2011 - none, 2010 - L1 to L4, 2009 - L19 to L25
Track grp evo during w/e: high (not permanent)
Aero settings: high
Brake wear severity: high
Brake cooling necessity: low/medium

maocheng

Alexander Rossi confirmed as                                                    Caterham F1 Test Driver                                                   

• Added: Wed 7 Mar, 2012

   
                        

Alexander Rossi confirmed as Caterham F1 Team Test Driver

Alexander Rossi has today been confirmed as Caterham F1 Team'sTest Driver, joining Race Drivers Heikki Kovalainen and VitalyPetrov, and Reserve Driver Giedo van der Garde in theAnglo/Malaysian team's line-up. In his F1 role, he will be takingpart in FP1 sessions in 2012, helping him to gain furtherexperience at the highest level of global motorsport and furtherembedding him within the Caterham F1 Team.

In addition, Alexander has confirmed today that he will becompeting for the second year in World Series by Renault 3.5, thechampionship in which he finished third in his rookie season. In2012 he will be driving for the newly-formed Arden Caterham team,aiming to fight for outright championship victory from the firstrace at Motorland Aragon on May 5-6.

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal of Caterham F1Team: "Today's announcement marks an important next stepfor Caterham F1 Team and Alexander's career. As our Official F1Test Driver, Alexander is a key figure in our long-term plans andthe investment we are making in him now will help him make the mostof the natural talent he has at his disposal. We see 2012 as animportant year for Alexander as he will be combining a fullcalendar in World Series by Renault, a championship he has a verygood chance of winning, with his Test Driver role and giving himthe chance to take part in FP1 gives him the platform from which hecan grow into an even bigger F1 role."

Alexander Rossi: "I am absolutely delightedthat we have been able to make this dual announcement today. Mygoal to be in Formula One is one step closer after being signed asTest Driver for Caterham F1 Team. I want to thank Tony Fernandes,Kamarudin Meranun and Riad Asmat for their trust in me andlong-term commitment to my career. The Caterham F1 Team support,coupled with the efforts of my management and investors, hasbrought my goal of reaching an F1 race seat one step closer.

"In the past year I have spent time in Hingham at the factoryand built solid relationships right across the team. I feel reallycomfortable with everyone and am looking forward to growing as aprofessional with Caterham and acquiring as much experience aspossible from Friday Practice, the F1 simulator and time with theteam.

"Winter training has been very good as Pro Performance, CaterhamF1 Team's physios, are looking after all my fitness and nutrition,preparing me for this season and my next step to F1. I am fullyready for the task at hand. I have not been in a car since the F1rookie test in Abu Dhabi last November, but have been on thesimulator. I am very eager for World Series by Renault testing tobegin next week and to get down to work, where I'll be running withArden Caterham in the classic green and yellow colors. The 2011season was good, but now I have that experience under my belt andI'm determined to fight for the championship throughout the 2012season. This is going to be an incredible year!"

maocheng

Caterham F1 Team Welcomes Visa As Hospitality and Experiential Marketing Partner

Hingham, UK - 13 March 2012

Caterham F1 Team has announced a multi-year agreement with Visa as the team's Hospitality and Experiential Marketing Partner.
  
The partnership will see the two brands collaborate on a series of innovative hospitality and marketing programmes that takes Visa cardholders into the heart of Formula One's fastest developing team.
  
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Team Principal, Caterham F1 Team, said, "This is another major milestone for our team as it aligns us with one of the world's most famous, trusted brands and gives us an opportunity to create some exciting new projects for our fans and Visa's customers. The growth of our commercial partnership portfolio reflects our development as a team on track and it is a sign of our increasing strength that we have been able to attract a brand as prestigious as Visa."
  
Stuart Tomlinson, Country Manager, Malaysia, Visa said, “Visa is pleased to sign on as a key partner of Caterham F1 Team. With Tan Sri Tony’s business savvy and flair, we believe the team will be a dynamic force to be reckoned with in the near future, and we are excited to be part of this. With this partnership, Visa looks forward to bringing our decades of experience in creating customer hospitality, loyalty and experiential programs for cardholders.”
  
Visa joins an illustrious list of Caterham F1 Team partners including GE, Dell, Intel, Renault and AirAsia.

maocheng

FP1 / FP2 Report - Friday 16th March 2012

Caterham F1 Team Partner information
CNN was the first global news network to interview Australia’s first female Prime Minister Julia Gillard in November 2011

Weather
FP1: No rain during session, wet track at start, drying out during session, track temp 21° - 23°, air temp 20° - 23°
FP2: Rain in early part of session, drying out, air temp 21°, track temp 24°

Fastest laps / positions:
FP1: KOV 1.30.586, 17th / PET 1.31.983, 20th
FP2: KOV 1.31.932, 8th / PET 1.32.767, 13th

Total laps:
FP1: KOV 16 / PET 8
FP2: KOV 16 / PET 15

Runplan - FP1
Heikki Kovalainen
1231 - 1233: Installation, 1 lap (wets)
1233 - 1332: System checks. Changes: front / rear brake blanking, brake balance, front wing flap angle
1332 - 1346: Run 2, 8 laps (primes)
1346 - 1351: Changes: new spec front wing, brake balance
1351 - 1403: Run 3, 7 laps (primes)

Vitaly Petrov
1232 - 1234: Installation, 1 lap (wets)
1234 - 1331: System checks. Changes: front / rear brake blanking, front wing flap angle
1331 - 1346: Run 2, 7 laps (primes)

Runplan - FP2
Heikki Kovalainen
1713 - 1725: Run 1, 7 laps (inters)
1725 - 1745: Changes: front / rear brake blanking, new spec front wing
1745 - 1800: Run 2, 9 laps (primes)

