Giedo van der Garde To Replace Heikki Kovalainen In FP1 At Suzuka
Caterham have confirmed that their Dutch reserve driver, Giedo van der Garde, will replace Heikki Kovalainen during the opening practice session for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. The 27-year-old will carry out reserve driver duties for the Leafield-based outfit for the remainder of the season, after a successful year in GP2.
Giedo van der Garde carried out similar duties for Caterham earlier in the season, at the Chinese Grand Prix when he replaced Vitaly Petrov behind the wheel of the Caterham CT01. Since then, van der Garde has enjoyed a relatively successful season racing for Caterham in the GP2 support series, alongside Venezuelan driver Rodolfo Gonzalez. The Dutchman won two races throughout the highly competitive season, at the Spanish and Singapore events.
With the GP2 Series now over for another year, Giedo van der Garde will return to his reserve driver duties with Caterham. However, Heikki Kovalainen will make a return behind the wheel of the Caterham CT01 later in the afternoon during second practice, as the Caterham outfit continue to improve towards the midfield.
Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service
Giedo van der Garde Confirmed For City Racing Rotterdam Event
Caterham reserve driver Giedo van der Garde has been officially confirmed for this years City Racing Rotterdam event, which is scheduled to take place on 26th August. This is the Netherlands’ biggest Formula 1 event, and van der Garde will be joined by the likes of Nico Rosberg throughout the event.
The Dutchman has enjoyed a very busy 2012 season so far, currently competing in the GP2 Series for Caterham as well as driving for Caterham’s F1 team during Friday practice at the Chinese Grand Prix. The 27-year-old has already won a race in GP2 this year, and has finished on the podium on numerous other occasions and is currently 5th in Drivers’ Championship with 89 points.
“For years I have been following City Racing Rotterdam and I’m delighted that the organization has invited Caterham F1 Team and me to take part.” Explained Giedo van der Garde, “I will make sure that the huge crowd will not be short of excitement! Last weekend I took part in the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England and I am looking forward to showing all the fans the Caterham F1 Team car and we will make sure we put on a spectacular show.”
Both current Caterham F1 drivers have already taken part in previous City Racing events, with Heikki Kovalainen driving a Renault in 2008 and Vitaly Petrov also driving a Renault in 2010. Giedo van der Garde will not only be joined by current Formula 1 drivers, but also former Dutch Formula 1 drivers including Jos Verstappen.
“We are happy to add Giedo and his team to our line-up.” Said City Racing co-organizer, Herman Vaanholt. “He is joining a list of Dutch drivers who have taken part in our previous events including [Christijan] Albers, [Robert] Doornbos, [Ho-Pin] Tung and [Jos] Verstappen. We are proud that yet again a Dutch driver will be driving a Formula 1 car at a City Racing event and with Caterham F1 Team and Mercedes AMG Petronas team also taking part, with Nico Rosberg driving, we are showing that even in challenging times for the event business City Racing keeps our standards at the highest possible level.”
This years City Racing Rotterdam event has all the ingredients necessary to produce a superlative event for the fans and the drivers alike. With stunt driver Terry Grant also se to take part in the event, a stunning show is in order for all who will be attending the event. Tickets are now on sale for the event, and can be purchased at www.cityracing.nl.
Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service
Davide Valsecchi Continues Jerez Dominance
After posting the overall fastest lap during Day 1 of the GP2 Jerez test, Italian Davide Valsecchi continued his dominance throughout Day 2. The 25-year-old posted a 01:24.783, which was set during the morning session, and was unbeaten as the day wore on.
The morning session began with a red flag after rookie, Felipe Nasr, embedded himself in the gravel after spinning his DAMS car on cold tyres. However, as the session continued, Esteban Gutierrez went quickest with a 01:26.625. The session was brought to a halt once again as Nigel Melker, who lost control of his Ocean Racing Technology car, hit the barrier causing extensive damage to his car. This forced the Dutchman to end his days running, with the car unable to be fixed in time for another run.
The session then saw the times begin to tumble as various drivers’ went quickest, all in a relatively short space of time. Max Chilton was the first to go fastest for iSport International, followed by his team-mate Marcus Ericsson. It was then time for another pair of team-mates to go fastest, firstly in James Calado who was quickly followed by Esteban Gutierrez for Lotus GP.
Davide Valsecchi then silenced the opposition with a scintillating lap of 01:24.967, which he capitalized on a few laps later by several tenths with a 01:24.783. This time was not beaten all day, and was even around a second faster than his fastest time set yesterday.
