Caterham F1 Team
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The Caterham F1 Team was a Malaysian, later British owned
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
team based in the United Kingdom which raced under a Malaysian licence. The Caterham brand competed in the Formula One World Championship from to , following the acquisition of British sportscar manufacturer
Caterham Cars Caterham Cars Ltd. is a British manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars established in Caterham, England, with their headquarters in Dartford, England. Their current model, the Caterham 7 (or Seven), originally launched in 1973, is ...
by former owner and team principal
Tony Fernandes Malay titles#Tan Sri, Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes (born 30 April 1964) is a Malaysian Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune Air Sendirian Berhad, Sdn. Bhd., which took over the first Malaysian Low-cost carrier, budge ...
, forming the
Caterham Group Caterham Group is the parent company for a range of automotive and motor racing businesses. Management team Businesses *Caterham Cars *Caterham Bike *Caterham Graduates Racing Club Vehicles *2014 Caterham Aero Seven *2013 Caterham Duo Cal ...
. In July 2014, Tony Fernandes and his partners announced that they had sold the team to a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors. The "Caterham" name was later used under licence after the Caterham Group separation. In October 2014, Caterham entered administration and did not attend a race weekend for the first time in its history beginning from the
United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...
. In November 2014, after also missing the
Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix (), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix (), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos neighborhood, Cidade Dutra, São Paulo. The in ...
, Caterham became the first F1 team ever to resort to
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
, enabling it to race at the final Grand Prix for 2014 and take part in end of season testing both held in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
. On 27 February 2015, the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...
(FIA) published a revised entry list with
Manor Marussia The Marussia F1 Team (subsequently Manor Marussia F1 Team) was a Formula One racing team and constructor which was based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and then later Dinnington, South Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and competed with a Russian licen ...
being reintroduced and Caterham being removed from the list, and by March of the same year, the team's assets were put up for auction, spelling the official demise of the team.


History


Background

Fernandes's team originally entered Formula One in as Lotus Racing, using the Lotus name under licence from
Group Lotus Lotus Group (also known as Lotus Cars) is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric vehicles. Lotus Group is composed of three primary entities. Lotus Cars, a high-performance sports car company, is ba ...
. Dubbed as 1Malaysia F1, the team was operated by 1Malaysia Racing Team Sdn Bhd. The project was part of the former
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Najib Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...
's
1Malaysia 1Malaysia (pronounced ''One Malaysia'' in English language, English and ''Satu Malaysia'' in Malay language, Malay) was a political slogan coined by former Malaysian Prime Minister of Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009. The Initiativ ...
initiative. When
Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...
 – the parent company of Group Lotus – terminated the licence, Fernandes acquired the privately owned
Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing, Ind ...
name for use in the season. As Proton began legal proceedings against the team, Fernandes acquired
Caterham Cars Caterham Cars Ltd. is a British manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars established in Caterham, England, with their headquarters in Dartford, England. Their current model, the Caterham 7 (or Seven), originally launched in 1973, is ...
. In November 2011, the team applied to the Formula One commission to formally change their constructor name for the season from Lotus to Caterham, while
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
changed their name to Lotus. Permission was granted before being formally ratified at a meeting of the
FIA World Motor Sport Council The World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) is a part of the governance structure of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. It has responsibility for all aspects of international motor sport. It meets at least three times a year to decide on r ...
. The team finished 10th in the Constructors' Championship in 2011, with three 13th-place finishes (two from Trulli, one from Kovalainen).