Vitaly Petrov
1709 - 1713: Installation, 1 lap (wets)
1713 - 1716: Changes: brake balance
1716 - 1724: Run 2, 4 laps (inters)
1724 - 1744: Changes: new spec front wing, front wing flap angle, front brake blanking, brake balance
1744 - 1800: Run 3, 10 laps (primes)

Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “The car felt good from the first proper run this morning and we found that the baseline we had set over the winter carried over exactly as we had planned into today's practice sessions. It's a shame that the conditions today meant that we couldn't test the tyres more, but that's the same for everyone, so the main thing was that we had a good balance all day, and kept improving the setup in both sessions. It's also good to see that the new spec front wing that we ran both this morning and this afternoon is giving more grip overall, so that's another positive step forward and puts us in good shape for tomorrow.”
  
Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “That was a reasonable day for me. The weather meant we weren't able to try too much with the setups and we had a small problem this morning that cut short the final run, but one of the main things for me today is that I feel very comfortable with the team. We're quickly building up a good relationship between me and the engineers and the mechanics, so as that keeps growing we'll be able to get more out of the car and keep finding the pace that we know this car has.”
  
Mike Gascoyne, Caterham Group Chief Technical Officer: “Obviously the weather today made it a potentially difficult first day, but we got through most of what we had planned and it's good to see that Vitaly was comfortable in the car from the first laps this morning. We ran all the tyre compounds bar the options today so we have some useful data to go through tonight and overall I think we look ok. It does look like the midfield group is going to be very tightly packed and I hope we can have a dry qualifying session tomorrow to find out just how competitive we can be.”
  
Riad Asmat, Caterham Group CEO: “It's good to be back racing, and I think we can be pleased with the job we did today in pretty tricky conditions. We had a small issue with Vitaly's car at the end of FP1 that the team worked very well on to fix in time for FP2 and I'm pleased that both drivers did exactly what we asked of them today - making no mistakes and getting as much out of their cars as they could without pushing too hard and putting themselves in a potentially difficult situation.

"We obviously can't tell too much from the times today but it is encouraging to see that we are lapping consistently in the sort of times we have been aiming to. Now the focus turns to tomorrow when we will hopefully have more dry running and find out just where all the hard work over the winter has put us.”

maocheng

FP3 and Qualifying - Saturday 17th March 2012

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Weather
FP3: Sunshine, clear skies, air temp 21° - 22°, track temp 29° - 30°
Quali: Sunshine, clear skies, air temp 22°, track temp 30°

Fastest laps / positions:
FP3: KOV 1.28.340, 19th / PET 1.28.702, 20th
Q1: KOV 1.28.679, 19th / PET 1.29.018, 20th

Total laps:
FP3: KOV 19 / PET 11
Q1: KOV 7 / PET 8

Runplan - FP3
Heikki Kovalainen
1400 - 1402: Installation, 1 lap (primes)
1402 - 1412: System checks.  
1412 - 1424: Run 2, 7 laps (primes)
1424 - 1431: Changes: front wing flap angle
1431 - 1443: Run 3, 7 laps (options)
1443 - 1452: Changes: rear ride height, front wing flap angle, front anti-roll bar
1452 - 1500: Run 4, 4 laps (options)

Vitaly Petrov
1400 - 1402: Installation, 1 lap (primes)
1402 - 1411: System checks
1411 - 1423: Run 2, 7 laps (primes)
1423 - 1434: Changes: front torsion bar, front wing flap angle, rear brake blanking, rear ride height  
1434 - 1439: Run 3, 3 laps (options)

Runplan - Q1
Heikki Kovalainen
1706 - 1713: Run 1, 4 laps (options)
1713 - 1717: Refuel
1717 - 1722: Run 2, 3 laps (options)

Vitaly Petrov
1706 - 1713: Run 1, 4 laps (options)
1713 - 1716: Refuel. Changes: front wing flap angle
1716 - 1722: Run 2, 4 laps (options)

Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “I'm reasonably positive about today. We didn't get everything we could out of the car in Q1 but it felt better this afternoon than it did in FP3 and on my last quick lap I was held up by an HRT which probably cost me something like six tenths, but around this sort of circuit that's one of the issues you have to deal with. There are quite a few positives to take out of today, the main one being that we know we're much closer to the cars in front than where we finished last year, and now we have KERS and a better package overall, so I think tomorrow's race could be really interesting. .”
  
Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “For me that was an ok qualifying, maybe not quite what we had hoped for but we know there's more to come. We obviously lost time yesterday, and today the performance run was cut short in FP3 with a hydraulics issue, but I pushed as hard as I could and I think my engineer and I are finding out more about how to fine tune the setup for me every time I go out on track so the more time I spend in the car, the better I'm feeling.”

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "We faced several challenges here at the first race of the season. We obviously have KERS in the car for the first time in a race situation and we have been working hard on giving the drivers a setup that maximises the driveability of the engine. This is a pretty bumpy circuit, and that can affect the balance of the cars so we have to make sure the engine, KERS and gearbox setups are all helping the drivers minimise the problems the track can present, and from what we have seen so far this weekend we can be reasonably pleased."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: “There are always pluses and minuses with sessions like today's qualifying. In FP3 Vitaly had a hydraulics leak on his car that was fixed before the afternoon session, but it cost us time we wanted to spend on his qualifying setup, and both cars then went into Q1 with a good balance, but our final positions are probably not really a fair reflection of where we are in terms of the gap to the cars ahead. We have a solid plan to keep improving the key areas of the car's performance and I think we can look forward to a more competitive display in tomorrow's race.”
  