As the afternoon session got underway, it was evident the majority of the grid were set to complete long race simulations rather than quicker flying laps. Only 10 minutes into the session, and the third red flag period was caused when Tom Dillmann’s Ocean Racing Technology car suffered a gearbox failure. This ended the Frenchman’s day, as the car was unable to be fixed in time for another run.
As the session resumed, Caterham’s Luiz Razia set the quickest time of the afternoon, followed by Simon Trummer and Felipe Nasr. This was before the fourth red flag period, this time caused by Nethaniël Berthon, who spun his Racing Engineering car into the gravel.
The session continued with the majority of the field only focusing on heavy fuel runs, with Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde setting the fastest lap of the afternoon session. The session ended under red flag conditions as Julian Leal’s Trident Racing car stopped on the track, bringing Day 2 of the Jerez test to a close.
The test session concludes tomorrow, with the third and final days running set to get underway at 9am local time.
Morning times Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Davide Valsecchi DAMS 1:24.783 32 2. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus GP 1:25.193 30 3. Max Chilton Carlin 1:25.294 26 4. Stefano Coletti Scuderia Coloni 1:25.358 29 5. Jolyon Palmer iSport International 1:25.359 24 6. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:25.374 27 7. Dani Clos Rapax 1:25.467 18 8. Fabio Onidi Scuderia Coloni 1:25.505 27 9. James Calado Lotus GP 1:25.569 25 10. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:25.845 29 11. Giedo van der Garde Caterham Racing 1:25.893 20 12. Stephane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:25.903 39 13. Felipe Nasr DAMS 1:26.006 33 14. Simon Trummer Arden International 1:26.017 35 15. Luiz Razia Arden International 1:26.049 38 16. Julian Leal Trident Racing 1:26.128 27 17. Tom Dillmann Ocean Racing Technology 1:26.177 29 18. Josef Kral Barwa Addax Team 1:26.351 28 19. Vittorio Ghirelli Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:26.477 23 20. Rio Haryanto Carlin 1:26.545 30 21. Fabrizio Crestani Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:26.551 16 22. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1:26.648 23 23. Johnny Cecotto Barwa Addax Team 1:26.665 18 24. Rodolfo Gonzalez Catheram Racing 1:26.707 32 25. Daniel de Jong Rapax 1:26.712 31 26. Nigel Melker Ocean Racing Technology 1:41.035 2 Afternoon timesPos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Giedo van der Garde Caterham Racing 1:26.270 32 2. Davide Valsecchi DAMS 1:26.648 28 3. Julian Leal Trident Racing 1:26.656 21 4. Dani Clos Rapax 1:26.838 18 5. Luiz Razia Arden International 1:26.931 28 6. Josef Kral Barwa Addax Team 1:27.002 28 7. Fabrizio Crestani Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:27.097 23 8. Simon Trummer Arden International 1:27.320 28 9. Stefano Coletti Scuderia Coloni 1:27.349 27 10. Stephane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:27.451 21 11. Felipe Nasr DAMS 1:27.496 33 12. Johnny Cecotto Barwa Addax Team 1:27.537 10 13. Fabio Onidi Scuderia Coloni 1:27.561 19 14. Rodolfo Gonzalez Caterham Racing 1:27.680 29 15. Daniel De Jong Rapax 1:27.801 18 16. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:28.398 36 17. Vittorio Ghirelli Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:28.639 24 18. Tom Dillmann Ocean Racing Technology 1:28.656 3 19. Max Chilton Carlin 1:28.999 35 20. Jolyon Palmer iSport International 1:29.146 41 21. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:29.449 22 22. Rio Haryanto Carlin 1:29.629 25 23. James Calado Lotus GP 1:29.847 47 24. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus GP 1:29.866 35 25. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1:30.547 26
Picture Copyright © Daniel Kalisz/GP2 Series Media Service
Caterham Confirm Van Der Garde and Gonzalez For GP2
It has been officially confirmed that Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde will drive for Caterham’s GP2 team in 2012, alongside Venezuelan driver Rodolfo Gonzalez. This comes after van der Garde was confirmed as Caterham’s F1 reserve driver earlier in the month, which will see him compete in several Friday Practice sessions this season.
Giedo van der Garde, who will start his 4th successive season in GP2 next month, tested for the Caterham F1 team earlier this month at Jerez. He has had a relatively successful career in GP2, winning 3 races and finishing consistently in the points throughout the majority of the races.
“I am very happy with our deal with Caterham Racing.” Explained the 26-year-old Dutch driver, “I have in the past had some good results in GP2 but this year I am looking forward to winning races and I think I am in the right place to do that here. Considering it was the team’s first ever season last year they showed great potential and I hope together we can build on this and win races, lots of them! The link to the Formula One team is a great advantage and I am very happy with that. I feel it’s a big step up from where I was last year. It means I will go to all the Formula One races, but I will race a full GP2 season too which keeps me sharp. Now we must make sure we are well prepared for testing and consistently score points throughout the season.”
