Caterham F1 Era End

maocheng

Caterham Group Opens The Doors To Leafield

Leafield, Oxfordshire - Monday 16th July

Caterham Group has today confirmed that work has started on Monday July 16th at the Leafield Technical Centre in Oxfordshire, the new global base for the motorsport, automotive and technology business that comprises Caterham F1 Team, Caterham Racing (GP2), Caterham Cars, Caterham Composites and CTI (Caterham Technology and Innovation). A complete renovation and refurbishment of Caterham Group’s new home, in the middle of what is known as ‘Motorsport Valley’, has now started and the first arm of the business to move into Leafield will be Caterham F1 Team which will return to Oxfordshire after the Hungarian Grand Prix in late July.

It is less than three years since the first building blocks of what has now become Caterham Group were put in place by Tony Fernandes and his fellow shareholders when they were granted entry to the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship in September 2009. With work now starting at Leafield Tony Fernandes is excited to see how far his dream has come in under 36 months: “It is hard to believe that it is less than three years since we first walked into the empty factory in Hingham where we started the F1 team back in 2009. At that point we had four full-time employees, a couple of notepads and a rather daunting joblist that many people said was utterly unachievable. While the F1 team was building up fast, we also had a plan to lay the foundations for an automotive and technology focused group of businesses that would allow us to compete with some of the most famous motorsport and car brands on and off track, through innovation, passion and value. We wanted to support the road and racing operations with a range of associated companies that would specialise in the high-tech materials that are so prevalent in F1, allowing us to tap into a creative and technical pool of talent that are usually focused on winning on track or improving handling on the road, applying their expertise, ideas and knowledge to any industry that could benefit from world-class thinking.

“We have had a couple of well documented issues along the way, but we are now in the middle of 2012, 34 months since work started on our first F1 car and I think we have reached the most important point in our development so far. Caterham Group is now the embodiment of all the ideas and dreams we had in 2009 and now, with Leafield open for business, we have put in place the next vital stage for the continuing development of all the Caterham Group businesses.

“The F1 and GP2 teams will be first in place in Leafield, and Caterham Cars will be moving its HQ to Leafield in due course. Caterham Composites will remain in Norfolk and CTI will retain its offices in Germany whilst expanding production into the Hingham site to join Caterham Composites at the base we have owned since ’09. These are important moves, not only for the incredible staff we have in place in each of our businesses, but also for the message it sends to our partners, suppliers, local communities and our competition. We are now a multi-faceted group of world-leading companies existing in harmony within a clear group structure that provides enormous room for growth. Under the Leafield HQ we have another major site fully operational in Hingham and through the nature of our work and the people we employ, we have a truly global outlook.

“To any observer of what we have achieved in such a short space of time this is incredible. From a starting point of zero we now have more than 500 staff working on a range of extremely exciting projects. Our F1 team is about to make the final step to join the established teams ahead, our GP2 team has already won in Monaco and we will soon start sharing the plans we have in place for Caterham Cars, fuelled by CTI who are leading the design and production concepts we have for our roadcar operation. Caterham Composites will be making a couple of announcements in the next few months that will propel them to the forefront of their cutting-edge industry and, alongside the roadcar work, CTI is already branching into a number of new industries that will see their expertise showcased in some very surprising environments.

“Work has now started at Leafield. The first task is to refurbish the whole site and prepare it for a long and successful future. While that work is taking place the F1 team’s race trucks have left Hingham with our 2012 race cars for the last time. The next time they are back in the UK they will go straight to Leafield and that is excellent news for everybody associated with Caterham Group. More than 200 of the F1 team staff are making the move to Oxfordshire over the next few weeks and when we have finished the refurbishment, in late October 2012, we will have a facility that will put us on a par with the teams we are trying to catch in F1. Importantly, it will also give us the base we need to allow Caterham Group to achieve the impossible for many years to come. This is why I am so excited about what we have ahead of us, and this is why I am now dreaming of bigger, better and more ambitious plans than ever before.”

Riad Asmat, Caterham Group CEO: “I share Tony’s excitement about the future for Caterham Group and am also delighted that Leafield is now up and running. We have worked incredibly hard over the last three years to build a range of businesses that complement each other, have transferrable technology and skills-bases and allow us to attract the best people for each role. Physically, Leafield is the next logical step in the growth of Caterham Group, its location alone allows us to access the pool of talent that is already in place throughout the UK’s motorsport valley, but it also plays an important role psychologically. An investment of the level the shareholders have made in Leafield is a sure sign of how long-term their plans for the Group are, and how serious they are about achieving success across all our businesses. We could have taken the easy route – stayed in Hingham, worked with related partners on projects that would have still been cutting edge, but to be able to do everything we want under one banner and with the sort of HQ we now have in Leafield as the jewel in the crown – that takes huge commitment and an unshakable determination to be successful.

“We have a lot of hard work ahead of us but the challenge is what makes what we do so rewarding. In F1 we are closer than ever to achieving what we are still told is impossible and joining the fight with teams that, collectively, have been in the sport for centuries. On the road we are in the final stages of confirming our first roadcar ventures since we took over Caterham Cars and Composites and CTI are recruiting daily to help them meet the growing demands of their existing and new clients, inside the group and across a variety of industry sectors. Now, with Leafield open, we can invite the world’s most prestigious brands from any industry sector to share our vision at our new home.”

Mark Smith, Technical Director Caterham F1 Team: “In common with most of the current employees of the F1 team I have moved back nearer to our new base in Leafield and I am very excited about the future this gives us, not just for the F1 team but Caterham Group as a whole. The Leafield site is perfect for our needs in F1, GP2 and all our interests in motorsport now and in the future, and it also gives us the platform to expand into any industry that sees that we can provide new ideas and world-class performance.

“One of the immediate benefits of the move is in attracting people to come and work with us. Since I joined the team in 2011 I have been aware that there have been people we wanted to bring to Norfolk who were reluctant to move their families out of ‘motorsport valley’ where all the UK based F1 teams, and their associated supply chains and partners, are based. There has never been an issue with people not sharing our vision, being as excited about our future as everyone who works with Tony and Riad are, but it was undeniable that geography may have prevented us from expanding at quite the rate we want to. Now Leafield is open we have no barriers. We are in the heart of the motorsport industry, not only in the UK but worldwide, and we have an aggressive employment plan in place that will help us keep moving up the grid. With so much investment made in giving us this platform to work from now it is down to the people who work in Caterham Group and everybody we work with to help us keep achieving our goals and we could not ask for better motivation than that.”

maocheng

Friday at Hockenheim                                                   

• Added: Fri 20 Jul, 2012
  

   
                        

German Grand Prix FP1 & FP2

Caterham F1 Team Partner information
CNN's annual German Journalist Awards celebrates young journalismand has attracted thousands of high-quality entries from acrossGermany, Austria and Switzerland.

Weather
FP1: Overcast, intermittent light rain, air temp 17°- 18°, track temp 19° - 23°
FP2i: Wet, air temp 17°, track temp 20° - 17°

Fastest laps / positions:
FP1: PET 1.19.674, 18th / KOV 1.19.963, 19th
FP2: KOV 1.30.331, 17th  / PET 1.32.241, 21st

Total laps:
FP1: PET 24 / KOV 24
FP2: KOV 27 / PET 22

Runplan - FP1
Heikki Kovalainen
1000 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap (primetyres)
1002 - 1007: System checks  
1007 - 1022: Run 2, 8 laps (prime tyres)
1022 - 1035: Changes: rear brake duct
1035 - 1038: Run 3, 1 lap (prime tyres)
1038 - 1041: Changes: n/a
1041 - 1044: Run 4, 1 lap (prime tyres)
1044 - 1052: Changes: front wing flap angle
1053 - 1059: Run 5, 4 laps (prime tyres)
1059 - 1118: Changes: front wing flap angle, rear brakeblanking
1118 - 1132: Run 6, 9 laps (prime tyres)

Vitaly Petrov
1000 - 1002: Installation, 1 lap (primetyres)
1002 - 1015: System checks
1015 - 1027: Run 2, 7 laps (prime tyres)
1027 - 1050: Changes: n/a
1050 - 1101: Run 3, 7 laps (prime tyres)
1101 - 1110: Changes: front wing flap angle
1110 - 1132: Run 4, 9 laps (prime tyres)


Runplan - FP2
Heikki Kovalainen
1423 - 1441: Run 1, 10 laps (wet tyres)
1441 - 1444: Changes: n/a
1444 - 1503: Run 2, 12 laps (intermediate tyres)
1503 - 1517: Changes: front wing flap angle
1517 - 1526: Run 3, 5 laps (wet tyres)

Vitaly Petrov
1424 - 1439: Run 1, 8 laps (wet tyres)
1439 - 1442: Changes: front wing flap angle  
1442 - 1458: Run 2, 9 laps (intermediate tyres)
1458 - 1508: Changes: front wing flap angle
1508 - 1519: Run 3, 4 laps (wet tyres)
1519 - 1523: Changes: front wing flap angle
1523 - 1526: Run 4, 1 lap (wet tyres)


Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: "Wecompleted a decent mileage today but I think we still have quite abit of work to do, mainly on finding grip. The conditions in FP1were good to start off with and we managed to get through most ofthe aero programme we'd set, including a couple of very slow singlelap runs on dry tyres when it was getting pretty wet! In FP2 westarted on the full wets for the first run, then went onto theinters but we still couldn't quite find a really good balance.We'll look at that tonight and make sure we can push on tomorrow inFP3 and qualifying."

Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: "I'mpretty pleased with how today's gone. In conditions like we had inboth sessions one of the main things is to make sure you don't makeany mistakes, and we had a big programme for both FP1 and FP2 andit was important to make sure we go through them with noproblems.

"Inside the car we tried a few setup changes to help dial out theundersteer, and on the dry tyres in the morning session we weredefinitely going in the right direction as the session ended. Inthe afternoon we tried a few things on both the wets and the intersand, again, made progress, but we have a lot more to come."

Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "Thisis our first visit to Hockenheim with Caterham but we obviouslyhave a great deal of experience at this track from the last racehere in 2010. Hockenheim has a couple of interesting challenges forus, specifically looking at how we can give the drivers maximum topspeed down the long straight, which is one of the longest of theseason, and make sure their fuel consumption is managedeffectively. This track is heavy on fuel consumption so the carswill start this race with one of the highest fuel loads of theseason and we have to take that into account in conjunction withthe team, particularly when looking at tyre degradation.

"In addition, we have been continuing to work today on fine tuningthe engine maps with the revised exhaust layout the team firstbrought to Silverstone. For Hockenheim we need to make sure thedrivers have good torque response, especially in the stadiumsection, and that has been a focus area for us today. We have had agood day on that front - the mileage we completed gives us a veryreasonable amount of data to work through so this has been apositive day."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "FP1 was a goodsession for us on both cars. We wanted as much dry running as wecould today to continue the aero work we were doing on Wednesday inFrance at the straightline test and we had dry running for most ofthe session. Both Heikki and Vitaly completed 24 laps each and wewere able to run through the whole program we had set out for thatsession. FP2 started with rain that was heavy enough to keep mostof the field in the garages but once it had eased off a little wesent the cars out on the full wets to start the FP2 program.

"We have a couple of minor modifications to the package weintroduced in Silverstone and tonight we will be focusing on whatthey have added, what we can take from the data from both sessionsand what can be applied for the rest of the weekend. Fundamentallywe are heading in the right direction, giving the drivers the aerobalance they need to be able to push and the downforce that isrequired to compete with the cars ahead. We still have a lot ofwork to do but I am reasonably optimistic that both the races inGermany and Hungary will see us return to the levels ofcompetitiveness we have targeted for races 10 and 11."

maocheng

German Grand Prix FP3 & Qualifying
                               
                                Caterham F1 Team Information
                                A 2012 F1 car is made up of approximately 80,000 components
                               
                                Weather
                                FP3: Dry, overcast, air temp 18° - 19°, track temp 26° - 30°
                                Q1: Dry, overcast, air temp 17°, track temp 25° - 24°
                               
                                Fastest laps / positions:
                                FP3: KOV 1.18.366, 18th / PET 1.18.818, 19th
                                Q1: KOV 1.17.620, 19th / PET 1.18.531, 20th
                               
                                Total laps:
                                FP3: KOV 21 / PET 23
                                Q1: KOV 8 / PET 9
                               
                                Runplan - FP3
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                1100 – 1102: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)
                                1102 – 1111: System checks
                                1111 – 1123: Run 2, 8 laps (option tyres)
                                1123 – 1131: Changes: front brake blanking
                                1131 – 1142: Run 3, 7 laps (prime tyres)
                                1142 – 1145: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1145 – 1154: Run 4, 5 laps (option tyres)
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1100 – 1102: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)
                                1102 – 1114: System checks. Changes: rear ride height
                                1114 – 1126: Run 2, 8 laps (option tyres)
                                1126 – 1132: Changes: rear brake blanking
                                1132 – 1142: Run 3, 7 laps (prime tyres)
                                1142 – 1145: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1145 – 1157: Run 4, 7 laps (option tyres)
                               
                                Runplan - Q1
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                1401 – 1406: Run 1, 4 laps (option tyres)
                                1406 – 1415: Refuel
                                1415 – 1421: Run 2, 4 laps (option tyres)
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1401 – 1408: Run 1, 5 laps (option tyres)
                                1408 – 1415: Refuel
                                1415 – 1421: Run 2, 4 laps (option tyres)
                               
                               
                                Team Quotes
                               
                                Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “For where we are right now that was pretty much the perfect lap. I didn’t make any mistakes, nailed every apex and had a clean lap, so I’m pleased with what I got out of the car today. Closing the gap to the cars ahead is obviously our target and I think we are still finding out how to unlock the real potential of the upgrade package we first ran in Silverstone. Taking the package as a whole there are a lot of elements we need to get right to really use its potential and I think we still need more dry running to really understand what it will really give us. We’ll keep working on achieving that and perhaps we’ll see more of its value tomorrow as it’s due to be sunny, and in Hungary where the hotter conditions will definitely suit us better than the cold, wet weather we’ve had in Germany and at the last race in Silverstone.”
                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “That was a bit of a difficult session after the rain at the end of FP3 changed the track conditions. We were having some issues warming up the front tyres and that, combined with traffic, meant I couldn’t really push as much as I had been in the morning session. Despite that, all weekend we’ve been progressing, doing a good job to push us in the right direction, and tomorrow I think we can do well. We have decent race pace and I think we’ll have a good result as we’ve been showing all season.”
                               
                                Mark Smith, Technical Director: “I am reasonably satisfied with the performance today. I think it is clear that we have more to come from the cars and, in the circumstances today, Heikki got as much out of it as he could. Vitaly had a couple of issues with traffic that cost him some time in Q1 but the over-riding goal is to make sure that both drivers have setups they can use to extract every ounce of performance from the work being done back at the factory and in the wind tunnel.”
                                 
                                Riad Asmat, Caterham Group CEO: “Today’s results are not where we want to be. We have been clear since before Silverstone that we need maximum time in the dry to understand how much the extensive upgrade package can give us and the weather this weekend has not helped that. However, we have the race tomorrow where we can definitely put in a good performance in both cars, and then Hungary which will suit us much more than Germany or Silverstone. We will keep fighting, keep working and not stay still – that would be the easy option but we are determined to join the midfield this season and that is keeping everybody motivated through every single lap.”

maocheng

Sunday at Hockenheim                                                   

• Added: Sun 22 Jul, 2012
  

   
                        

Caterham F1 Team Partner Information
GE has invested in more than $850 million in renewable energy

Weather
Race: Dry, sunshine, air temp 21° / track temp 34°(start), 21° / 29° (lap 34), 22° / 30° (lap x)

Runplan
Vitaly Petrov
1330 leave for grid, 2 laps
Start on soft tyres
Lap 14: pitstop 1, medium tyres
Lap 32: pitstop 2, medium tyres
Lap 50: pitstop 3, medium tyres
Finished: 16th
Fastest lap: 1.19.997 (lap 62)

Heikki Kovalainen
1331 leave for grid, 2 laps
Start on soft tyres
Lap 13: pitstop 1, medium tyres
Lap 31: pitstop 2, medium tyres
Lap 44: pitstop 3, medium tyres
Lap 53: pitstop 4, soft tyres, new nose
Finished: 19th
Fastest lap: 1.20.596 (lap 61)


Team Quotes

Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: "I ampleased with my performance today. It was a pretty quiet race forme and the car felt good right from the first lap, so I think I gotas much out of it as I could today. The last stint was particularlygood - I knew Senna was on the softer tyres behind me and I had tomake sure I stayed ahead, so I just focused on getting it to theflag without making any mistakes and I'm pleased for the team withwhere we ended up. It's encouraging that the car did feel bettertoday. Our pace in the early laps was good, as it has been allseason, and hopefully we can carry that through to Hungary - wecertainly have a lot more data to work through now from having bothcars finish today so that should help us more next weekend."