Riad Asmat, Caterham Group CEO: “I am relatively happy with where we finished today. The final positions may be the same that we finished with in 2011 but the gap to the cars ahead is considerably smaller and that is good news for the whole team. Both drivers could definitely have found more time, without the traffic Heikki encountered and the problem we had on Vitaly's car in FP3, but those are the sort of issues we all have to deal with and we will learn from that. We can also look back at the winter tests where we showed good pace over the long runs in winter testing, and we have two drivers who can race hard, particularly here where Vitaly finished third last year, so we are all looking forward to the race tomorrow where I think we can put on a display that is more representative of where we really are in the pecking order.”

maocheng

Sunday in Melbourne                                                   

• Added: Sun 18 Mar, 2012

   
                        

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Weather
Race: Dry, sunshine, air temp 25° / track temp 30°(start), 22° / 25° (lap 34), 22° / 23° (lap 58)

Runplan
Heikki Kovalainen
1631 leave for grid, two laps
Start on soft tyres
Lap 15: pitstop 1, medium tyres
Lap 36: pitstop 2, medium tyres
Lap 41: retired - left front suspension issue

Vitaly Petrov
1631 leave for grid, two laps
Start on medium tyres
Lap 19: pitstop 1, medium tyres
Lap 36: retired - steering wheel issue

Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3:"Both Vitaly and I had to avoid the problems in turn one at thestart and then I lost a bit of time behind Glock, but got past himquickly and then started to show good pace, enough the close thegap to the cars ahead. I lost DRS until about lap six, and had toswitch off KERS right at the start, so the sort of times we weredoing were clearly competitive. Both stops went well but then Ifelt the car starting to pull left under braking so we brought thecar in to take a look and it seems like a front left suspensionproblem was causing the handling imbalance I'd felt for a few lapsbefore we had to retire. I'm sure we can fix both problems for nextweek and we have shown today what a step forward we've taken, soit's not bad news, it's just one of those days."

Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: "I washaving a fantastic race and it's such a shame we had to retire thecar. Until that point everything was going exactly to plan. Theteam did a great to job to help me pass Heikki in thefirst stop, I was catching Senna and Massa ahead and the car feltreally well balanced. I was managing the tyres well and wedefinitely showed the sort of pace that can bring rewards thisseason, so while it's obviously not how we wanted the first racewith my new team to go we can take a lot of positives from this andmove on to Malaysia where we know we can put in a strongperformance."

Thierry Salvi, Renault F1 Sport Support Leader:"Despite the final result that was a good performance for us.Heikki lost KERS early on so his times were very strong without theobvious benefits the system gives him. Vitaly was also pushing hardright up until his retirement, and was using his tyres well, so wehave a lot of reasons to be happy today."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "Today we showed thesort of pace that we knew this car was capable of in pre-seasontesting. We ran different tyre strategies on both cars, startingHeikki on the options and Vitaly on the primes and both cars wererunning to plan through the first stops and right up until theproblems we had in mid-race. Vitaly's issue was related to hissteering wheel and he deserves great credit for putting in such astrong performance on his first race with the team. With Heikki itlooks like a front track rod issue was causing his car to pull tothe left in the braking zones so we had to retire him, rather thanrisk an incident. However, I am very encouraged by our performancein the race and we have a good platform to build on. It is clearthat we can race with a number of cars in the midfield so we willmove on to Malaysia and make sure we have a strong weekend in frontof the home fans."

Riad Asmat, Caterham Group Chief Executive: "We havea great deal of very good news to take out of today. Obviously wedid not want to finish like that, but after both Heikki and Vitalynegotiated their way around the first corner clash we were quicklyup to speed with the likes of Force India, Williams and evenFerrari, and that's very encouraging for next week in our firsthome race of the season in Malaysia and the season ahead. We havework to do to make sure we cure the problems we encountered today,but we will do just that and come back even more strong inSepang."

maocheng

Malaysian Grand Prix View                                                   

• Added: Tue 20 Mar, 2012

   
                        

Malaysian Grand Prix View

General
Race laps: 56
Air/track temp (°C): 30/37
Pitlane altitude (m): 31
ATM Press (HPa): 1006
Hum (%): 60
Wind (kph): NW 5

Timing
2011 Qualifying
P1: 1:34.870 (VET Q3)
P2: 1:34.970 (HAM Q3)
P3: 1:35.179 (WEB Q3)
CF1T best: P19 1.38.645 (KOV Q1)
CF1T delta to best Q1: +1.784 (101.8%)

2011 Race
P1: VET (1:41.539) L33
P2: BUT (1:41.264) L50
P3: HEI (1:41.547) L47
CF1T best: P15 TRU (1:43.677) L43
CF1T delta to best race lap: +2.138 (102.1%)

Quick description
Very high ambient temperature and humidity
Grip normally gradually increases during the weekend
No major bumps (re-surfaced after 2007 race)
Kerbs not a problem
Top speed can be reached in either T1 or T15 depending on winddirection
Medium brake severity
Race start moved to 17:00 in 2009 leading to poor visibility andincreased chance of bad weather and low cloud in last twoyears
Understeer in high-speed T5/T6 corners and tractioninstability
1st gear not used on track

Circuit particularity
Bumpiness: low
Overtaking chance: T15
Kerbs: smooth
Ride height setting particularity: none
Engine severity: medium
Gearbox severity: medium
Lat / Long grip: lateral
Aero eff ratio: medium
Safety car history: 2011 - none, 2010 - none, 2009 - one duringrain
Track grp evo during w/e: medium/high
Aero settings: high
Brake wear severity: medium
Brake cooling necessity: medium

Heikki Kovalainen: "I've been looking forwardto getting back to Malaysia and after the race in Australia it'sgood that we can get straight back on track so quickly. I'veaccepted the penalty I was given for passing Vettel under thesafety car - it was definitely a bit harsh but the rules are setand it's just unfortunate I made a small mistake that will put meback five places on the grid at Sepang. It's not really a problem -we know we can pass the cars that will probably be ahead on thegrid and I'll just have to do my best to put myself as far up thegrid as I can on Saturday so we can minimise the effect of thepenalty in the race.

