Caterham Unveil New CT03 Machine Prior To Testing

Caterham have become the latest team to unveil their 2013 challenger, with drivers Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde taking the wraps off of their new CT03 car ahead of the opening day of pre-season testing at Jerez in Spain. The Dutchman will get his first taste of the new car later today, once testing begins.

With only several minutes to go before the start of the opening day of pre-season testing, Caterham unveiled their new car to the F1 media. The new car, which features a much brighter shade of green, has been dubbed an evolution of the team’s CT01 machine by the team’s technical director Mark Smith, and features several new technical alterations including a lower chassis, undercut sidepods to assist airflow to the rear of the car and a new diffuser. However, the new car retains the step-nose design, with the team opting against implementing the modesty panel.

“CT03 is the first car we have produced in the Leafield Technical Centre so it marks an important milestone in the development of our team.” Explained Mark Smith, “The season ahead presented us with an interesting challenge early in the design process as it is the last year of the current regulations before the introduction of the new engine rules in 2014. With that in mind we decided that CT03 would be an evolution of CT01 rather than a complete re-design, allowing us to focus our resources on developing areas of last year’s package where opportunities would give us the greatest return, whilst also beginning work on the 2014 package.

“We have made a number of significant changes to the car that takes it from the package that gained us tenth place in the 2012 Championship in Brazil into [the] CT03.” Continued Mark Smith, “Among the most obvious are around the lower chassis where the sidepods have been significantly undercut to improve airflow to the rear of the car. The diffuser, engine cover and cooling exits have also seen major changes and there are more subtle improvements to other areas of the car, such as the sidepod turning vanes and the lower tea-tray area. This is the package we will take to race one in Australia and as part of the 2013 upgrade program we will then bring new front and rear wings and a new diffuser soon after the start of the season.”

With the absence of HRT on the grid heading into the new season, this leaves only Caterham and Marussia fighting towards the back of the grid. This will certainly make the battle for 10th in the Constructors’ Championship for 2013 even more important between the two outfits. Caterham have yet to score their first points in Formula 1, and will be hoping that either Charles Pic or Giedo van der Garde can change that in the coming months.

Picture Copyright © Caterham F1 Team

Caterham Confirms Launch Date For CT03

Caterham have confirmed that their new 2013 challenger, the CT03, will be unveiled to the world of Formula 1 on February 5th in the pit-lane at Jerez. This unveiling will come on the morning of the opening day of the first pre-season test, as preparations for the new season step up a gear as the teams begin running their new cars for the first time.

The new CT03 machine will be the first car to have been designed at Caterham’s new Leafield factory, after the outfit completed the move from their old factory in Hingham last year. Caterham currently have only one driver officially confirmed for the forthcoming season, with Frenchman Charles Pic preparing for his second season in the sport after a relatively successful debut season with Marussia last year.

With only Charles Pic confirmed at the outfit for 2013, speculation has understandably been ripe as to who will eventually team-mate the 22-year-old at the Leafield-based outfit. Amongst the leading candidates for the vacancy are established drivers such as Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov, alongside rising stars of the future Giedo van der Garde and Luiz Razia. However, Bruno Senna has also been linked with a move to Caterham after being replaced at Williams by Valtteri Bottas.

Picture Copyright © Caterham F1 Team