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3:"The early part of the race was good for me. The car felt betterthan it has for most of the weekend and I was able to push, butthen it felt like we had a problem after the second stop and fromthat point the front tyres were graining much more than they shouldhave been. We stopped pretty late for a nose change to see if thatcould sort the problem out and it did as after that the car feltback to normal, but from then I was just focusing on getting thecar to the end of the race. It's pretty clear that the hotter thetemperatures are the better we perform, so hopefully we'll be ableto show more speed in Hungary. It's a circuit I like and obviouslyI had my first win there so let's see what happens nextweekend."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "We started both carson the soft compound tyre and Heikki and Vitaly had good pace inthe first stint. They were running with the pack ahead and managingthe degradation levels well. In the first stops we put them bothonto the medium compounds and again both cars looked strong,certainly quicker than we have been for much of the weekend. Justafter halfway through the race Heikki started reporting understeerand much higher wear rates on the front tyres than we hadanticipated so we brought him in earlier than planned. However, itwas clear he had a problem with the car as we then had to being himin again on lap 53 for a nosecone change, in an attempt to sort theissue out, but that did not work and he hung on to finish19th. Vitaly finished 16th after a verygood performance, particularly towards the end of the race as hecame under pressure from Senna who was on the soft compound tyreswhile Vitaly was on the mediums. He stayed calm, did not make anymistakes and his final position is a decent result for the work heput in today."

Riad Asmat, Caterham Group Chief Executive: "We werelooking good for about half the race, just about keeping pace withthe cars ahead and both drivers managing their tyres well. Fromaround the second stops the pace started to drop off and we werenot able to maintain the speed we had for the first couple ofstints. It is fair to say this has not been our strongest weekend.Both drivers gave as much as they could today but we just did notgive them enough performance to really fight. We have work to dobefore the next race in Hungary to return to the level ofperformance we know we should be aiming for and that will need abig effort from the whole team to allow us to head into the Augustbreak on a positive note. What is encouraging is I know howdetermined everybody is to do that and we will not stop fightinguntil we have achieved what we set out to, so let's see where weare in a week's time and then take stock of what we can do to keepprogressing in the second half of the season."

魔鬼终结

最新消息。vettel跌去第五，kimi上到第三
Pos        Points        No        Driver        Car        Engine        Tyres        Laps        Race Time        Delay        Qualifying        Fastest Lap
1        25        5        Fernando Alonso (ESP)        Ferrari F2012        Ferrari 056        Pirelli        67        1:31'05.862                  1        1'40.621                              
2        15        3        Jenson Button (GBR)        McLaren MP4-27        Mercedes FO108X        Pirelli        67        1:31'12.811        +6.949         6         1'44.113                              
3        12        9        Kimi Räikkönen (FIN)        Lotus E20        Renault RS27-2012        Pirelli        67        1:31'22.271        +16.409         10         1'45.811                              
4        10        14        Kamui Kobayashi (JPN)        Sauber C31        Ferrari 056        Pirelli        67        1:31'27.787        +21.925         12         1'39.985                              
5        18        1        Sebastian Vettel (GER)        Red Bull RB8        Renault RS27-2012        Pirelli        67        1:31'29.594        +23.732         2         1'41.062                              
6        8        15        Sergio Perez (MEX)        Sauber C31        Ferrari 056        Pirelli        67        1:31'33.758        +27.896         17         1'39.933                              
7        6        7        Michael Schumacher (GER)        Mercedes WO3        Mercedes FO108X        Pirelli        67        1:31'34.832        +28.970         3         1'42.459        1        1'18.725         (57)
8        4        2        Mark Webber (AUS)        Red Bull RB8        Renault RS27-2012        Pirelli        67        1:31'52.803        +46.941         8         1'41.496                              
9        2        12        Nico Hülkenberg (GER)        Force India VJM05        Mercedes FO108Z        Pirelli        67        1:31'54.024        +48.162         4         1'43.501                              
10        1        8        Nico Rosberg (GER)        Mercedes WO3        Mercedes FO108X        Pirelli        67        1:31'54.751        +48.889         21         1'41.551                              
11                 11        Paul di Resta (GBR)        Force India VJM05        Mercedes FO108Z        Pirelli        67        1:32'05.089        +59.227         9         1'44.889                              
12                 6        Felipe Massa (BRA)        Ferrari F2012        Ferrari 056        Pirelli        67        1:32'17.290        +1'11.428         13         1'40.212                              
13                 16        Daniel Ricciardo (AUS)        Toro Rosso STR7        Ferrari 056        Pirelli        67        1:32'22.691        +1'16.829         11         1'39.789                              
14                 17        Jean-éric Vergne (FRA)        Toro Rosso STR7        Ferrari 056        Pirelli        67        1:32'22.827        +1'16.965         15         1'16.741                              
15                 18        Pastor Maldonado (VEN)        Williams FW34        Renault RS27-2012        Pirelli         66                   +1 lap         5         1'43.950                              
16                 21        Vitaly Petrov (RUS)        Caterham CT01        Renault RS27-2012        Pirelli         66                   +1 lap         18         1'18.531                              
17                 19        Bruno Senna (BRA)        Williams FW34        Renault RS27-2012        Pirelli         66                   +1 lap         14         1'40.752                              
18                 10        Romain Grosjean (FRA)        Lotus E20        Renault RS27-2012        Pirelli         66                   +1 lap         19         1'40.574                              
19                 20        Heikki Kovalainen (FIN)        Caterham CT01        Renault RS27-2012        Pirelli         65                   +2 laps         16         1'17.620                              
20                 25        Charles Pic (FRA)        Marussia MR01        Cosworth CA2012        Pirelli         65                   +2 laps         20         1'19.220                              
21                 22        Pedro de la Rosa (ESP)        HRT F112        Cosworth CA2012        Pirelli         64                   +3 laps         23         1'19.912                              
22                 24        Timo Glock (GER)        Marussia MR01        Cosworth CA2012        Pirelli         64                   +3 laps         22         1'19.291                              
23                 23        Narain Karthikeyan (IND)        HRT F112        Cosworth CA2012        Pirelli         64                   +3 laps         24         1'20.230                              
Retirement
--                 4        Lewis Hamilton (GBR)        McLaren MP4-27        Mercedes FO108X        Pirelli         56                             7         1'44.186                           

maocheng

Caterham F1 Team - Hungarian Grand Prix View

General
Race Laps: 70
2011 air / track temp (°C): 22/35
Pitlane altitude (m): 238
2011 ATM Press (HPA): 986
2011 humidity (%): 50
2011 wind (kph): SE 10

2011 Timing
Qualifying
P1: VET (1:19.815 Q3)
P2: HAM (1:19.978 Q3)
P3: BUT (1:20.024 Q3)
CF1T best: P19 KOV (1:24.362 Q1)
CF1T delta to best Q1: +2.874 (103.3%)

Race
P1: BUT (1:23.937) L58
P2: VET (1:23.875) L70
P3: ALO (1:23.711) L62
CF1T best: P21 KOV (1:27.149) L54
CF1T delta to best race lap: +3.438 (104.1%)

Quick description
The Hungaroring is laterally demanding but as there are a lot ofmedium-slow speed corners, traction is also very important
Minimum corner speed is around 80kph
Overtaking is very difficult
Maximising pace through Sector 2 is important for lap time
The track is generally bumpy but there are no major issues
Kerbs are only significant in T7
The track can be very dusty if it is windy, which can presentissues in determining setup options

Circuit Particularity
Bumpiness: medium / high
Overtaking chance: low
Kerbs: high in T7
Ride height setting particularity: none
Engine severity: low
Gearbox severity: high
Lat/Long grip: medium
Aero eff ratio: low
Safety car history: 2011 - none, 2010 - 1 (laps 15-17), 2008 -none
Track grip evo during w/e: high
Aero settings: very high (maximum)
Brake wear severity: medium / high
Brake cooling necessity: high

Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, Car 20, Chassis CT01-#3: "I hadmy first Formula One win in 2008 in Hungary so it's always good tocome back to the Hungaroring. It's fair to say I have some prettygood memories from here and I always have great support from theFinnish fans in Hungary. There's always a lot of Finns in the crowdas I think it's a bit easier for them to get to Hungary, andwhenever there's Finnish fans around there's always a greatatmosphere!

"Technically the circuit is quite tricky as it is a mix of fast andslow corners and even though the cars run with maximum downforceyou have to get the setup right for the quick and the slow stuff.The first sector is mostly about straight lines and outright speedbut then you get into Sector 2 where it starts to get tight andtwisty. The car is generally set up for those corners and if youhave a good flow through there you can usually gain some time inthat sector and improve on your lap time, if you set yourself andthe car up correctly. You need to have good balance over the kerbsso that you can attack them, build up a good rhythm, and maintainyour speed over the whole lap.

