Dubai: Caterham F1 Team drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov are hoping for a big improvement in 2013 after a disappointing first year for the UK-based outfit.
The former Lotus team changed names this year after Malaysian owner Tony Fernandes — who is also the majority shareholder at English Premier League football club QPR — bought British sportscar manufacturer Caterham Cars.
Hopes were high that the team could compete with Formula One’s mid-field competitors this year, but instead they are stuck in 11th place in the constructors’ championship without a single point to their name.
And ex-Renault and McLaren driver Kovalainen, who has a GP victory to his name from Hungary in 2008, believes that is a disappointing return.
“Our first target is joining the pack — the likes of the Toro Rossos, Force Indias, Saubers, those teams — then after that, we can look further ahead,” the Finnish driver said at a media briefing organised by Caterham’s Premium Partners GE at Dubai’s Knowledge Village on Wednesday.
‘Not happy with performance’
“It should have happened this year — nobody in our team is happy with the performance of the car this year. We should be fighting for mid-field, but we’re not, which is disappointing.
“But I think what we’re doing now in order to fix those areas are the right things and next year, it’s got to be better. We have to be in the mix. There’s no excuse.”
Petrov, the only Russian driver in Formula One, added: “It’s a new team but I think they have a big future. It’s still young, they need to grow up a little bit to get to the top. What I can see from this year is that they’re moving in the right direction, they want to be one of the top teams.
“It’s interesting to work with them and develop the car. I cannot say any bad things about it.”
This weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be Caterham’s 18th chance to get off the mark, and Kovalainen admits he enjoys driving the Yas Marina Circuit.
“I think the facilities are the best in the whole calendar, in terms of the grandstand, the pit lane, the garages, everything, it’s A class — it doesn’t get any better than here,” he said. “And in terms of the quality of the tarmac, I think it’s very good, very smooth and grippy.
“I really enjoy driving this circuit because it’s very small, with very simple features. I always enjoy it here. It’s maybe not the best for the racing — it is difficult to overtake, so for the show, that maybe not ideal, but as a driver you don’t care about that, you only care about the feel of the car and here it’s very good.”