Rodolfo Gonzalez is also set to start his 4th successive season in GP2 next month, however he has had a rather different career in GP2. He has never won a race before, and has only finished as high as 4th throughout his career, at the 2010 Belgian Grand Prix Sprint Race. Last season the Venezuelan driver failed to score any points for Trident Racing, finishing as high as 9th on two occasions. He’ll be hoping for different results in 2012, as he prepares to race for a team that is without a doubt aiming for race victories on a regular basis.
“I am incredibly happy to be joining Caterham Racing this year and I can’t wait to get going!” Explained a jubilant Gonzalez, “I had a very successful test with the F1 team in November where they provided me with all the right facilities and a great structure in which to learn. In the past perhaps I have not had the right structure or opportunity to develop properly as a driver but I believe this team will provide me with everything I need to help me up my game and have a successful season, in and out of the car. I am confident the technical team are strong and experienced and together we will create a good working environment. We have put together a very good package to help me develop and I am very happy to have this opportunity and to have a team such as this believe in me. I feel I have matured a lot over the last season and have learnt from my past mistakes. My aim is to become a better athlete and person all round – In turn I believe this will make me a stronger racing driver capable of winning GP2 races. Hopefully this can be achieved this year.”
The two will get their first taste of GP2 2012 track action tomorrow (28th February), as the first pre-season test gets underway at Jerez.
Caterham Sign Giedo Van Der Garde As Reserve Driver
Dutch driver Giedo Van Der Garde has been confirmed as the reserve and test driver at Caterham, ending weeks of speculation that Vitaly Petrov was set to drive for them in 2012. Van Der Garde is the most recent driver to graduate from GP2 to Formula 1.
Last season Giedo Van Der Garde finished 5th in the GP2 Championship, driving for the Barwa Addax team. He finished as high as 2nd on several occasions, and has won three races in his GP2 career, back in 2009 when he raced for iSport International.
Recently Giedo Van Der Garde has been rumored at potentially joining HRT, bringing with him the huge amount of funds the team were demanding. However with HRT re-signing Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan, this left Van Der Garde without a Formula 1 drive with only days until pre-season testing starts at Jerez.
“We are delighted to welcome Giedo into the family as Reserve Driver.” Said team principal, Tony Fernandes, “He is a very exciting prospect that we have been monitoring since the early days of our team, and we are all looking forward to seeing how he can help us develop throughout the season as we take our next steps towards the established midfield teams ahead.”
“I’m very happy to become a part of the Caterham F1 Team family today and I’m very excited about the next step in my career within Formula 1.” Said Giedo Van Der Garde, “The team is fresh, with some fantastic people here. Tony Fernandes is extremely ambitious and he has brought in a lot of very good people in to help grow this team for future success. I’m looking forward to learning and moving forward with the team in and out of the car.
“It’s great for Holland that we again have a Dutch driver who is connected to Formula 1. Being the only Dutch driver now is very good for the sport in Holland, as the interest was perhaps on the decline since the Verstappen years, however I hope to generate the same excitement for my country and really bring Formula 1 to them.”
Caterham have also confirmed that Van Der Garde will take part in pre-season testing, as well numerous Friday practice sessions throughout the looming Grand Prix season.
Second HRT Seat To Cost €6m
It has been revealed that the final seat available on the 2012 Formula 1 grid at HRT is going to cost a driver €6m, all of which will be invested in the team which are currently struggling to make ends meet.
With Pedro De La Rosa currently the only confirmed driver at HRT for the coming season, the list of potential team-mates for the Spaniard is ever growing. Fellow Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari allegedly turned down a drive at HRT after being replaced at Toro Rosso, stating it would’ve been a step back in his career. Adrian Sutil has been replaced at Force India by Nico Hulkenberg, however the German is currently facing trial at the end of month after allegedly assaulting Eric Lux in China earlier last year.
One driver that does seem to have a decent chance at driving for HRT in 2012 is Dutch GP2 driver, Giedo Van Der Garde. The Dutchman is the son-in-law of one of the Netherlands’ richest entrepreneurs, Marcel Boekhoorn, which could prove very handy when it comes to paying up the €6m which will fuel HRT for the 2012 season.
Another potential candidate is Russian driver Vitaly Petrov, who has recently been linked to becoming Caterham’s reserve driver after Caterham announced they may well keep Jarno Trulli alongside Heikki Kovalainen.
With so many drivers fighting for the final seat on the 2012 grid, it is currently a complete lottery as to who will eventually get the drive.
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