"The track also evolves a lot throughout the weekend. It usuallystarts off in quite a slippery state, but by the time we reachqualifying the grip levels can be pretty decent, assuming theweather has remained hot and dry. You just have to keep theevolution in mind during the first practice session and if thebalance isn't quite right you shouldn't worry too much ordramatically change the set up of the car - when the circuit startsto rubber in the car will improve. The rear of the car starts tobecome more stable and the track always improves as the weekendprogresses."

Vitaly Petrov, Car 21, Chassis CT01-#02: "I havevery good memories of Hungary and am really looking forward togetting back to Budapest. In 2010 I outqualified my teammate RobertKubica there and I finished fifth in the race, plus it's thecountry where I won my first race in Formula 3000.

"It's a challenging circuit for a few reasons. First, it's prettyphysical as it's usually very hot, and second it's a very technicaltrack with tight sections so you need the right setup for eachsession on track. Physically, despite the heat, it isn't too badalthough you need some serious concentration behind the wheel forall 70 laps of the race!

"Hungary will be the last race before our summer break in Augustand we all need a good break. Before we go on vacation it'll beimportant to stop, analyse and discuss how the season is going withthe guys so we can make adjustments for the remaining races. Butthen it'll be time to switch off our own engines for two or threeweeks, before coming back for training with recharged batteries forthe next half of the season."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "The Hungaroringis an interesting challenge for the engineers as it is alow-efficiency circuit, like Monaco or Singapore, so we run highdownforce levels across the whole car and that requires a specificapproach to setup to give the driver maximum grip around the wholelap.

"Hungary is what we call a lateral circuit, which means it is mostdemanding in cornering, but having good traction is also importantas there are a lot of low speed corners where you need to get thecar out as efficiently as possible. The track evolves over theweekend, generating more grip as the rubber goes down, so we mustalways take this into account, particularly during the earlierpractice sessions, and manage our car setup and tyre strategiesaccordingly.

"Climate wise, Hungary is usually hot and the track temperaturesare relatively high. They often go above 35°C and this adds to thehigh tyre degradation levels we see. With that in mind, this yearin particular, the teams that can keep their cars out on track aslong as possible on each set of tyres will benefit the most."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "The HungarianGrand Prix marks the mid-point of the F1 season and it is alwaysgood to pause for a moment and collect your thoughts before we allhead off for a well deserved summer break. In terms of progress ontrack we have definitely gained in pace and development but thereis obviously more work to do. We are yet to really unlock the wholepotential of this car and that will only come with more hard workand more time, but we are absolutely determined to achieve what wehave set out to this year.

"On the wider growth and development of the team I could not faultwhere we are now. We have started moving in to our new home inLeafield and that is a huge step for the F1 team and the wholeCaterham Group. Our investment in that facility is a clear sign ofhow determined we are to join the F1 establishment but it does notstop there. In addition to Leafield we continue to attract wellrespected people from much bigger teams who are excited about thevision we have for our F1 team and all our automotive operationsand we will be making more announcements on the commercial front inthe very near future.

"Now the team heads to Hungary and the aim there is to get back tothe levels of performance we saw in Valencia. We know we can do it,we have the people to put us where we want to be and another weekof hard work should be rewarded by a strong performance at theHungaroring."

maocheng

Hungarian Grand Prix - FP1 & FP2
                                 
                                Friday 27th July 2012
                                 
                                Caterham F1 Team Partner Information
                                In 2009 CNN broadcast the acclaimed ‘Autumn of Change: Hungary’, the definitive documentary on the country’s role in the fall of the iron curtain in the autumn of 1989
                                 
                                Weather

                                FP1: Dry, sunny, air temp 26° - 27°, track temp 33° - 39°

                                FP2: Dry, sunny (until approx. 1455), rain (until approx. 1510) air temp 29° - 27°, track temp 47° - 27°
                                 
                                Fastest laps / positions

                                FP1
                                PET: 1.26.440, 19th / KOV: 1.26.755, 21st
                                 
                                FP2
                                PET: 1.24.828, 19th / KOV: 1.25.220, 20th   
                                 
                                Total laps
                                FP1: PET 27 / KOV 28
                                FP2: PET 30 / KOV 30
                                 
                                Runplan
                                FP1

                                Heikki Kovalainen

                                All runs on prime tyres
                                1000 – 1004: Installation, 2 laps
                                1004 – 1017: System checks. Changes: front wing flap angle, front brake blanking
                                1017 – 1031: Run 2, 9 laps
                                1031 – 1051: Changes: brake balance
                                1051 – 1106: Run 3, 9 laps

                                1106 – 1120: Changes: front wing flap angle, front/rear ride height, rear brake blanking
                                1120 – 1133: Run 4, 8 laps


                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov

                                All runs on prime tyres
                                1001 – 1005: Installation, 2 laps
                                1005 – 1010: System checks. Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1010 – 1014: Run 2, 2 laps
                                1014 – 1032: Changes: front wing flap angle

                                1032 – 1044: Run 3, 7 laps


                                1044 – 1050: Changes: rear ride height, front anti-roll bar, front wing flap angle, rear brake blanking
                                1050 – 1105: Run 4, 8 laps
                                1105 – 1119: Changes: front wing flap angle, front torsion bar
                                1119 – 1132: Run 5, 8 laps
                                 
                                Runplan FP2

                                Heikki Kovalainen

                                1400 – 1414: Run One, 8 laps (prime tyres)
                                1414 – 1421: Changes: n/a
                                1421 – 1428: Run 2, 4 laps
(option tyres)
                                1428 – 1435: Changes: front / rear anti roll bar
                                1435 - 1448: Run 3, 7 laps (option tyres)
                                1448 – 1513: Changes: front wing flap, brake balance, front/rear brake blanking
                                1513 – 1534: Run 4, 11 laps (intermediate tyres)
                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov

                                1400 – 1403: Installation 1 lap (prime tyres)
                                1403 – 1406: System checks
                                1406 – 1420: Run 2, 9 laps (prime tyres)
                                1420 – 1430: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1430 – 1437: Run 3, 5 laps (option tyres)
                                1437 – 1437: Pitstop practice and launch
                                1437 – 1440: Run 4, 1 lap (option tyres)
                                1440 – 1445: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1445 – 1450: Run 5, 1 lap (option tyres)
                                1450 – 1510: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1510 – 1535: Run 6, 11 laps (intermediate tyres)
                               
                                Team Quotes
                                 
                                Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “Both sessions today were pretty good. Even though it was business as normal, 58 laps on a Friday is decent mileage, even with the rain interruption, and we’ve managed to get through the test programme we’d set for both sessions.
                                 
                                “Times-wise it’s too early to say where we’re at this weekend. Hopefully we can have another dry session tomorrow in FP3, and who knows what will happen during the race. The trick is not to make any mistakes in either session tomorrow and put ourselves in as strong a position as possible for the race on Sunday so we can have a good result ahead of the August break.”
                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “Overall it’s been a pretty positive day. We managed to complete a good number of laps in both sessions, despite the rain in the afternoon, and the times today show that we’re getting back to where we want to be, relative to the opposition.
                                 
                                “I was particularly pleased with the time I produced on the soft tyres in FP2 and I think it shows that we’ve made some progress. The rain obviously affected us the same as it did with everyone in FP2 but we made the call to go out on the inters and managed to get some good information on those tyres and the setup we might consider for Sunday, if the forecasts about rain are right. All in all, it’s been a good day and I’m looking forward to getting back in the car tomorrow.”
                                 
                                Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 Support Leader: "The Hungaroring circuit is one of the slowest tracks of the season, with low power sensitivity. The average speeds around the track are approximately 180kph and there are only two parts of the track where we use top gear - the start-finish straight and the 790m straight between turns three and four.
                                 
                                "The second sector is the most complex part of the track and is where significant lap-time can be won and lost. It is taken mainly in third gear and the cars do not reach more than 245kph. Many drivers comment that the corners link together and having a good flow through each corner helps save time. To do this it is vital that the cars are set up correctly and that is an important area for us to focus on with the team, to make sure Heikki and Vitaly can attack that sector as much as possible.
                                 
                                "We have a number of other considerations at the Hungaroring, particularly around the atmospheric conditions we face. The track is set in a very dusty amphitheatre and the levels of airborne dust and sand are very high, especially after a predominantly hot, dry Friday. The airborne dust particles could be extremely damaging for us as they are very abrasive for the engine internals, however our high grade filters help us minimise damage. The other issue in Hungary is the high air temperatures which over the past few years have been around the 30°C mark, putting an emphasis on efficient cooling solutions. As this is such a 'start-stop' circuit, there is little time for the engine to 'breathe' and this also affects the fuelling strategies so today we have been working hard with the team on making sure we give the drivers the optimal engine package to take account of all these considerations."
                                 