2012 season

Trulli and Kovalainen re-signed with the team, under its new guise of Caterham, for the season. On 18 January 2012, it was announced that the team would be moving to the
Leafield Technical Centre Leafield Technical Centre is a former radio communications station, now a motorsports centre of excellence, in the hamlet of Langley, in the western part of the village of Leafield in Oxfordshire, England. Radio communications station Experimenta ...
in Leafield, Oxfordshire, the previous headquarters of both Arrows and
Super Aguri F1 Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from to . The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan, but operated from the former Arrows factory at the Leafield Technical Centre, Oxfordshire, England. ...
teams. The Caterham CT01 was the first car the team had built to run
KERS A kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) is an automotive system for recovering a moving vehicle's kinetic energy under braking. The recovered energy is stored in a reservoir (for example a flywheel or high voltage batteries) for later use under ...
. On 17 February, the team announced that
Vitaly Petrov Vitaly Aleksandrovich Petrov ( rus, Вита́лий Алекса́ндрович Петро́в, p=vʲɪˈtalʲɪj ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ pʲɪˈtrof; born 8 September 1984) is a Russian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to ...
would replace Trulli alongside Kovalainen for the 2012 season. Trulli was unsatisfied with the lack of development and he himself asked from the team if he could be replaced with another driver. Mark Smith took over pitwall operations from Group CTO
Mike Gascoyne Michael Robert Gascoyne (born 2 April 1963) is a British Formula One designer and engineer. Gascoyne has worked for numerous Grand Prix teams including McLaren, Sauber, Tyrrell Racing, Tyrrell, Jordan Grand Prix, Jordan (later known as Midland ...
starting from the
Chinese Grand Prix The Chinese Grand Prix () is a round of the Formula One World Championship. The event was held every year from 2004 until 2019 before it was suspended from 2020 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in China. The event resumed in 2024 and is con ...
. The Caterham car looked slower than expected at the beginning of the season. However, Caterham quickly found pace through Kovalainen, who made it into Q2 for the , eliminating
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
in the process. At the , Kovalainen achieved a season's best thirteenth place, staving off
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
's
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota. Button competed in Formula One from to , and won the World Drivers' Championship in with Brawn; ...
until the latter spun trying to overtake him. Kovalainen again made it into the second part of qualifying, in
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
, qualifying 16th for the race, after eliminating both
Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso SpA (; ), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One constructor. It was one of two Formula One constructors owned by Austrian conglomerate company Red Bull, the other being Red Bul ...
s and title contender Mark Webber with the final lap of the first session. Caterham continued their good form into the race with both Kovalainen and Petrov running well until Kovalainen collided with Toro Rosso's
Jean-Éric Vergne Jean-Éric Serge Raymond Vergne (; born 25 April 1990), also known by his initials JEV, is a French racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot and in Formula E for DS Penske. In formula racing, Vergne compete ...
. The incident caused a safety car, but Kovalainen recovered to finish 14th behind Petrov, who managed what was at this point the team's joint best finish in 13th. At the , an engine failure on Vitaly Petrov's Caterham on his way round to the grid meant he had to return to the pits and retire the car before the race had even begun. The team then went on to secure 10th place in the Constructors' Championship, pipping
Marussia Marussia Motors ( ) was a Russian sports car company founded in 2007. It was the first Russian company to produce a supercar. It designed, and manufactured prototypes of both the B1 and the B2 sport cars. Marussia was led by former motor racer Ni ...
at the final post, after a hard last race where Vitaly Petrov achieved a team record-breaking 11th-place finish in front of
Charles Pic Charles Maurice Marcel Pic (; born 15 February 1990) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Montélimar, Montélimar, Drôme, Pic began kart racing, karting aged 13 wi ...
while Kovalainen finished in 14th behind STR-Ferrari's Daniel Ricciardo.


