Caterham F1 Team has today announced that Vitaly Petrov has joined the team as race driver, replacing Jarno Trulli with immediate effect. The Russian was at the Anglo-Malaysian team’s factory in Hingham on Friday 17th February for a seat fitting ahead of his first run with the team at the second pre-season test in Barcelona, 21st to 24th February. Team Principal Tony Fernandes: “We are all delighted to welcome Vitaly into our team and are very excited about the role he will play in helping […]

Caterham F1 Team has today confirmed that Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde will be the team's official Reserve Driver in 2012. Giedo will participate in the pre-season tests and will take part in a number of FP1 sessions throughout the season as a core part of the team's driver line-up. Tony Fernandes, Caterham F1 Team Principal, said: "We are delighted to welcome Giedo into the family as Reserve Driver. He is a very exciting prospect that we have been monitoring since the early days […]

Caterham has become the first team to launch their 2012 car after unveiling the CT01 on Wednesday

Caterham enters the 2012 season with a simple goal -- a point. In its first two seasons, then known as Lotus, the Tony Fernandes-led squad proved the best of the other new-in-2010 startups including Virgin (now Marussia) and HRT. But a green-coloured car is still yet to score a point. "That must be the goal (for 2012), but we are also realistic," Malaysian Fernandes told Brazil's Corride de Formula 1. "We want to take steps forward in the right direction towards building long-term success. But […]

A cloud still hangs over Jarno Trulli's race seat at Caterham for 2012. In September last year, the Malaysian team - then known as Team Lotus - inked a new contract for the forthcoming season with the 37-year-old Italian. But the media statement referred only to "an agreement to keep Jarno on board", with some pundits immediately noting that it could mean only an ambassadorial role. The provisional entry list for 2012, however, named Trulli as Heikki Kovalainen's continuing teammate. Team owner Tony Fernandes said […]

Cosworth could be left with just a single Formula 1 customer next year, if the latest rumblings from the rumour mill turn out to be true. It was reported at the end of last month that HRT, the struggling Spanish team, is set to begin working with a Cologne company co-owned by Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne. Fernandes and Gascoyne, best known for heading the Team Lotus/Caterham team, reportedly now also own "the design office of the former Toyota team", according to the BBC in […]

16th and 18th positions might not sound like a reason for celebration in any grand prix, but for Team Lotus today it was a result of enormous significance. While not in its own way dramatic, Team Lotus’s finish, or more pertinently the failure of HRT or Virgin to improve on the three 13th places that Lotus achieved in Australia, Monaco and Italy, ensure the team from Hingham, Norfolk, finished tenth in the Constructors’ World Championship for consecutive seasons, and with it in effect gained promotion […]

Comments made by Team Lotus/Caterham chief Tony Fernandes seem to contradict reports Jarno Trulli may be unceremoniously ousted after Sunday's season finale. It has been rumoured that, despite inking a new deal with the Italian veteran recently, Fernandes may be in talks with Red Bull about sidelining Trulli to make room for either Daniel Ricciardo or Jean-Eric Vergne. But in La Gazzetta dello Sport's Sportweek magazine, the Malaysian businessman suggested that Trulli is definitely a part of Caterham's plans for 2012. The comments are also […]

Luiz Razia has admitted Team Lotus' failure to score a point in 2011 is the reason he is not making his grand prix debut at home in Brazil this weekend. Throughout 2011, it has been rumoured that Brazilian Razia, a 22-year-old team test driver, will replace either Jarno Trulli or Heikki Kovalainen for the entire Interlagos race weekend. Instead, Razia will simply be driving in Friday morning practice. A report by Brazil's Globo claims it is Team Lotus' nervousness about losing the coveted tenth place […]

Team Lotus will retain its green and yellow identity in formula one next year despite being reborn as Caterham. Group Lotus and the Tony Fernandes-led team jointly announced on Wednesday that the bitter naming dispute and legal battles have been called off. The deal, ending amicably according to a media statement, results in Renault becoming Lotus in 2012 and Team Lotus adopting the name of Fernandes' recent acquisition Caterham, a niche British lightweight sports car maker. It means full control of the historic Lotus name […]

Team Lotus has today confirmed that Steve Nielsen will be joining the Anglo / Malaysian team as Sporting Director from December 12th 2011, replacing Dieter Gass who is moving on after playing an integral role in helping Team Lotus establish itself as a viable contender for long-term success in Formula One in its first two years. Steve Nielsen is one of the most respected people in Formula One, having worked his way up through the ranks in a number of teams including Team Lotus, Tyrrell, […]

Bernie Ecclestone is confident formula one remains ahead of the pack in terms of safety. The F1 chief executive was speaking after the death of Indycar driver Dan Wheldon in Las Vegas last week, and before Italian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli was killed on Sunday in a sickening crash at Sepang. "What a horrible week for our sport," said Team Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhok late on Sunday. Added his boss Tony Fernandes on Twitter: "People forget how dangerous a sport racing is." Ecclestone told […]