Caterham drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson are ready for next weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix as the team looks to re-claim tenth place in the constructors’ championship after falling behind Marussia once again last time out in Bahrain.
The two teams may not have scored any points since joining Formula 1 back in 2010, but the battle for 10th place is important as with it comes increased prize money and commercial benefits. Marussia made a better start to the season in Australia after both Kobayashi and Ericsson retired, but the British team moved ahead after a strong showing in Malaysia. However, by finishing 13th in Bahrain, Max Chilton ensured that Marussia once again moved ahead.
Looking to next weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, Kobayashi explained how the team is working flat out to beat Marussia.
“We obviously want to head back to Europe in a good position so everyone’s working flat out to help us do that,” he explained. “We have a couple of new parts coming in China before the bigger package everyone brings to Spain, but we also have to make sure we play to our strengths.
“We have a small advantage in pure pace over our direct rivals which put us in a strong position for most of the Bahrain race, right up until the final stint which ended with a disappointing result. We have to use that performance on Sunday to help us get back to where we want to be, and to build on that at every race.”
Kobayashi has been impressive upon his return to Formula 1 after one year away, but teammate Marcus Ericsson has also put in some good showings in his first three races, and after the race in Shanghai, there will be less of a learning curve for the Swede.
“China’s another new track for me, so obviously what will really help is having another good Friday and Saturday, like we had in Bahrain,” Ericsson explained.
“Step by step, with each race I’m learning more about how to manage a full race weekend and, apart from Canada, China’s the last track before we get to Europe that I haven’t raced on so it’s even more important to be have maximum mileage in FP1 and FP2 so we can really work on optimising the settings.”
With retirement rates being higher in 2014, simply finishing the race without any problems could be the deciding factor between 10th and 11th in the constructors’ this year. The form of Max Chilton has been particularly impressive in this department, as he has finished all 22 of the grands prix that he has started.