2013 season

On 23 November 2012, it was announced that
Marussia Marussia Motors ( ) was a Russian sports car company founded in 2007. It was the first Russian company to produce a supercar. It designed, and manufactured prototypes of both the B1 and the B2 sport cars. Marussia was led by former motor racer Ni ...
driver
Charles Pic Charles Maurice Marcel Pic (; born 15 February 1990) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Montélimar, Montélimar, Drôme, Pic began kart racing, karting aged 13 wi ...
signed a multi-year contract with the team and his teammate was rookie
Giedo van der Garde Giedo Gijsbertus Gerrit van der Garde (; born 25 April 1985) is a Dutch former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One in , and the FIA World Endurance Championship between 2016 FIA World Endurance Champi ...
. On 1 March 2013, the team announced that
Alexander Rossi Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American racing driver, who competes in the IndyCar Series for Ed Carpenter Racing, Ed Carpenter. Rossi competed in Formula One at five Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix in . In America ...
and
Ma Qinghua Ma Qinghua () (born 25 December 1987) is a Chinese racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup with Cyan Performance Lynk & Co. Ma became the first Chinese driver to win an FIA World Championship race when he won race ...
would be its reserve drivers for the 2013 season. On 17 April 2013, it was confirmed that the team had re-signed
Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish auto racing, racing and rally driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Kovalainen won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren. In sportscar racing, Kovalainen won Super GT ...
as a reserve driver (formal technical development role) in order to test their upgrades.
Ma Qinghua Ma Qinghua () (born 25 December 1987) is a Chinese racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup with Cyan Performance Lynk & Co. Ma became the first Chinese driver to win an FIA World Championship race when he won race ...
consequently lost his reserve driver seat. At the
2013 Belgian Grand Prix The 2013 Belgian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2013 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race on 25 August 2013 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, near the village of Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium. It was the elev ...
, Giedo van der Garde achieved Caterham's best-ever qualifying position with 14th place. Despite having a faster car than rivals Marussia, Caterham finished behind them in the Constructors' Championship, in 11th place.


2014 season

On 21 January 2014, it was announced that the team would have a brand new driver line-up with
Marcus Ericsson Marcus Thorbjörn Ericsson (born 2 September 1990) is a Swedish racing driver, who competes in the IndyCar Series for Andretti Global, Andretti. Ericsson competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Ericsson won the India ...
and
Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese racing driver and motorsport executive, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, Toyota and in Super Formula for KC Motorgroup, KCMG. Kobayashi competed in Formula One from to . In end ...
taking the seats. Team owner Fernandes warned team members that he would quit if results did not improve in the 2014 season. After the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, Caterham became the record holders for the most race starts without scoring a single point, after fellow rivals Marussia scored their first points finish since entering the sport in 2010, courtesy of the 9th-place finish from
Jules Bianchi Jules Lucien André Bianchi (; 3 August 1989 – 17 July 2015) was a French racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Nice, Bianchi was the grandson of endurance racing driver Mauro Bianchi and the great-nephew ...
. In July 2014, Caterham F1 announced that it was now owned by a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors, advised by former F1 Team Principal
Colin Kolles Colin Kolles (born Călin Colesnic; born 13 December 1967 in Timișoara) is a Romanian-German former team principal and managing director of the Hispania Racing F1 Team, previously holding a similar position at the team known under the names Jor ...
. Former Dutch F1 driver,
Christijan Albers Christijan Albers () (born 16 April 1979) is a Dutch former professional racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by the Spyker F1 team. In 200 ...
, assisted by Manfredi Ravetto, became responsible for the day-to-day running of the team. Under this new management, unexpectedly, Kobayashi did not compete in the at
Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...
. In his place, former Jaguar F1 test driver and three-time
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
winner,
André Lotterer André Lotterer (born 19 November 1981) is a German racing driver, who most recently competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Porsche in motorsport, Porsche. In formula racing, Lotterer competed in Formula One at the in , and Formu ...
, made his début in Formula One. He retired early from the race due to mechanical issues and turned down the chance to further race for Caterham, or in Formula One unless under better conditions.


