Caterham F1 Era End

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

maocheng

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."

maocheng

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

maocheng

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

maocheng

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.”

maocheng

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.”
                                       

maocheng

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!”

maocheng

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."

maocheng

Singapore Grand Prix 2012 - FP3 and Qualifying
                               
                                Caterham F1 Team Partner information
                                As of August 2012 there have been more than 250 firm orders for the Airbus A380
                               
                                Weather
                                FP3: dry, air temp 30° - 29°, track temp 33° - 31°
                                Quali: dry, air temp 28°, track temp 30°
                               
                                Fastest laps / positions:
                                FP3: PET 1.53.781, 20th / KOV 1.54.326, 21st
                                Q1: PET 1.50.846, 19th / KOV 1.51.137, 20th  
                               
                                Total laps:
                                FP3: PET 12 / KOV 14
                                Q1: PET 6 / KOV 6
                               
                                Runplan - FP3
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                1801 – 1807: Installation, 2 laps (soft tyres)
                                1807 – 1821: System checks
                                1821 – 1841: Run 2, 9 laps (soft tyres)
                                1841 – 1852: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1852 – 1901: Run 3, 3 laps (supersoft tyres)
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1801 – 1807: Installation, 2 laps (soft tyres)
                                1807 – 1824: System checks
                                1824 – 1842: Run 2, 8 laps (soft tyres)
                                1842 – 1852: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1852 – 1856: Run 3, 2 laps (supersoft tyres)
                               
                                Runplan - Q1
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                2108 – 2114: Run 1, 3 laps (supersoft tyres)
                                2114 – 2116: Refuel
                                2116 – 2123: Run 2, 3 laps (supersoft tyres)
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                2108 – 2114: Run 1, 3 laps (supersoft tyres)
                                2114 – 2116: Refuel
                                2116 – 2123: Run 2, 3 laps (supersoft tyres)
                               
                               
                                Team Quotes
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “I’m really happy with how quali went today. It’s my Father’s birthday and the performance is my present for him. He told me this morning “don’t push too hard” and then I went and crashed the car in P3! The boys did a fantastic job in the garage to repair the car and it was actually all ready 15 minutes before Q1, so thank you very much to them for putting in such a great effort.”
                                 
                                Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “Honestly it’s been a tough weekend for me so far and today’s performance wasn’t really any better. I’ve been struggling to find a decent balance in every session and that definitely affected me today. Despite that this is the type of race where anything can happen so I hope we can have a better Sunday and leave here on a positive note.”
                               
                                Mark Smith, Technical Director: “First I want to thank the team for the excellent work they did between FP3 and qualifying to repair Vitaly’s car, and give him what he needed to put in the performance he did in Q1. It is good to see that we have started to unlock the potential of the new parts we have brought here and the aim is to make sure we keep progressing. We have had a difficult last couple of races but everyone has redoubled their efforts and the laptimes we saw in qualifying are the first signs that we are heading in the right direction.”
                                 
                                Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “Over the last couple of races we deliberately stopped sending out press releases because, truthfully, we did not believe our performance was giving us anything worth reporting. However, today’s qualifying performance has begun to give me confidence that we are back on the path to the promised land of the midfield and we have another six races to continue to extract the pace that is in the upgrades we have put on the car. We put a lot of effort, probably too much, into the major package we introduced with the new exhaust system, taking up a lot of resource and costing us time that could have been better spent on the more conventional aerodynamic upgrades that will put us where we want to be. Now we are working twice as hard on all the key areas of performance on the car and the last piece of the jigsaw is to find more downforce. All the other key areas of the car are working well and, after a nervous few days, I am looking forward to the remaining races of the season.
                                 
                                “I also want to address the noise that has arisen around Heikki. It is quite possible that what has been going on over the last couple of days has not helped him on track but I am pleased to say that discussions are going very well and we are aiming to make positive statements about that in the next few weeks.
                                 