                                Mark Smith, Technical Director: “I am pleased with what we have accomplished today. In FP1 we ran our normal Friday morning programme and both drivers completed their runplans for that session. In FP2 we put the Valencia-spec aero package on Heikki’s car so we could run back-to-back tests with the package introduced in Silverstone. Development opportunities on track are obviously extremely limited and as part of the development plan we had targeted this race some time ago to run direct comparisons with the new parts, and FP2 in Hungary gave us the perfect opportunity to run those tests. Now the team on track and back at the factory will look through all the data we have generated achieved today I think this has been a very useful exercise for us.”

maocheng

Hungarian Grand Prix – FP3 & Qualifying
                                 
                                Saturday 28th July 2012
                                 
                                Caterham F1 Team Information
                                An F1 driver can lose up to four kilograms of weight during a race
                                 
                                Weather
                                FP1: Dry, sunny, air temp 28˚C , track temp 37˚C – 39˚C
                                Quali: Dry, mostly sunny, air temp 30˚C, track temp 43˚C
                                 
                                Fastest laps / positions
                                FP3
                                KOV:1.24.036, 19th  / PET: 1.24.547, 20th
                                Q1
                                KOV: 1.23.576, 19th / PET: 1.24.167, 20th  
                                 
                                Total laps
                                FP3: KOV: 20 / PET: 18
                                Q1:  KOV: 8 / PET: 7
                                 
                                Runplan FP3
                                 
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                1100 – 1102: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)
                                1102 – 1115: System checks. Changes: rear brake duct blanking
                                1115 –1127: Run 2, 7 laps (prime tyres)
                                1127 – 1135: Changes: front / rear anti-roll bar
                                1135 – 1148: Run 3, 8 laps (prime tyres)
                                1148 – 1154: Changes: front / rear anti-roll bar, front wing angle flap, brake balance
                                1154 – 1201: Run 4, 4 laps (option tyres)
                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1100 – 1102: Installation, 1 lap (prime tyres)
                                1102 – 1115: System checks
                                1115 – 1128: Run 2, 8 laps (prime tyres)
                                1128 – 1138: Changes: brake balance, front anti-roll bar
                                1138 – 1147: Run 3, 5 laps (prime tyres)
                                1147 – 1154: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1154 – 1200: Run 4, 4 laps (option tyres)
                                 
                                Runplan – Q1
                                 
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                1406 – 1412: Run 1, 4 laps (option tyres)
                                1412 – 1416: Refuel
                                1416 – 1422: Run 2, 4 laps (option tyres)
                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1407 – 1413: Run 1, 4 laps (option tyres)
                                1413 – 1417: Refuel
                                1417 – 1423: Run 2, 3 laps (option tyres)
                                 
                                Team Quotes
                                 
                                Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “It’s been a positive day today. In FP3 the car immediately felt better balanced and there was more grip so that was a good step from yesterday.
                               
                                “In qualifying I think I got as much out of the car as I could today. I’m very happy with that last lap, as we made no mistakes and I’m pleased with the final balance of the car. We’ll look ahead now to tomorrow’s race and keep pushing as always. It could get interesting if there are showers, but overall I feel we’re making the most of what we’ve got and we just need to work on improving the performance of the car.”
                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “The day started well with the changes we made overnight improving the overall handling of the car. In qualifying I think we made exactly the right calls on strategy and with the decision to do two runs on the option tyres. I had a good first run but on my second run we went for one flying lap to make the most of the track conditions and unfortunately I ended up losing time in turn eleven which affected my final laptime.
                               
                                “Despite that, I’m very happy with the set up of the car, and I feel we have progressed well this weekend. Tomorrow is another day and I think we can have a good race, as we have had all season.”
                                 
                                Mark Smith, Technical Director: “The final practice session was positive for us. Both drivers reported that the car balance felt much better today, and that the work we did last night, here and back at the factory, had improved the overall feel.
                               
                                “In qualifying we ran both drivers on the option tyres on both runs and maximised the knowledge gained from the practice sessions. Our result was what we expected it would be, so now tomorrow’s focus is on taking every opportunity presented and bringing both cars home with a positive result.”
                                 
                                Riad Asmat, CEO: “Overall it has been a positive day. Both drivers performed as well as could be expected with the performance levels that we have at the moment. It’s good to see we are a little bit closer to the teams ahead, but we know we still have a lot more work to do to get to where we want to be.
                                 
                                “We have performed well on Sundays throughout the season, and there is no reason why we cannot sign off for the August break with a positive result from both sides of the garage.”

maocheng

     Sunday in Hungary

    Added: Sun 29 Jul, 2012

Hungarian Grand Prix



Sunday 29th July 2012



Caterham F1 Team Partner Information

In 2011 GE was ranked the third biggest company in the world by Forbes



Weather

Hot, dry, track temp - 45˚C (start), 45˚C (lap 34), 29˚C (lap 69); air temp - 30˚C (start), 33˚C (lap 34), 31˚C (lap 69)



Runplan



Heikki Kovalainen

1330 leave for grid, 2 laps

Start on option tyres

Lap 17: pitstop 1, prime tyres

Lap 36: pitstop 2, prime tyres

Lap 56: pitstop 3, option tyres

Finished: 17th

Fastest lap: 1.26.595 (lap 62)



Vitaly Petrov

1332 leave for grid, 2 laps

Start on option tyres

Lap 18: pitstop 1, prime tyres

Lap 35: pitstop 2, prime tyres

Lap 51: pitstop 3, prime tyres

Finished: 19th

Fastest lap: 1.27.629 (lap 59)



Team Quotes



Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: "It was a decent race. I made a good start and got up to 16th on the first lap and maintained a pretty good pace for the whole race from there. We're realistic about the performance of the car, but I think the balance and setup were very good this weekend.



"I'm also really pleased with how we managed the tyres and I think the strategy worked well. The Hungaroring is a difficult track to overtake on, so we didn't think we'd be able to make up too many places, but I'm very happy with how the car performed and feel that the team has done a great job this weekend.



"I'll be keeping busy during the summer break, lots of fitness training and spending time with friends, and then I'll be looking forward to getting stuck into the second half of the season."



Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: "Overall this weekend has been a valuable lesson for us. In the race the car felt very different to how it performed in qualifying and we need to go back and look at the data to try and understand why. It's a bit strange as we had definitely improved it over the weekend, but in the race it just didn't feel the same. We have tried a few different setups this weekend, and we know what works, and what doesn't. When we've had time to look through all the data from today's race we'll understand what happened today and we'll make sure we learn from that for the rest of the season.



"On the positive side I think the team worked really well this weekend, and I'm really looking forward to the summer break. I hope everyone in the team can get some well deserved rest and then I'm really looking forward to getting on with the second half of the season."



Mark Smith, Technical Director: "We have reached the end of the first half of the season and today's race is a fair indication of where we are. Both drivers performed as well as we could have wanted and they ran faultlessly today. The pitstops and the strategy were both good and the efforts everyone has made, here on track and back at the factory, cannot be questioned.



"However, we are not where we want to be and we know we have work to do to achieve the goals we have set for this season. The positives are that we have a break ahead of us, giving us time to take stock and recharge the batteries, and we then have the second half of the season to reach the level of performance we want for the 2012 season. We have the infrastructure in place, we have the right people and with the move to Leafield we have the facility so everything is in place."



Riad Asmat, CEO: "I am reasonably pleased with how we have ended the first half of the season. Both drivers, the team in the garage and on the pitwall did well today.



"I will take some positives out of the first half of the season, but the team now needs to use the break to recharge and then come back fighting. We understand that we have much more work to do in order to progress as quickly as we would like, and I believe we will return after the summer break feeling energised and with our entire focus on continuing to grow the team and to keep on taking measured steps forwards."



Ends

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Belgian Grand Prix View                                                                    

General
Race Laps: 44
Pitlane altitude (m): 416

2011 Information
Air / track temp (°c): 16 / 24
ATM Press (HPA): 971
Hum (%): 65
Wind (direction / kph): E, 3

2011 Timing

2011 Qualifying
P1: VET (1:48.298 Q3)
P2: HAM (1:48.730 Q3)
P3: WEB (1:49.376 Q3)
CF1T best: P17 KOV (2:06.780 Q1) wet
CFT1 delta to best Q1: +5.558 (104.4%)

2011 Race
P1: VET (1:50.451) L35
P2: WEB (1:49.883) L33
P3: BUT (1:50.062) L39
CF1T best: P14 TRU (1:54.571) L38
CF1T delta to best race lap: +4.168 (104.2%)

Quick description
Medium-low downforce track
Easy on brakes and cooling
Minimum ride height is determined by T3
Longest circuit length of the season
7th gear ratio needs to take into account affect strong winds canhave on speed on the main straight
Tend to run on the limiter in 7th gear to allow higher revs in EauRouge
Top speed can be reached by T5 or T18 depending on winddirection
Top speed is important for good lap time in S1/S3 and forovertaking
S2 is a downforce dominant sector
No IN lap after the chequered flag

Circuit Particularity
Bumpiness: medium
Overtaking chance: medium-low
Kerbs: low
Ride height setting particularity: high front ride height forT3
Engine severity: very high
Gearbox severity: very low
Lat / long grip: longitudinal
Aero eff ratio: high
Safety car history: 2011 - 1 (laps 13 - 16), 2010 - 2 (laps 2-3 and38-40), 2009 - 1 (1st lap)
Track grip evo during w/e: high
Aero settings: medium / low
Brake wear severity: low
Brake cooling necessity: low

Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#03:"Spa is a legendary circuit, one of the greats and a race thatevery driver looks forward to. The track has changed over the yearsbut it still retains a lot of the characteristics that make it sospecial. It's quick, the weather almost always makes it a realchallenge and the fans are hardcore F1 supporters so the atmosphereis always good.