Administration

On 21 October 2014, it was announced that Caterham had entered administration, and had withdrawn its management team. A statement issued on behalf of Caterham said that the administrators,
Smith & Williamson Smith & Williamson was a United Kingdom financial and professional services firm. It was acquired by wealth manager, Tilney, in 2019 and the enlarged firm was rebranded as Evelyn Partners in 2022. History Smith & Williamson was founded by Dav ...
, were now in control of the team. Bernie Ecclestone gave Caterham special dispensation to miss the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and Brazilian Grands Prix while they attempted to find a buyer for the team. In spite of the above dispensation, absence from any Grand Prix breached Formula One regulations. Nevertheless, at the United States Grand Prix, because of the team's current financial circumstances – similar to those of
Marussia F1 The Marussia F1 Team (subsequently Manor Marussia F1 Team) was a Formula One racing team and constructor which was based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and then later Dinnington, South Yorkshire, Dinnington, South Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and co ...
 – the FIA stewards decided to not impose any penalties. Instead, they referred the matter to the attention of the FIA president. In addition, for 2015,
Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...
announced the engagement of Caterham's driver,
Marcus Ericsson Marcus Thorbjörn Ericsson (born 2 September 1990) is a Swedish racing driver, who competes in the IndyCar Series for Andretti Global, Andretti. Ericsson competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Ericsson won the India ...
, who terminated his contract with Caterham on 12 November 2014.


Return to racing

On 5 November 2014, the FIA released the provisional 2015 entry list which included Caterham, who were listed as CF1 Caterham F1 Team. During the same week, it was also revealed that the team had arranged a surprise 3-race deal with
Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
who last raced in 2011 and would have taken over Kobayashi's seat for the remainder of the 2014 season. During the 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, Caterham's administrators resorted to crowdfunding in order to keep the team's chances of a return to the sport alive, much to the dismay of some Formula One personalities including
Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate, motorsport executive and former racing driver. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the c ...
. On 14 November 2014, it was reported that Caterham had succeeded in raising the necessary funds, via the crowdfunding initiative, to compete at the final Grand Prix of the season in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
. In contrast to multi-national logos adorning other team cars, according to media reports, a crowdfunding on-car sponsor for Caterham was a small UK pub: the Windmill Inn in
Littleworth, West Sussex Littleworth is a hamlet in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the Partridge Green to Maplehurst road 2.9 miles (4.7 km) north of Henfield Henfield is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in ...
. On 16 November 2014, it was announced by Caterham that Kobayashi would drive for the team in Abu Dhabi, and, on 20 November, that the second driver would be 23-year-old British driver,
Will Stevens William Jonathan Richard Stevens (born 28 June 1991) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota Sport, Jota. Stevens competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance ...
who had previously tested for the team and would also take part in post-season testing also at Abu Dhabi, immediately after the race weekend. On 1 December 2014, it was announced that the team had received special dispensation to use their 2014 cars in the season, which would assist the administrator in finding a buyer for the team. Despite this, the team's assets were sold by auction, starting March 2015, meaning that attempts to race in 2015 had failed. The team then officially folded.


Staff controversies

On 25 July 2014, it was announced that over forty former employees were taking legal action against the team for unfair dismissal, following a number of cost cuts by Caterham F1's new owners. In November 2014, despite Caterham F1 returning to racing under the control of its administrator following a successful crowdfunding initiative, 230 staff members not directly involved in Grand Prix preparations were made redundant. The staff that were redundant received a redundancy payment in January 2019, over four years after the team was declared bankrupt.


Complete Formula One results

( key)


Driver development programme

During Caterham's time in F1, the team supported multiple drivers through the Caterham Racing Team in the
GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecc ...
and gave them the opportunity to participate in Formula One test sessions.
Giedo van der Garde Giedo Gijsbertus Gerrit van der Garde (; born 25 April 1985) is a Dutch former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One in , and the FIA World Endurance Championship between 2016 FIA World Endurance Champi ...
and
Will Stevens William Jonathan Richard Stevens (born 28 June 1991) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota Sport, Jota. Stevens competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance ...
were the only drivers of the programme to compete for the team in F1. The drivers included:


Former drivers


References


External links

* {{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom F1 Team Formula One constructors Formula One entrants Formula One controversies Malaysian auto racing teams 2012 establishments in Malaysia 2014 disestablishments in Malaysia Companies based in Oxfordshire Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom Tune Group Auto racing teams established in 2012 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2014