                                “On the other side of the garage I think Vitaly’s performance today might just be the making of him as a Caterham driver. He drove outstandingly well today and I have never heard him speak so positively over the radio. He enjoyed his drive and his crew did a brilliant job to fix his car, and give him the platform to show what he can do. Now we want to make sure we keep improving the cars we give both him and Heikki and let them enjoy themselves out on track.”

maocheng

Singapore Grand Prix - Sunday 23rd September 2012
                               
                                Weather
                                Race: Dry, air temp 28° / track temp 30° (start), 28° / 29° (lap 30), 28° / 29° (lap 60)
                               
                                Runplan
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                1932 leave for grid, 2 laps
                                Start on supersoft tyres
                                Lap 12: pitstop 1, soft tyres
                                Lap 27: pitstop 2, supersoft tyres
                                Lap 44: pitstop 3, supersoft tyres
                                Finished: 15th
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1930 leave for grid, 2 laps
                                Start on supersoft tyres
                                Lap 1: pitstop 1, nosecone change, soft tyres
                                Lap 18: pitstop 2, supersoft tyres
                                Lap 30: pitstop 3, supersoft tyres
                                Lap 38: pitstop 4, soft tyres
                                Finished: 19th
                                 
                                 
                                Team Quotes
                               
                                Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “For me that was a good race until the safety cars. We decided to stay out but when we restarted for the second time I’d probably been out too long and the tyres were starting to give up. I had to stop again and there wasn’t enough time to recover from there so that was the end of the race - If it hadn’t been for the safety car I’m sure we’d have finished much higher. Now we need to dig even deeper to find more performance from the car. We’ll look at what went wrong this weekend and I’m sure the team will analyse everything and see where we maybe need to make some changes, but we won’t stop fighting.”
                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “I had a fantastic start, passed at least two or three cars but then I saw a car to my right make a pretty aggressive move left so I had to move to avoid that. I was very close to Massa and already into the braking zone so unfortunately we had contact and my front wing was damaged, forcing me into the pits. Really, that was the end of my race and probably Felipe’s and I’ve already apologised to him as we get on well and it’s a shame we both saw our chances to race end so early, especially as the car has felt good all weekend.
                                 
                                “The safety car might have given me a chance to recover but we had a problem with the front left wheel nut and we’ll need to have a proper look at what happened. I think we also need to look at how we were using the tyres as maybe we could have got more out of them, but we have the chance to bounce back in Suzuka and we’ll make sure we do that.”
                                 
                                Mark Smith, Technical Director: “We opted to start both cars on the supersoft tyres and until the safety car was brought out the plan was working with Heikki. Vitaly was obviously unlucky in the first lap but he did not let his head drop, he continued to push and was putting in good times on each stint, but he then had a double dose of misfortune when we had a problem on his fourth stop with the front right.
                               
                                “For Heikki it was a different story. He was running well until the safety cars but on his last stint he had to work very hard to keep the tyre performance in check. His times were where we expected them to be but had his race not been interrupted by the incidents around him I think he could have finished several places higher."
                                 
                                Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “Not a good day for us. We made a couple of decisions today that cost us, but we will take a very close look at what went wrong and make sure we learn from it. I said yesterday that there are promising signs ahead and I still believe that, but now we need to regroup and fight harder than ever in the remaining races.”

maocheng

Japanese Grand Prix View

General
Race laps: 53
Very high percentage of medium & high speed corners
Very lateral track
Highest tyre energy track of the season
Riding kerbs well is not a priority
Track resurfaced in 2011 from T8 to T14
Lots of altitude changes and very narrow track make overtakingdifficult
Very easy on brakes
Low front ride height possible (track very smooth)
Wind usually changing between Friday and Sunday (three years in arow wind direction has changed 180 deg)
Particular focus on car balance for maximum speed in S1 and S2 highspeed section
First gear not used on track