"As Malaysia's one of our two home races we're always given avery warm welcome when we come here and that's extra motivation forthe whole team to push on in what are clearly pretty toughconditions. I feel for the guys in the garage as they have to workin intense heat and heavy humidity, but for me I've been traininghard all winter to prepare for the whole season, and this raceisn't really any different. Staying hydrated is key - I'll take onmore liquid than normal earlier in the week before the race andI'll make sure I'm outside in the hottest part of the day to get mybody used to the temperatures, but once I'm in the car it's reallybusiness as normal."

Vitaly Petrov: "This is my first race inMalaysia with the team and I'm looking forward to seeing how theMalaysian fans react to their home team, and to building on what weachieved on track in Australia.
The race in Melbourne didn't end as we'd wanted, but it was stillvery good to see that we could push the cars ahead, and until theproblem we had with the steering wheel I felt good in the car. Myengineer Gianluca told me afterwards that he felt happy, despitehow the race had finished, because we'd done a really good job inthe car and in the pitstops, so we know we have something to workon, which is good motivation for the race at Sepang.

"Putting aside the weather, which affects everyone the same, thetrack itself is a good challenge, and with KERS on the car for thefirst time for the team in Malaysia I think we can show how we haveprogressed since last year in front of our home fans. We should belooking to get more out of the package in qualifying than inAustralia, and in the race itself it would obviously be good toavoid the sort of incident that held us up at the start of theMelbourne race and be right in the fight from lap one. Whateverhappens it will be a good week and the more time I spend with mynew team, the more I'm finding what a good group of people I'mworking with so I want to do my best to help the whole team keeppushing forwards."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "The obviouschallenge facing everyone in Malaysia is how you cope with theheat. This will be the first time this year where we will be ableto see how the 2012 tyres operate in the sort of temperatures wewill be facing throughout the weekend, and we also have to takeinto account the strong possibility of heavy rain when we areplanning the setup options for each session.

"We saw in Australia that we have some work to do on generatingheat into the tyres as early as possible when the cars are ontrack, and the increased ambient temperatures in Malaysia willobviously help that, but I think managing degradation levels willplay a key role in the race strategies of all the teams. We need tomake sure we improve our qualifying performance and then I think wecan be reasonably confident of repeating the sort of race pace wesaw from both cars in Australia. We know what the car is capable ofand we need to maximise track time on Friday and Saturday to helpus extract the performance it has within it, so the main aim willbe to have a reliable, problem free weekend and put on as good adisplay as we can in front of our home fans and ourshareholders."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "This is ourthird visit to one of our two home races and the first for us asCaterham F1 Team, with the legal wrangles we have been involved infor the last two years now behind us, firmly in control of our owndestiny and writing a brand new chapter in our story. I am veryglad we are back home as Caterham and it feels like only yesterdaythat we were making our debut at Sepang, and recording what was forus an historic first appearance in
Q2 in only our third ever race. While I would obviously like to seeus repeat that in 2012 I am not sure if we are quite there yet. Wehave obviously improved our pace relative to our 2011 speed, butthe teams ahead have also improved, so even though we are closerthan this time last year we still have work to do to bridge the gapin qualifying.

"However, in the race I think it looks like a different matter.At the end of last year we were agonisingly close to a number ofcars ahead, and this year our race lap times in Australia were on apar with at least three cars ahead. With a bit of luck, whichobviously deserted us in Melbourne, I think the Malaysian race willgive us a chance to show just what we have achieved over thewinter, and that gives us good reason to be optimistic about theweekend ahead."

maocheng

FP1 / FP2 Report - Friday 23rd March 2012

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Weather
FP1: Dry session, air temp 30° - 33°, track temp 38° - 43°
FP2: Dry session, air temp 31°, track temp 44° - 46°

Fastest laps / positions:
FP1: KOV 1.40.247, 17th / PET 1.40.857, 19th
FP2: PET 1.41.464, 19th / KOV 1.42.594, 21st

Total laps:
FP1: KOV 19 / PET 25
FP2: KOV 18 / PET 25

Runplan - FP1
Heikki Kovalainen
1000 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap (primes)
1002 - 1025: System checks
1025 - 1037: Run 2, 6 laps (primes)
1037 - 1046: Changes: front wing flap angle, rear brake blanking, front anti-roll bar
1046 - 1102: Run 3, 9 laps (primes)
1102 - 1112: Changes: front anti-roll bar
1112 - 1121: Run 4, 3 laps (options)

Vitaly Petrov
1000 - 1003: Installation, 1 lap (primes)
1003 - 1025: System checks
1025 - 1040: Run 2, 7 laps (primes)
1040 - 1052: Changes: front wing flap angle, front torsion bar, front / rear anti-roll bar
1052 - 1108: Run 3, 8 laps (primes)
1108 - 1113: Changes: n/a
1113 - 1132: Run 4, 9 laps (options)


Runplan - FP2
Heikki Kovalainen
1419 - 1430: Run 1, 6 laps (primes)
1430 - 1436: Changes: n/a
1436 - 1459: Run 2, 12 laps (primes)

Vitaly Petrov
1416 - 1427: Run 1, 5 laps (options)
1427 - 1442: Changes: n/a
1442 - 1455: Run 2, 6 laps (primes)
1455 - 1504: Changes: front wing flap angle
1504 - 1530: Run 3, 14 laps (primes)

Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “I think today proved what we suspected, that managing tyre degradation is going to be critical to performance on Sunday. This morning we tried a couple of setup options that didn't really work too well but we made some changes over lunch and straight away this afternoon the car felt better. I had more grip and was able to manage the tyres well over the second run we did so I think we've found some improvements where we wanted to today and have a base to work on tonight.”
  
Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “We worked through the normal Friday runplans and for me it was a pretty good day. The grip levels this morning were not good, but I think that was the same for most of the teams, but this afternoon we had found some improvements, even though the track itself had lost some of the grip from this morning. We have a couple of areas to focus on tonight, particularly looking at maximising traction, but I'm reasonably pleased with where we have ended up.”
  
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "Preparations for this race started several months ago when we first ran the engines on the dyno and replicated the heat and the humidity we run in here in Malaysia. We work very closely with the aerodynamics department at the team to make sure we have the right cooling on the bodywork and from what we have seen today it looks like we have achieved the targets we set ourselves for this weekend."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: “An interesting day for us and probably every team in the paddock. We knew that tyre management would play a key role over the weekend and it was immeditaly clear this morning that degradation levels on both tyre compounds are going to be high. The forecasts this morning suggested it might rain this afternoon so we switched the plans and went through some of the afternoon's workload this morning, looking at how the tyres behaved on different fuel loads on each car. This afternoon we saw improvements on both cars and now have a lot of data to look at to prepare for tomorrow and Sunday.”
  
Riad Asmat, Caterham Group CEO: “First of all it is just great to be back on track in Sepang, in our home country. We have had a tremendous welcome here and, for me, it is good to feel the heat of home. That is not quite the same for the guys in the garage but they have prepared well and are all working extremely hard to make sure we can reproduce the pace we saw in Sunday's race in Melbourne. Whatever happens, we will do our best to give the home fans reason to cheer and we have the right people in control of our race plans to do just that.”

maocheng

FP3 and Qualifying Report - Saturday 24th March 2012

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Weather
FP3: Damp track in S3 at start of session, dry, air temp 27° - 29°, track temp 32° - 35°
Q1: Dry session, air temp 32°, track temp 42°

Fastest laps / positions:
FP3: PET 1.39.704 19th / KOV 1.40.189, 20th
Q1: KOV 1.39.306, 19th / PET 1.39.567, 20th

Total laps:
FP3: PET 15 / KOV 14
Q1: KOV 9 / PET 6

Runplan - FP3
Heikki Kovalainen
1300 - 1302: Installation, 1 lap (inters)
1302 - 1327: System checks. Changes: front wing flap, brake balance, rear brake blanking
1327 - 1343: Run 2, 8 laps (primes)
1343 - 1352: Changes: front / rear ride height, front wing flap angle
1352 - 1402: Run 3, 5 laps (options)

Vitaly Petrov
1300 - 1302: Installation, 1 lap (inters)
1302 - 1328: System checks
1328 - 1345: Run 2, 9 laps (primes)
1345 - 1353: Changes: n/a  
1353 - 1403: Run 3, 5 laps (options)

Runplan - Q1
Heikki Kovalainen
1601 - 1612: Run 1, 6 laps (primes)
1612 - 1616: Changes: front wing flap angle
1616 - 1621: Run 2, 3 laps (options)

Vitaly Petrov
1601 - 1607: Run 1, 3 laps (options)
1607 - 1616: Changes: front wing flap angle
1616 - 1621: Run 2, 3 laps (options)


Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “That was an odd qualifying session for me. I know there's more time in the car because I definitely lost time on the second run on the options. I made a couple of small errors and felt the rear grip just wasn't quite there, so there was more to come, but just not today. Tomorrow I have to make sure I get past the cars in front as quickly as possible and get on with my race. The rain that's been predicted hasn't fallen during a session yet but who knows what could happen tomorrow. It's always interesting here and with the conditions we have it'll be all about making sure we get to the end of the race and see where we are.”
  
Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “We had quite an aggressive strategy here for qualifying but it didn't quite pay off. I haven't really had a good balance on the car in either FP3 or the quali runs and I think we need to spend a bit more time looking at how to get the most out of the tyres. Now I'm looking forward to tomorrow. The car felt great last Sunday and on the long runs we've done here it's been more settled, so we'll aim to have a good start, avoid any problems in the first couple of corners and get on with the fight ahead.”
  
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "From the engine perspective this was a pretty decent performance. Since yesterday we have improved the engine cooling options and the driveability characteristics and they will both play a vital role tomorrow."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: “We opted for a longer run on the prime tyres for Heikki on his first run, giving us more tyre choice tomorrow and taking into account the positions he has to give up after the penalty he took in Australia. Both cars then ran on the medium compound on the second runs and it looks like we could have found a little more time if we had maximised the performance of the options. We have a plan for tomorrow that gives us the best chance of using the car's strong race pace so more work tonight and a strong day tomorrow should see us achieve the targets we have set ourselves for this weekend.”
  