"Spa's also home to Eau Rouge, possibly the most famous cornerin F1. It's still feels good as you head down the hill and startfeeling the compression as you head back out onto the straight, butin all honesty it's not the challenge it used to be. You can gothrough there flat without any major issues and compared to what itmust have been like when the cars had less downforce it'srelatively tame. Despite that, you still have to get the line rightand if you do and you're close enough to the car ahead you have agood chance to overtake on the run down to Les Combes.

"Before Eau Rouge you're on the throttle for about 20 secondsout of the hairpin and down the hill. You need to make sure youhave a good exit out of the hairpin to have maximum speed throughEau Rouge and onto the first long straight or you can lose time andtrack position in the first sector. We then head down into turnsfive, six and seven which are taken in third gear and through whichyou can be pretty aggressive, using the kerbs to save lap time andpushing on into Rivage which is taken in first or, at best, secondgear. Rivage is slightly off-camber so the cars tend to fall offthe track a bit and you can't really attack other cars into there.Sometimes you see the front rights locking up into that corner asthe cars struggle for grip and there's a bump on the exit to dealwith. The key is to carry as much speed as you can out of Rivageand down the hill through turn nine and into Pouhon which isanother of Spa's most famous corners.

"Inside the cockpit Pouhon is a good test. You head into it onfull power, lift off a tiny bit and then you're straight back onthe throttle. It's quite tight on the entry but then it opens up onthe exit so you can carry a fair amount of speed through it and outonto turns 12, 13 and 14 which are pretty similar to five, six andseven. After that you're into turn 15, pretty much at the bottom ofthe valley and on your way back up to the start / finish straight.Turn 17 is Blanchimont, the third of the famous Spa corners andanother one that these days we take flat. Like Eau Rouge it's notquite what it was a few years ago, but you still need to have thecar set up right to go in and out of there flat and carry the speedthrough to the final chicane at turns 18 / 19. Braking into thereis crucial - you need to make sure you don't lose time through thefinal two turns and back out onto the run down to turn one.

"That's a lap of Spa. It's rightfully one of the great races andeven though it usually rains for at least half the race weekendit's still one everyone looks forward to. After a good break andthe move to our new home in Leafield the whole team is up for itand we can't wait to get back on track."

Vitaly Petrov, Car 21, Chassis CT01-#02: "It'sbeen a good break but I can't wait to get back to racing. Spa's theperfect place for the season to start again as it is one of thegreat tracks we race on. It's always a real pleasure to go back toBelgium and for the drivers the circuit itself gives us one of thebest challenges of the season. Driving an F1 car around there flatout is a very special feeling as it has everything you want; reallyquick corners like Blanchimont where you can feel the downforcepushing the car into the track; elevation changes, Eau Rouge forexample, where you need to have the right setup to make sure youcan really push in, through and out of each corner; and massivehistory. There are so many stories about previous races and whatthe place was like back in the old days when it was much longer,you can't help but feel how special it is.

"The atmosphere is pretty incredible all weekend. There arethousands of fans on track from Thursday right through to Sunday,like Canada, Japan and the UK and it's another one of those racesthat they absolutely love. For the fans it must be pretty coolseeing the cars come down the hill and into Eau Rouge - it's one ofthe few places in the whole calendar they can really see the carsworking at maximum capability and that helps make it such a goodweekend for everyone.

"One of the big topics of conversation all weekend is theweather. It's the same every year and we all know what we're goingto face there, but there is almost a unique micro-climate aroundthe track. It can be dry on the startline and pouring with raindown at turn 14, so you can't let your concentration slip for onesecond and the engineers and mechanics have to be right on it allweekend to take advantage of the weather changes, which can happenvery quickly. I like the wet, it's a massive test of car controland skill and at somewhere like Spa that's even more true. Thespray seems to hang in the air and visibility can be pretty badwhen it rains, but it's the same for everyone and it gives us achance to do something special if the guys ahead make even thesmallest of mistakes.

"The whole team is heading to Spa in a very good mood. Thefactory move was done without any problems during the break andthat puts us in a great position to keep fighting for the secondhalf of the season. We may not have achieved what we set out to sofar this season, but we're getting there and with Leafield now upand running, we have everything in place to bridge the gap to thecars ahead."

Mark Smith, Technical Director: "Before lookingahead to Spa it I want to thank everybody involved in helping makethe move to Leafield so smooth. It was a huge task but one that wasmanaged efficiently, quickly and with a minimum of fuss. On behalfof the whole team I also want to thank Tony and Kamarudin forinvesting in such a good new facility for us. The move to Leafieldputs us firmly in the middle of the UK's motorsport valley andgives us a site we can expand into for many years to come, givingus the platform we need to grow into an operation that canchallenge for long-term honours.

"Now that the move is complete our immediate focus turns to Spa,Monza and the rest of the season. Obviously we could not work onthe car during the August break, but before and after the holidaywe have been working on a slightly revised exhaust layout and anumber of small aero updates to areas like the brake ducts. As mostof the teams will, at Spa we will be running with medium levels ofdownforce, similar to what was run in Canada, and then for Monza wewill be running low downforce settings. We do not have any majorupdates at either race, but for Singapore we have some new partsthat will be run for the first time when we head back to the FarEast.

"We will then be bringing updates to every race until the end ofthe season and while the refurbishment program at Leafield maycreate a few technical and logistical challenges in our updateschedule, we already have plans in place to work around any issuesthat may crop up, and are determined to fight until the last lap ofthe last race of the season."

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: "I am delightedwe are back and racing. It has only been a few weeks since the teampacked up in Hungary and headed to Leafield for the first time tounpack the trucks, but as we are starting the second half of the2012 season at our new permanent home in Oxfordshire it does feel alittle like we are starting fresh all over again. Everyone in theteam has worked incredibly hard to help make the move as seamlessas possible and I want to thank them for their efforts over theAugust break, and to give a very warm welcome to them and everyonewho comes to Leafield in the future.

"I cannot stress highly enough how important the move to the newfactory has been. On one level it is fantastic to see just howmotivated everybody in the team is to be starting work in our newhome and on another level Leafield sends out the clearest possiblemessage about our long-term aspirations. We have invested aconsiderable sum in purchasing the site and refurbishing it tobring it up to the standards needed to compete for honours in F1,GP2 and all the motorsport categories we take part in now and inthe future. That investment puts in place the final piece of thejigsaw needed to take the next step and join the midfield - now wehave no excuses.

"In addition to the Leafield move we also have more good newscoming at Spa on the commercial front. We have another major newsponsor joining the team from the Belgian Grand Prix and theirlogos will be proudly displayed across the cars and the whole team.We will be unveiling that new partnership on the Thursday of therace weekend and that will send out another very powerful messageabout how serious we are about taking the fight to the teamsahead.

"We have not scored our first point yet, and we have much morework to do to chip away at that gap to the pack ahead, which is nowless than one second, but it is fair to say we are disappointedwith where we are, as I am sure many people who follow us are.However, the belief that we can achieve what we have set out to iswhat drives us on and we have to remember that just 35 months agowe did not even exist. Since the first day of this team we have hadto fight extremely hard and, off track, we have had to deal withtwo major court cases. Both cases we have had to face, with GroupLotus and Force India, have been painful processes, for the teamand personally for everybody involved, but we have not let themdistract us.

"Whilst those fights were being won in court we have continuedto make significant progress on track, particularly compared to theother two teams who joined the sport at the same time as us. We areabsolutely determined to keep building on that progress and use thepassion we have to join the midfield to keep pushing us forwards,and we will get there. We have everything in place to accomplishour goals and with the fierce determination we have to succeed wecan kick on from there and keep climbing up the grid."