2011 Weather
Air/Track temp ( C): 24 / 27
Pitlane altitude (m): 43
ATM Press (HPA): 1003
Hum (%): 75
Wind (kph): ESE 20

2011 Timing
Qualifying
P1: VET (1:30.466 Q3)
P2: BUT (1:30.475 Q3)
P3: HAM (1:30.617 Q3)
CF1T best: P18 KOV (1:35.454 Q1)
Race
P1: BUT (1:36.569) L52
P2: ALO (1:36.682) L50
P3: VET (1:50.916) L52
CF1T best: P18 KOV (1:39.297) L50

Circuit Particularity
Bumpiness: low
Overtaking chance: low
Kerbs: smooth
Ride height setting particularity: low
Engine severity: high
Gearbox severity: low
Lat/Long grip: lateral
Aero eff ratio: very high
Safety car history: 2011 - none, 2010 - 1 (1-6), 2009 - none
Track grip evo during w/e: very high
Aero settings: medium / high
Brake wear severity: very low
Brake cooling necessity: low

Driver Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#03: "Heikki Kovalainen,Car 20 - Chassis T128-04: "I stayed in Singapore for a couple ofdays after the race before heading back to Europe to spend a coupleof days at home and then do a session in the simulator before goingto Japan.

"Suzuka is one of the races everybody looks forward to and I'm nodifferent. It's a proper track, exactly the sort of circuit youwant to drive F1 cars on as it has everything - high speed cornerswhere you can really feel the downforce working, medium speedsections where it's all about car balance and some of the mostpassionate fans in the world.

"For me the best bit of the track is in sector one, from T1 to T7.You go into T1 and T2 at high speed and if you're not fullycommitted you can lose a lot of time right at the start of the lap.Out of T2 the track is positively cambered and you can really leanon the car as you go into T3. From there, right through to T7 ifthe car is well balanced the whole section seems to flow. It's agreat feeling when you get it right, but get it wrong and you losea lot of time."

Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#02: "Japan's one of myfavourite places to race, in fact it's one of my favouritecountries to visit whether we're racing or not! At home I eatJapanese food quite often and the fact it has great food and reallycool fans makes it a great place to go as an F1 driver.

"The fans really are incredible. The stands are packed throughoutthe whole weekend, even on Thursdays when we're not on track, andthey're so polite, almost a bit scared of asking for autographs orphotos, but you can tell how much F1 means to them and it's alwayscool when they give us presents or things they've made forus.  "On track Suzuka is obviously a cool track to raceon. The first sector is a good challenge in the car and for theengineers, to make sure we have a well balanced car.

"The second sector is also pretty quick and then you're into S3and heading towards 130R. A lot of people talk about that being amajor corner, and it looks pretty good on TV when you see the carsflat out through there, but in the cockpit it's really not thatmuch of a challenge. Despite that you need to be flat through thereas the chicane afterwards is one of the few overtaking spots, so ifyou lose time through 130R you're going to come under pressure fromcars behind right at the end of the lap."

maocheng

Japanese Grand Prix - FP1 & FP2
                                 
                                Caterham F1 Team Partner information
                                GE is currently ranked the third largest company in the world by Forbes Global 2000, Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies worldwide
                               
                                Weather
                                FP1: Dry, sunny, air temp 25° - 26°, track temp 33° - 37°
                                FP2: Dry, sunny, air temp 27° - 26° , track temp 38° - 34°
                               
                                Fastest laps / positions:
                                FP1: PET 1.38.295, 20th / VDG 1.39.374, 23rd
                                FP2: KOV 1.35.711, 18th / PET 1.35.870, 19th
                               
                                Total laps:
                                FP1: PET 23 / VDG 22
                                FP2: KOV 41 / PET 37
                               
