Caterham reserve driver Alexander Rossi will get another taste of Grand Prix weekend running at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he will replace Giedo van der Garde during Free Practice 1.
Rossi became the first American driver to compete during a race weekend since Scott Speed in 2007 at last year’s Spanish Grand Prix, and having been retained by the team for 2013, he will get another chance to impress in Bahrain.
It was also confirmed today that Rossi’s fellow test driver, Ma Qing Hua, will deputize for Charles Pic at the Chinese Grand Prix, which will undoubtedly act as an extra draw for Hua’s home crowd in Shanghai.
Although van der Garde was not pleased to be losing the practice session in Bahrain, he told GP Update that he was contractually obliged to make way for Rossi.
“I would have rather be driving these sessions myself and get as much track time as possible,” van der Garde said. “But this is in the contract and I’m sure it will be good experience for these guys.”
van der Garde also reflected on his own test driver duties for Caterham, believing his Friday running went a long way to securing him the seat with the team.
“I had that same role with the team last year and because of the work I did then, I earned this race seat.”
This will present a good opportunity for both Hua and Rossi, and as the American F1 market continues to grow, the latter may become a hotly sought-after driver should a seat become vacant.
With both Pic and van der Garde making way so early in the season, it will only fuel rumors that Caterham could be set to drop one of their drivers. Heikki Kovalainen, who drove for the team between 2010 and 2012, was a guest of the team in Malaysia, and sources in the paddock believe that the team could bring the Finnish driver back following a lackluster start to the 2013 season.