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Caterham F1 Team has confirmed that EADS, the global aerospace and defence groupcorporation, has joined the team as Official Partner, with its logos appearing on the CT01 2012 race cars and across the whole team from the Belgian Grand Prix.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services . The Group comprises commercial and military aircraft maker Airbus, the European leader in space programmes Astrium, defence and security systems provider Cassidian and helicopter maker Eurocopter. In 2011, EADS generated revenues of

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Belgian GP - FP1 and FP2      Belgian GP - FP1 and FP2                                                   

• Added: Fri 31 Aug, 2012
  

   
                        

Caterham F1 Team Partner information
In 2011, EADS generated revenues of

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Belgian Grand Prix 2012 - FP3 and Qualifying
                               
                                Caterham F1 Team Partner information
                                100% of G20 governments choose Dell
                               
                                Weather
                                FP3: Dry, sunny air temp 12° - 13°, track temp 20° - 22°
                                Quali: Dry, air temp 16°, track temp 25°
                               
                                Fastest laps / positions:
                                FP3: KOV 1.52.339, 18th / PET 1.52.809, 21st
                                Q1: KOV 1.51.739, 19th / PET 1.51.967, 20th
                               
                                Total laps:
                                FP3: KOV 20 / PET 22
                                Q1: KOV 7 / PET 6
                               
                                Runplan - FP3
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                1100 – 1113: Run 1, 6 laps (hard tyres)
                                1113 – 1120: Changes: front anti-roll bar, front wing flap angle  
                                1120 – 1131: Run 2, 5 laps (hard tyres)
                                1131 – 1137: Changes: front wing flap angle, front anti-roll bar
                                1137 – 1145: Run 3, 4 laps (medium tyres)
                                1145 – 1153: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1153 – 1205: Run 4, 5 laps (medium tyres)
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1100 – 1121: Run 1, 10 laps (hard tyres)
                                1121 – 1131: Changes: front / rear ride height, front torsion bar
                                1131 – 1145: Run 2, 7 laps (medium tyres)
                                1145 – 1153: Changes: front wing flap angle, front anti-roll bar, rear brake duct blanking
                                1153 – 1205: Run 3, 5 laps (medium tyres)
                               
                                Runplan - Q1
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                1405 – 1413: Run 1, 4 laps (medium tyres)
                                1413 – 1416: Refuel
                                1416 – 1423: Run 2, 3 laps (medium tyres)
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1405 – 1411: Run 1, 3 laps (medium tyres)
                                1411 – 1416: Refuel
                                1416 – 1423: Run 2, 3 laps (medium tyres)
                               
                               
                                Team Quotes
                               
                                Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “It’s been a bit of a tricky day. In FP3 the car had quite a lot of understeer early on but we managed to dial that out towards the end of the session. By the time FP3 finished the car felt ok but I was having issues with DRS and that was obviously costing me laptime. In qualifying I had traffic on the first run and couldn’t lap as fast as I wanted to on the outlap. The tyres weren’t quite up to temperature and that left me with one lap on that run to put in a time but with the tyres not where we wanted I wasn’t able to get in a quick time. On the second run my outlap was much better but the only problem was with the DRS again. The guys had worked hard to fix it but it was still struggling to open and I could feel that in the car. Whenever  I hit the button it felt like it wasn’t fully activated and around a track like Spa that’s going to cost you time. In the end the last lap put me into our usual position and for where we are right now that’s about as good a performance as we could hope for.”
                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “I had a pretty decent qualifying session and I’m pleased I could get that last clear lap in as the session ended. On my first run in quali there was quite a lot of traffic and that may have cost a bit of time, but I think I got as much out of the car as I could today, so for me that’s ok. The race tomorrow looks like it will be dry but even with a clear track there are always surprises in Spa so I want to make sure I have a good clean race and can take advantage of anything that happens ahead.”
                               
                                Mark Smith, Technical Director: “FP3 was a busy session for us and we ran through as much of the programme carried over from yesterday as we could. Heikki’s car had a DRS issue so we tried to resolve that before qualifying but it was not 100% successful and he went into Q1 without the full benefit of DRS. In qualifying we opted for two runs on the medium tyres and ended the session in positions that are probably an honest reflection where we are in performance terms this weekend. Despite that we can have a positive race tomorrow and we will redouble our efforts to find more pace, for Monza, Singapore and the rest of the season.”
                                 
                                Riad Asmat, Chief Executive Officer: “It is fair to say we are not happy with where we are this weekend in terms of outright pace. Everybody in the team is working extremely hard to keep making progress but it is clear that we have a lot more work to do to put us back in the position we should be which is challenging the teams in front, not looking over our shoulders. I know both drivers and the whole team will give maximum effort tomorrow to make sure we have a positive race but we will not be happy until we have clawed back the gap to the cars in front.”

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Belgian Grand Prix - Sunday 2nd September 2012
                                       
                                        Caterham F1 Team Information
                                        AirAsia pilots and cabin crew travel approximately 500,000kms each year
                                       
                                        Weather
                                        Race: Dry, sunny, air temp 21° / track temp 33° (start), 21° / 34° (lap 22), 22° / 36° (lap 44)
                                       
                                        Runplan
                                        Heikki Kovalainen
                                        Start on medium tyres
                                        Lap 13: pitstop 1, medium tyres
                                        Lap 28: pitstop 2, hard tyres
                                       
                                        Vitaly Petrov
                                        Start on medium tyres
                                        Lap 12: pitstop 1, medium tyres
                                        Lap 27: pitstop 2, hard tyres
                                       
                                       
                                        Team Quotes
                                       
                                        Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “I had a really good start, avoided all the debris from the startline crash and was up to tenth when the safety car came out. There were a couple of quicker cars behind me who got past when the safety car went back in and then I made a small mistake at the last chicane which put me back a couple of places but I made them up quickly and was into a good rhythm just behind Vitaly. At my first stop we had a problem with the release from the box and unfortunately I clipped the HRT as I was heading out, bringing me back in for a new front wing. From that point all I could do was try and get back in front of the cars ahead but I had another spin with a couple of laps to go. I still managed to pass one of the HRTS but with the issues we had today that was pretty much the end of my race. It’s not been a good weekend but we’ll regroup and come back fighting in Italy at the next race.”
                                         
                                        Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “I had a pretty good race and was pushing as hard as possible all afternoon and I think I finished about as high as we could have expected. At the start I managed to get through the accident without any problems and I was up to 13th, running well. I pitted on lap 12 and had an issue with the release but I managed to stay ahead of the pack chasing us and kept up good pace until the second stop a couple of laps after halfway through the race. We went onto the hard tyres and the degradation rate was good on that set so I was able to push until the chequered flag.”
                                         
                                        Mark Smith, Technical Director: “Both cars started on the medium compound tyres and did well to pick their way through the damaged cars after the first corner accident. We had issues at both Vitaly and Heikki’s first stops but both cars had clean second stops and the pitcrew did well to put the problems behind them and make sure we did not repeat the issues in the second round of stops. Vitaly’s final place of 14th was as much as we could have hoped for today as we have not had the pace in Spa to challenge the cars ahead, but we know what we have to do to improve. Now we have the next race in Monza to work hard to put us some way towards where we should be at this stage of the season."
                                         
                                        Riad Asmat, Caterham Group Chief Executive: “This has been a tough race for the team and it is fair to say we have not helped ourselves with a number of avoidable errors costing us over the weekend. Both Heikki and Vitaly have given as much as they can and we need to make sure we give them the platform to reward the efforts they are making. It is good that we have the next race back to back with Spa as it gives us the chance to regroup and sign off the European season on a positive note and that is the clear objective next weekend in Monza.”
                                       

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Buongiorno from Monza! It's a beautiful, hot, sunny day here in Italy and we're all set for the final European race of the year.

The drivers love this place - here's Heikki and Vitaly's thoughts on the race ahead:

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#03: “Monza is another of the classic races on the calendar. The track itself is low downforce and it’s not particularly challenging, not in the same way somewhere like Spa is. It’s basically flat out, heavy braking, back on the throttle and make sure you have good braking stability and as much top speed as possible.

Vitaly Petrov, Car 21, Chassis CT01-#02: “I’m looking forward to Monza. I had a pretty good race in Spa and I want to carry that on to Italy.

"Monza is a great race – the fans are some of the most passionate in the world, and while it’s pretty much all about the red cars I’ve also had a lot of support in Monza since I started in F1 in 2010.

“On track you need to have a car you can really attack the kerbs with, and obviously one that’s quick in a straight line. You come into the first chicane from the long start / finish straight, hit the kerbs as hard as you can and then you’re into turn three which is flat out, even in the wet. Turns four and five are another slow chicane which you take in second gear and then you’re into the Lesmos, turn six and turn seven. They’re third gear corners which are positively cambered so you can carry a bit more speed than you think into there. They’re pretty straightforward but you need to make sure you carry as much speed as possible for the run down to the Ascari chicane. The main thing through Ascari is to brake late and cut the kerb as much as possible. Then it’s on to turn 11 and you use as much downforce as the car has in its Monza configuration to push through that corner and back onto the start / finish straight. That’s about it really!”