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “It is good to be back on track and to see how the team has developed again, particularly compared to where we were this time last year. There may have been a bit more time to be found in each car, but at the moment our car seems to be stronger in race trim than over a single lap. That is a positive as it means both Vitaly and Heikki can fight when it really counts, so we want to make sure we have a strong Sunday, avoid the reliability problems that we encountered last week and put on as good a show as we can for our home fans.”

maocheng

News
Sunday at Sepang

• Added: Sun 25 Mar, 2012

Malaysian Grand Prix - Sunday 25th March 2012

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Weather
Wet start, rain in early part of race, rain leading to red flag, dry post-restart

Final Positions
PET: 16th
KOV: 18th

Team Quotes

Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: "I am really happy with the performance today. We didn't show the car's true potential in qualifying, but today I was able to put in similar lap times to the cars ahead and didn't make any mistakes in the tricky conditions. The car felt good all afternoon and the team worked really well to help me get the most out of it, both on the pitwall and with the stops, so I'm very pleased I've been able to record my first race finish for the team and to start to show what we can do in races. This gives us a good base to work from so it's been a good Sunday, particularly in front of our home fans."

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: "That was one of those races when we could have had a really good result, but a bit of bad luck and a car I didn't really have a great balance on meant I'm just pleased to have got it home. I made a small mistake on the inters and had to come in for a new nose, and that dropped me back a few places which basically ended my race. Despite that, it's good that we got both cars home and we also showed again that we have a car that can race on Sundays. Now we need to focus on getting more out of it in qualifying and pushing on at the next race in China."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "Conditions like we saw today can make the race a complete lottery. We worked well all afternoon with the engineering team to adjust the engine strategy to deal with the red flag and the safety car period, and we can be reasonably pleased with how well the car performed against the teams ahead, so now we will focus on China and Bahrain and make sure we use this as a base to keep progressing."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "From the technical perspective that was an incredibly busy race. With the constantly changing conditions we had to make a number of calls to give us a chance to fight and while that paid off for Vitaly, for Heikki it was a much tougher afternoon. He had to change a front wing after going off track and that effectively ended his race, but it is good to see how hard Vitaly was able to push, and to see the lap times he was putting in on the inters."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I'm happy with how the race went today. We recorded our first two car finish at our home race in Malaysia, and we definitely gave the fans here something to cheer for, particularly with Vitaly battling with the likes of Ferrari, Williams and Toro Rosso. We showed good pace and with a bit more work ont he strategies I think we can keep demonstrating that we keep edging ever closer to what is clearly an intense battle in the midfield. The fact we are now fighting with some of the most famous names in motorsport is a huge achievement in what is only our third season, and now we will keep fighting to close that gap which is already so much smaller than it was last year, and streets ahead of where we were in 2010."

maocheng

Chinese Grand Prix View
Added: Thu 5 Apr, 2012

Chinese Grand Prix View



General
Race laps: 56
Air / Track temp (°C): 19 / 27
Pitlane altitude (m): 38
ATM Press (HPa): 1022
Hum (%): 35
Wind (kph): NNW 25
  
Timing



2010 Qualifying
P1: 1:33.706 (VET Q3)
P2: 1:34.421 (BUT Q3)
P3: 1:34.463 (HAM Q3)
CF1T best: P19 1.37.894 (KOV Q1)
CF1T delta to best Q1: +2.622 (102.7%)
  
2011 Race
P1: HAM (1:40.415) L48
P2: VET (1:41.321) L47
P3: WEB (1:38.993) L42
CF1T best: P16 KOV (1:42.672) L45
CF1T delta to best race lap: +3.679 (103.7%)
  
Quick description
Overtaking is difficult
The track is easy on brakes
Kerbs are not an issue
Wind has a big influence in S2, the high speed section and on top speed
There are usually traction instability issues out of T6 / T14 and understeer in T7 / T8
1st gear sometimes used in T6
  
Circuit particularity
Bumpiness: low
Overtaking chance: low
Kerbs: smooth
Ride height setting particularity: none
Engine severity: medium
Gearbox severity: medium
Lat / Long grip: lateral
Aero eff ratio: medium
Safety car history: 2011 - none, 2010 - two (1-3 & 22-25), 2009 - race start (rain)
Track grip evo during w/e: medium / high
Aero settings: high
Brake wear severity: low
Brake cooling necessity: medium



Heikki Kovalainen: "Next up it's another couple of back to back races, this time China and Bahrain. We'll look at Bahrain next week so for now the focus is on China. I've been in Abu Dhabi since leaving Malaysia, staying with my girlfriend Catherine's parents so I can keep up the training regime and avoid the full jetlag that can kick in when you return to Europe. I'm feeling really good, back to 100% after the bug I had in Malaysia and I just want to get back out on track.



"When we do get back out it will be in Shanghai at one of the pretty standard modern tracks. It's a mix of low and medium speed corners, a very long straight with a tight corner at the end that provides a natural point to overtake, and a couple of tight fiddly bits you never quite feel like you get completely right. It's not too hard on the brakes but you need to get the car stable under braking so you can really attack into each braking zone, and you need good traction out of the slower corners to be able to pressure the cars ahead around the whole lap. The key bit is probably into T11, 12 and 13 - making sure you get the braking into T11 right so you can carrry as much speed as possible through 12 and 13 and out onto the straight. Get that right and you give yourself a chance to fight at the end of the straight."
  
Vitaly Petrov: "As soon as the Malaysian race was over I headed back to Russia for a few days at home before we get going again in China. I've been doing a bit of training, catching up with friends and family and I hooked up with Andrei Arshavin to help launch the new Nike Mercurial Vapour VIII football boots. I'm a big football fan and it's always good seeing Andrei. He's obviously having a pretty interesting season with Arsenal and I know he and the whole Russian team are looking forward to Euro 2012 in June. I'll have to make sure I can fit in watching a few games while we're at races - I'm in Canada for Russia's opening game so I'll have a word with the IT guys to see if they can help me watch it!



