![]() | |
Founded | 2010 (as Team AirAsia) |
---|---|
Folded | 2014 |
Teamprincipal(s) | Mia Sharizman |
Former series | GP2 Asia Series GP2 Series |
Noted drivers | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Caterham Racing, formerlyEQ8 Caterham Racing andCaterham Team AirAsia was amotor racing team competing in theGP2 Series andGP2 Asia Series. It was created byTony Fernandes, who was also responsible for the revival of the Lotus name inFormula 1 in2010 with the creation of theLotus Racing team. Team AirAsia was officially accepted to the GP2 Series grid on 21 September 2010, along with fellow debutantsCarlin Motorsport, filling the gap left by the departures ofDurango andDPR. The team made their debut at thefirst round of the2010–11 GP2 Asia Series.
In addition to being owned by theCaterham Group that ownedCaterham F1 Team, Caterham Racing shared deep technical links with itsFormula One parent team. The GP2 operation was embedded within the Formula One operation and base, and the two teams shared the same technical staff. Caterham Racing's (then Team Air Asia) drivers also served as Caterham F1 Team's (then called Team Lotus) test and reserve drivers in the2011 Formula One season.[1][2]
The outfit was originally called Team AirAsia. TheCaterham designation was added to the official name in June 2011, following Fernandes' purchase of the company. For the 2012 season the team was again renamed as Caterham Racing to coincide with the renaming of the Formula 1 outfit.
In October 2014GP3 Series teamStatus Grand Prix acquired the team fromTony Fernandes.[3] The team still operated under the Caterham name for the remainder of the 2014 season and starting from2015 the team became known as Status Grand Prix.
For its first year in GP2, Caterham signed the experienced duo ofLuiz Razia andDavide Valsecchi for both theAsia Series andmain series seasons. Both drivers also became test drivers for Tony Fernandes'sFormula One team, at this stage known asTeam Lotus, and took part in a number of Friday free practice sessions during the F1 season.[4] After finishing seventh in the teams' championship in the truncated Asia Series, Valsecchi began the main series strongly, scoring points six times in the first eight races of the year, including the team's first victory in the feature race atMonaco, which propelled him into contention for the drivers' championship. However, he then failed to score during the remainder of the season, dropping him to eight overall. Razia took over as the team's driving force, securing Caterham's first pole position at theHungaroring and ending the season twelfth in the standings. The team finished sixth in the teams' championship, well ahead of fellow debutantesCarlin.
Caterham's livery began the season with AirAsia's red-and-white, but switched mid-season to be more in-line with the Team Lotus.
In January 2012, it was announced that Caterham would be proposed moving to theLeafield Technical Centre (the previous headquarters of theArrows andSuper Aguri F1 teams) inLeafield,Oxfordshire, with its parent F1 team, now renamed as theCaterham F1 Team andCaterham Cars. And in August 2012, Caterham Racing GP2 eventually completed its relocation toLeafield Technical Centre along withCaterham F1 Team andCaterham Cars.
On the driving front, both Razia and Valsecchi moved to other teams and were replaced byRodolfo González (who tested for the F1 team in2010) andGiedo van der Garde. In a continuation of the previous season's policy, Van der Garde also became the Caterham F1 team's test and reserve driver. Following the abandonment of the Asia Series, both drivers competed in an expandedmain series season: team leader Van der Garde scored a brace of race victories, pole positions and fastest laps, but failed to trouble the championship protagonists and finished the year sixth overall, whilst González picked up six points and finished in 22nd position. Caterham dropped one position in the teams' championship to seventh.
Year | Car | Drivers | Races | Wins | Poles | F.L. | Points | D.C. | T.C. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Dallara GP2/11-Mecachrome | ![]() | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 12th | 6th |
![]() | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 8th | |||
2012 | Dallara GP2/11-Mecachrome | ![]() | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 22nd | 7th |
![]() | 24 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 160 | 6th | |||
2013 | Dallara GP2/11-Mecachrome | ![]() | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 25th | 9th |
![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35th | |||
![]() | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 92 | 9th | |||
2014 | Dallara GP2/11-Mecachrome | ![]() | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 21st | 11th |
![]() | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 15th | |||
![]() | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 19th | |||
![]() | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26th |
Year | Car | Drivers | Races | Wins | Poles | F.L. | Points | D.C. | T.C. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Dallara GP2/11-Mecachrome | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25th | 7th |
![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7th |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Chassis Engine Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | T.C. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | GP2/11 Mecachrome P | YMC FEA | YMC SPR | 4th | 9 | |
![]() | 13 | 7 | ||||
![]() | 2 | 8 |
Year | Chassis Engine Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T.C. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | GP2/11 Mecachrome P | YMC FEA | YMC SPR | IMO FEA | IMO SPR | 7th | 9 | |
![]() | Ret | 16 | Ret | 14 | ||||
![]() | 3 | 4 | DSQ | 17 |