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Friday at Monza                                                   

• Added: Fri 7 Sep, 2012
  

   
                        

Heikki Kovalainen - car 20, chassis CT01-#03: "A much betterFriday than we've had for a while. Right from the installation lapthe car balance felt better and we're clearly more competitive herethan we have been anywhere since Valencia. It's difficult tounderstand where the improvement has come from - the cars are in avery different configuration than Spa, Hungary, Hockenheim orSilverstone but that doesn't explain the difference in the feelingand the performance. We need to get a better understanding of whywe're better here and then make sure we can translate that intobeing more competitive at every type of track.

"It's a positive feeling for everybody. Spa was not acceptable,that's clear, and when we don't really understand why we weren'tcompetitive it's more difficult to sort out, but coming here we'reback to the base level of performance we should have and now weneed to build on that."

Vitaly Petrov - car 21, chassis CT01-#02: "I think we are movingin the right direction and it's been a much better day for us thanwe had last week, or for a few races now. We ran both cars indifferent aero configurations so we could generate as much data aspossible and the laptimes look pretty good. That gives us a lot towork on tonight, to prepare for quali and the race and it's good tosee us getting back to where we want to be.

"After the ups and downs we've seen so far this year I don'twant to make any predictions about where we'll end up on Sunday, orin Singapore or any of the races to come, but I think that if wecarry on like we have today we'll be looking much better. That's agood feeling, for me and the team, and hopefully the similarweather conditions we'll have on track tomorrow will suit us so wecan have another positive day."

maocheng

Saturday at Monza                                                   

• Added: Sat 8 Sep, 2012
  

   
                        

Heikki Kovalainen: car 20, chassis CT01-#03

Q1 18th, 11 laps, 1.26.382

"A pretty straightforward qualifying for me today. The car'sfelt well balanced all day and even though we were ahead of one ofthe Lotus cars after the first run we knew it would be difficult topush into Q2. On the second set of tyres I wasn't quite able to getthe most out of them so I think the time today is probably as muchas I could have got out of it. Despite that the performance here isagain much better than Spa and we're back to the sort of levels weexpect. Now we need to push on from here, learn as much as we canabout what went wrong in Belgium and make sure we have a good raceon Sunday and then carry this pace through into Singapore."



Vitaly Petrov: car 21, chassis CT01-#02

Q1 19th, 11 laps, 1.26.887

"I've been happy with the car today and it's good that we'vemade clear improvements from FP1 to FP3. In qualifying I couldn'tquite push as hard as I'd like - the brakes felt good in FP3 but inquali I couldn't attack into the braking zones as hard as I wasable to in third practice so maybe that's where we lost a bit oflaptime.  Still, tomorrow's another day and we'll do the bestwe can to have a good race after having got back some way towardswhere we should be."

maocheng

Sunday at Monza                                                   

• Added: Sun 9 Sep, 2012
  

   
                        

Heikki Kovalainen: car 20, chassis CT01-#03

Finished: 14th

Tyres / Pitstops:  start on mediums, first stop lap 17(hard), second stop lap 39 (medium)

Fastest lap: 1.29.399 (lap 46)

"Overall the race was OK and better than we had last weekend butfor me it was a pretty hard afternoon, not too bad but maybe a bitaverage. I didn't really have the performance I had on the longerruns on Friday and the grip level felt lower so I couldn't reallyattack and that held me up a bit on each set of tyres.

"Now we have a couple of weeks to work through everything we'velearnt in Italy and from Spa and make sure we go to Singapore witha clear idea of where we lost time in Belgium and what we can do tokeep improving in the rest of the season. Everyone's determined toget back to where we should be and we'll see what we've learnt whenwe get back on track in two weeks time."


Vitaly Petrov: car 21, chassis CT01-#02

Finished: 15th

Tyres / Pitstops:  start on mediums, first stop lap 19(hard), second stop lap 40 (medium)

Fastest lap: 1.29.066 (lap 46)

"My car felt fantastic all afternoon so thanks to the team forgiving me a car I could push my teammate with right up to the lastlap. The pitstops were good and the mechanics and engineers did agreat job to keep me in the hunt with Heikki.  With a few lapsleft Heikki and I were right up behind Fernando but Heikki wasclose enough to the Ferrari to use his DRS, otherwise maybe I'dhave been able to pass. Anyway, we've definitely improved since Spaand we can build on this for Singapore and the rest of theseason.

"It was my birthday yesterday and I had a quiet dinner with somefriends. Now I can go out and celebrate a bit more and that'll be agood way to finish the European races this year - maybe I shouldmake sure I have dinner with them before every race so I can haveas good a Sunday as this for the rest of the year!"

maocheng

Cyril Abiteboul Joins Caterham F1 Team as CEO
                                               
                                                Leafield, UK – 21 September 2012
                                                                                                       
                                                        Caterham F1 Team has today confirmed that Cyril Abiteboul will join the team as CEO, responsible for all the team’s on and off-track operations and reporting to Caterham Group CEO Riad Asmat and Chairman Tony Fernandes. Until January 2013 Cyril, currently Deputy Managing Director of Renault Sport F1, will split his duties between Caterham F1 Team and Renault Sport F1 to finalise ongoing projects.
                                                       
                                                        Riad Asmat: “I am delighted that Cyril has accepted our offer to join us as CEO of Caterham F1 Team and I am sure his appointment will have an immediate positive effect on our continuing development and growth as a force in Formula One. We have been looking for the right person to lead the F1 team for a considerable period and Cyril fits all the criteria we set out in identifying the right CEO for our team. He is a key part of our long-term development and will help us to build on the foundations we have created since we first entered the sport in September 2009.”
                                                       
                                                        Tony Fernandes: “Cyril’s appointment is more good news for our Formula One team. As CEO he will lead our F1 operation and will work closely with Riad, who can now turn his full attention to the continuing growth of the wider Caterham Group which is already active in the automotive, aerospace and marine industries. Cyril will also strengthen the excellent relationship that we have with Renault, particularly as we work towards the introduction of the new engine regulations in 2014 when engines will play an even greater role in overall car performance. ”
                                                       
                                                        Cyril Abiteboul: “I am obviously really happy to join this team that is still only in its third year and I would like to thank Tony, Kamarudin and Riad for this fantastic opportunity. The vision, enthusiasm and appetite of the shareholders and the whole team will be very precious strengths to help us tackle the many challenges we have ahead as we continue to develop the F1 platform and hopefully make our way up through the grid. The multi-cultural character of the group of people in the team, together with the business and industrial project that the F1 activity serves under the Caterham Group umbrella made it an obvious choice for me after 11 great years with Renault to whom I can never be thankful enough for all I have been able to learn and experience throughout my time with them.”
                                                       
                                                        Jean-François Caubet, managing director of Renault Sport F1, added: “While we are sad to see Cyril leave Renault Sport F1, we are delighted that he has such a fantastic career opportunity. Additionally we are always eager to see our partner teams progress and – knowing the full extent of Cyril’s capabilities – he will perform excellently in his new role to aid Caterham F1 Team achieve their aims. Meanwhile Cyril will conclude ongoing projects in the remainder of his time with us to ensure a smooth transition process.”
                                                                                                       

maocheng

Friday in Singapore                                                   

• Added: Fri 21 Sep, 2012
  

   
                        

Heikki Kovalainen - car 20, chassis CT01-#03

FP1: 16 laps, fastest lap 1.55.091, 20th

FP2: 27 laps, fastest lap 1.52.576, 20th

"We've been working on the setup with the new parts we'vebrought here and I think we need a bit more time to get the bestout of them. The car's balance felt pretty good in both sessionsbut we weren't able to get everything out of it. We also need tolook at tyre wear as we were seeing higher degradation than we'dlike on both compounds, but that's something we can work on tonightand make sure we improve tomorrow."



Vitaly Petrov - car 21, chassis CT01-#02

FP1: 22 laps, fastest lap 1.55.760, 22nd

FP2: 26 laps. Fastest lap 1.52.936, 22nd

"In both sessions today we were evaluating the new front andrear wings we've brought here. With the new parts we focused onoptimising the balance on different fuel loads and the tyre choicesand I think we're moving in the right direction. We definitely havemore to come from it and I think we'll unlock more pace tomorrow aswe head towards quali. On the tyres we found the supersofts werestarting to go off after no more than one lap so I think that'llmake tyre choice in qualifying really interesting."