"Next up though it's China. I've been in the points for the last two years in Shanghai and while it would obviously be great to repeat that in 2012 with Caterham I suspect it might be a bit too early in the season for us to get a point in China. It's not a particularly hard circuit to drive, it's not too technical but you have to make sure you get it right through the tight section from turns 1 to 4, and the same from 11 to 13 as you head onto the straight. You can make up or lose quite a bit of time in both those sequences and that means setting up the cars to have the right balance between the high speed run down to T14, meaning less drag, and the slower turns in sectors one and three, both of which need much more downforce."
  
Mark Smith, Technical Director: "As we head to Shanghai for the third race of 2012 we know that we still have some margin to work on to extract the best from the car and the tyres in both qualifying and the race itself. We have been looking at this in detail since returning from Malaysia and have a number of plans in place to help us move forwards as soon as we get on track in Shanghai.



"The ambient temperatures in China are always much lower than the last race in Malaysia, although it would not be a surprise to see rain at some stage over the course of the weekend. The layout of the circuit itself makes overtaking quite tricky so it will be interesting to see how much KERS helps us, now we have it here for the frist time, along with DRS this year.



"The track surface is relatively smooth and the kerbs are generally not an issue in China, so we will take these factors into account when we plan the optimum setups for the weekend. We still have yet to run a dry race in 2012 on a full grand prix circuit which means that we have a limited amount of tyre information for the Chinese GP weekend. That puts a premium on the importance of running tyre programmes in FP1 and FP2 and gives the engineers a lot of work to do on Friday night.



"Externally, we will be running the cars in high downforce configurations and we have bodywork updates targeted at increased load and more efficient cooling, given the lower ambient temperatures we will to see in Shanghai. China is not especially tough on brakes but we also have a couple of  updates in this area."
  
Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "While the race team has had a very well deserved couple of weeks off since the end of the Malaysian race, the work rate in the factory has intensified as we keep up the development fight off track. This time last year we wanted to bring updates to each race, but we were not in a financial or logistical position to do so. This year we can do just that, and that is another sign that we are going in the right direction.



"Before the Australian and Malaysian races we had a pretty clear idea of where we would be relative to the other teams around us, and the performances we saw confirmed what we need to do to keep bridging the gap to the cars ahead. Over the race weekends we need to look at improving our qualifying pace, and it looks like we can work more efficiently on maximising tyre performance levels over the whole weekend. Back at the factory the main focus for us is on improving the aero performance of the cars. This is what will give us the chance to fight for the point we want to win, and the fact we can now head into the next two flyaway races with the sort of upgrades we could only dream of last year is a very encouraging sign, and one that shows how hard the whole team is working to help us achieve our goals."

maocheng

中国站练习1和2
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Weather
FP1: Overcast, drizzle, air temp 13° - 14°, track temp 14° - 15°
FP2: Overcast, dry, air temp 15°- 16°, track temp 15°

Fastest laps / positions:
FP1: KOV 1.41.071, 16th / GAR 1.42.521, 19th
FP2: KOV 1.38.990, 19th / PET 1.39.346, 20th

Total laps:
FP1: KOV 14 / GAR 11
FP2: KOV 36 / PET 20

Runplan - FP1
Heikki Kovalainen
0959 – 1002: Installation, 1 lap (wet tyres) 
1002 – 1038: System checks. Changes: front wing flap angle, brake balance, front brake blanking 
1038 – 1049: Run 2, 5 laps (medium tyres)
1049 – 1114: Changes: Front wing flap angle, front / rear brake blanking, brake balance
1114 – 1123: Run 3, 4 laps (intermediate tyres)
1123 – 1124: Changes: front wing flap angle, brake balance
1124 – 1132: Run 4, 4 laps (medium tyres)

Giedo van der Garde
0959 – 1002: Installation, 1 lap (wet tyres) 
1002 – 1037: System checks. Changes: balance, rear brake blanking
1037 – 1042: Run 2, 2 laps (medium tyres)
1042 – 1114: Changes: Front wing flap angle, rear brake blanking, brake balance
1114 – 1121: Run 3, 3 laps (intermediate tyres)
1121 – 1124: Changes: front wing flap angle, brake balance
1124 – 1132: Run 4, 5 laps (medium tyres)

Runplan - FP2
Heikki Kovalainen
1400 – 1414: Installation, 7 laps (medium tyres) 
1414 – 1420: Changes: rear ride height, rear brake blanking, brake balance  
1420 – 1443: Run 2, 13 laps (medium tyres)
1443 – 1459: Changes: Front wing flap angle, front / rear brake blanking
1449 – 1510: Run 3, 5 laps (soft tyres)
1510 – 1514: Changes: n/a
1514 – 1533: Run 4, 11 laps (soft tyres)

Vitaly Petrov
1400 – 1415: Installation, 6 laps (medium tyres) 
1415 – 1438: Changes: front wing flap angle, front torsion bar, front anti-roll bar  
1438 – 1448: Run 2, 5 laps (medium tyres)
1448 – 1512: Changes: front wing flap angle, front / rear brake blanking
1512 – 1521: Run 3, 4 laps (soft tyres)
1521 – 1524: Changes: n/a
1524 – 1533: Run 4, 5 laps (soft tyres)


Team Quotes

Giedo van der Garde, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “That wasn’t the easiest first FP1 session for me with the team but I’m pleased with the job I did and have had good feedback from the engineers, so I don’t think I could have done any more in today’s tricky conditions. In general the car balance was good. There’s a lot of traction and the braking stability has improved since the test I did in Spain so it’s good to see the car’s developing well. Bearing in mind the updates we’ve brought here, it’s clear the team is pushing hard to join the fight ahead and I’m glad I had the chance today to help here in China.”
 
Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “A bit of a tricky day and one where I'm not sure how much we've learnt. The conditions this morning meant we didn't learn too much, even though it was good to get some mileage on the inters, and this afternoon I had a few issues trying to find decent grip but we can work on that tonight. I'm pretty certain we can find quite a lot more from the whole package for tomorrow so let's see where we find ourselves when it gets serious on Saturday afternoon.”
 
Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “I had a slightly interrupted session this afternoon with maybe one run lost to an alteration to the front suspension early in the session, but despite that I'm reasonably pleased with how the rest of FP2 went. Tyre degradation doesn't look too bad on either compound and I think we can find more time with some changes to the mechanical grip, so with some hard work tonight I think we can be ok for tomorrow and the race on Sunday.”

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "The layout of the Shanghai track presents us with a few challenges, particularly in optimising the gear ratios for the very long straight to make sure we can get the most out of DRS in both qualifying and race conditions. The cold, damp weather today also gives us a few issues - the internal parts are under more stress than normal as there is more air going into the engine, particularly at high speed, but I think we have dealt with that well and it hasn't given us any problems. We have also been looking at making sure we give the drivers enough driveability in the first sector, and balancing that against the need for maximum speed on the straight, and from the feedback we have had from all three drivers so far I think we are in the right area." 

Mark Smith, Technical Director: “We started with Giedo in for Vitaly this morning and he did a good job in conditions that were obviously pretty tricky. The weather this morning meant we ended up running more than we would have liked on the intermediate tyres and with the new floor we have brought here we wanted to maximise our running on the dry tyres to learn as much as we could about the update on the actual race cars. It is still too early to tell how much the update has given us but this afternoon we were able to run through most of the programme which gives us a useful amount of aero data on the new floor so we will work with the team here in China and back at the factory on that information tonight and see what we need to do to get the most out of it tomorrow and for the race on Sunday.”
 
Ends

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Issue 2 of Caterham Notes, our exclusive in-house digital publication, is now available via www.caterhamf1.com/magazine - find out about the role the Ops Room back at the factory plays whenever the cars are on track, read Technical Director Mark Smith's thoughts on CT01 and hear from Caterham Racing's Giedo van der Garde and Rodolfo Gonzalez

maocheng

Chinese Grand Prix FP3 and Qualifying - Saturday 14th April 2012

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Weather
FP3: Dry, air temp 19° - 21°, track temp 24° - 27°
Q1: Dry, air temp 21°, track temp 25°

Fastest laps / positions:
FP3: PET 1.38.701, 19th / KOV 1.39.198, 20th
Q1: KOV 1.38.463, 19th / PET 1.38.677, 20th

Total laps:
FP3: PET 19 / KOV 19
Q1: KOV 9 / PET 7

Runplan - FP3
Heikki Kovalainen
1059 - 1105: Installation, 2 laps (medium tyres)
1105 - 1116: System checks
1116 - 1129: Run 2, 7 laps (medium tyres)
1129 - 1134: Changes: rear ride height
1134 - 1145: Run 3, 6 laps (medium tyres)
1145 - 1152: Changes: n/a
1152 - 1200: Run 4, 4 laps (soft tyres)

Vitaly Petrov
1100 - 1103: Installation, 1 lap (medium tyres)
1103 - 1111: System checks  
1111 - 1122: Run 2, 6 laps (medium tyres)
1122 - 1126: Changes: front wing flap angle
1126 - 1138: Run 3, 6 laps (medium tyres)
1138 - 1150: Changes: front suspension adjustment
1150 - 1202: Run 4, 6 laps (soft tyres)

Runplan - Q1
Heikki Kovalainen
1400 - 1406: Run 1, 3 laps (medium tyres)
1406 - 1409: Refuel
1409 - 1414: Run 2, 3 laps (soft tyres)
1414 - 1417: Refuel. Changes: front wing flap angle
1417 - 1423: Run 3, 3 laps (soft tyres)

Vitaly Petrov
1401 - 1410: Run 1, 4 laps (soft tyres)
1410 - 1417: Refuel
1417 - 1423: Run 2, 3 laps (soft tyres)


Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: "I pretty much got as much as I could out of the car today. I made a small mistake in the final corner on my second run that maybe cost me a couple of tenths, but the car felt well balanced and there probably wasn't any more to come in Q1. On my first run I was blocked by Maldonado on the back straight, so we'll see what happens with that, but overall I'm pretty pleased with my performance so we'll see what happens tomorrow."

Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: "I've had a couple of issues today with finding the right balance, but on the second run in Q1 I had a pretty good lap and I think it all came together to put that time in. We know from the first two races we can fight on Sundays and we've looked relatively easy on the tyres, so with a good plan and a bit of luck maybe tomorrow can bring us something good."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "From the engine perspective the conditions today obviously suit us better and we saw that the strategies we were running worked. Today it was about maximising outright top speed over the two straights whilst giving the drivers the engine characteristics they look for in the slower corners and we can be reasonably pleased that we have achieved both objectives."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "The team here in China and back at the factory have been working hard on some specific areas, particularly on ensuring we can get the most out of the tyres when it matters. Today we saw positive results on both cars, and having tweaked the setups overnight we saw Heikki record a time just under 8/10ths from the car ahead, which is a step forward for us in qualifying. Last year we were almost 1.5 seconds behind the car in front in Q1 so that shows we are progressing. Now we turn our focus to the race and the clear aim is to keep up the race pace we showed in Australia and Malaysia and make sure both cars cross the finish line."