                                Runplan – FP1
                                Giedo van der Garde
                                1000 – 1005: Installation, 1 lap (hard tyres)
                                1005 – 1031: System checks  
                                1031 – 1047: Run 2, 7 laps (hard tyres)
                                1047 – 1101: Changes: n/a
                                1101 – 1116: Run 3, 8 laps (hard tyres)
                                1116 – 1122: Changes: rear brake blanking
                                1122 – 1133: Run 4, 6 laps (hard tyres)
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1001 – 1004: Installation, 2 laps (hard tyres)
                                1004 – 1030: System checks
                                1030 – 1048: Run 2, 8 laps (hard tyres)
                                1048 – 1059: Changes: front anti-roll bar
                                1059 – 1110: Run 3, 6 laps (hard tyres)
                                1110 – 1121: Changes: rear ride-height, front wing flap angle, front anti-roll bar
                                1121 – 1136: Run 4, 7 laps (hard tyres)
                               
                                Runplan - FP2
                                Heikki Kovalainen
                                1400 – 1408: Run 1, 4 laps (hard tyres)
                                Red flag
                                1408 – 1412: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1412 – 1420: Run 2, 5 laps (hard tyres)
                                1420 – 1423: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1423 – 1439: Run 3, 9 laps (hard tyres)
                                1439 – 1446: Changes: front wing flap angle, rear brake blanking
                                1446 – 1456: Run 4, 5 laps (soft tyres)
                                1456 – 1501: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1501 – 1536: Run 5, 18 laps (soft tyres)
                               
                                Vitaly Petrov
                                1401 – 1408: Run 1, 3 laps (hard tyres)
                                Red flag
                                1408 – 1412: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1412 – 1421: Run 2, 5 laps (hard tyres)
                                1421 – 1427: Changes:  n/a
                                1427 – 1437: Run 3, 5 laps (soft tyres)
                                1437 – 1445: Changes: front wing flap angle
                                1445 – 1506: Run 4, 8 laps (soft tyres)
                                1506 – 1510: Changes: rear brake blanking, front wing flap angle
                                1510 – 1530: Run 5, 16 laps (hard tyres)
                               
                               
                                Team Quotes
                               
                                Giedo van der Garde, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “I enjoyed myself today. It was my first run in the F1 car since China back in April so it took a little while to get used to how hard I could push the car, particularly compared to what I’ve been used to in GP2, but by the end of the session it was starting to feel good. We had a very clear runplan for today’s session and I’m pleased we got through the program. The main thing is that today’s FP1, and the other sessions I’ll do this year, aren’t about showing how fast I can go, they’re about doing a solid job for the team, not making mistakes and learning as much as I can. Today was a good way to start that, getting accustomed to the tyres, KERS and learning a new track, and now I’m already looking forward to next week in Korea when I’ll be in Vitaly’s car.”
                                 
                                Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “A pretty good session for me today in FP2. Having sat out FP1 we had a lot to get through in the afternoon session and we got through everything we’d planned. On the early runs on the hard tyres we had to work pretty hard to find a decent balance but we made a few changes and started heading in the right direction. On the soft tyres the car felt much better – it immediately felt balanced on the performance run and the degradation levels and balance on the long run were pretty manageable. We also finished with a time that puts some clear air between us and the cars behind, so overall a pretty positive day.”
                                 
                                Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “I came into Japan with a cold that meant I had to miss some of yesterday’s work on track. I’ve felt better today but it’s still good to have got through so much work today in the car. We’ve run a lot of laps, doing aero work and testing a couple of new parts in the morning session and focusing on the tyres in FP2. On the final lap in the afternoon session I went off in turn one after a problem with the rear wing. We’ll have a very close look at what caused that so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again but apart from that I’ve had an OK Friday here in Japan. As the day’s gone on the car has felt better on each run and it was pretty consistent on both tyre compounds. Having completed the runplans we set for FP1 and FP2 we’ve generated a lot of information for the guys to work on tonight and I think we’re setting ourselves up OK for the weekend ahead.”