Caterham CT-03 Renault (Pre-Launch Speculation)

[N12ck]

So, what do we think, points? no points? will they just develop the CT-01 or have a clean sheet design?

[wesley123]

Since they use the tub of the CT-01 I think it is just a refinement. I dont think they'll score any points, and also they will be slower than Marussia next year

[Gridlock]

Mr Asmat, judging by his Brazil interviews, won't tolerate another year mixing it with Marussia. However with Toro Rosso under similar pressure and given the gap to your Williams, Sauber and Force Indias evident this year, hmmmm.

Will the CT-02 be the product of a new design team, in any significant ways? I guess Mike Gascoyne will have had a different role, if any?

[Petroltorque]

The Nexus of Caterham's problem is Mark Smith. A technical director of questionable quality. As I understand it the 2013 car is a refinement of the present chassis. Choosing to the Red Bull KERS has always confused me. Its the smallest least reliable unit and designed to not compromise Newey's emphasis on aero. I expect Caterham to be behind Marussia next year. It's worth remembering, were it not for Vergne's stupidity in Brazil, Caterham would have finished outside the top 10.

[Leendert82]

The Nexus of Caterham's problem is Mark Smith. A technical director of questionable quality. As I understand it the 2013 car is a refinement of the present chassis. Choosing to the Red Bull KERS has always confused me. Its the smallest least reliable unit and designed to not compromise Newey's emphasis on aero. I expect Caterham to be behind Marussia next year. It's worth remembering, were it not for Vergne's stupidity in Brazil, Caterham would have finished outside the top 10.

That stupidity from Verge is part of the game., there was also stupidity from Hulkenburg and other crashes. Thats all part of F1 racing. The same thing happened for Marrusia in Singapore. Looking over an average F1 season Caterham was faster than Marrusia so that was not stolen.

Did Caterham underperform this season, yes they did, especialy in the second half. Mostly because their biggest upgrade package that they brought to Silverstone just did not work. Before that, they were close closing the gap to Torro Rosso.

Will Caterham improve from last year, I would say, yes they will. They have John Iley now overlooking the making of the 2013 car and they have a bigger facility and increased their number of staff.
Will it be enough to catch Torro Rosso and the other midfield teams, I dont think so. As the gap is too big at the moment it is difficult to find a hugh improvement. However it is possible, who would have thought last year that Williams and the Saubers were cars that were capable of being on the podiums?

[Petroltorque]

You did appreciate that Vergne ran into the back of Glock behind the safety car and not under green flag conditions.
The difference between Marussia and Caterham was KERS. That was illustrated in the wet of Brazil where the car's were traction limited in the wet.
Williams' improvement was down to Mike Coughlan. A first tier designer not far removed from Newey or Byrne.

[Leendert82]

You did appreciate that Vergne ran into the back of Glock behind the safety car and not under green flag conditions.
The difference between Marussia and Caterham was KERS. That was illustrated in the wet of Brazil where the car's were traction limited in the wet.
Williams' improvement was down to Mike Coughlan. A first tier designer not far removed from Newey or Byrne.

Yes I did appreciate that, cheers Vergne!

[TPATRICIO]

In this matter i would be careful, because, i think that Caterham Car, CT-02 could surprise, because of two things, first the newest sponsor of the Caterham, that is AIRBUS, the biggest airplanes company and manufacturer of the world, and the other is the EADS-European Air Defense Space, that controls planes like Euro Fighter Typhoon, if this two sponsor are not a advantage for the team i don't know what they are.

You can say that if this sponsors are here to help Caterham, so why didn't they have done that already?

In response i will only say one thing, lack of time, but if we think straight this sponsors have already helped Caterham, in Interlagos, where Petrov finished the race in a respectable 11st place.

[Leendert82]

In this matter i would be careful, because, i think that Caterham Car, CT-02 could surprise, because of two things, first the newest sponsor of the Caterham, that is AIRBUS, the biggest airplanes company and manufacturer of the world, and the other is the EADS-European Air Defense Space, that controls planes like Euro Fighter Typhoon, if this two sponsor are not a advantage for the team i don't know what they are.

You can say that if this sponsors are here to help Caterham, so why didn't they have done that already?

In response i will only say one thing, lack of time, but if we think straight this sponsors have already helped Caterham, in Interlagos, where Petrov finished the race in a respectable 11st place.

Airbus is part of EADS and the Sponsorship deal was with EADS so indeed they will use the Techonology. But how fast can we see these results?

Performance I think its has more to with the resources, Skills of Technical staff and basic fundamentals such as Windtunnels availability and greated CFD computer systems

[Leendert82]

news from Autosport.com

Caterham will unveil its 2013 car at the Jerez circuit in Spain shortly before the start of pre-season Formula 1 testing.

The Leafield-based outfit announced on Monday that the CT03 - the first car to have been produced at its new factory – will be revealed in the pitlane just minutes before it is due to hit the track for the first time.

Charles Pic is the only confirmed driver for the team so far, with the outfit still considering its options for the second seat.

Bruno Senna, Vitaly Petrov and Luiz Razia are believed to be the leading contenders for the vacancy, which is one of three remaining in F1 for the 2013 campaign.

Marussia and Force India still have to finalise their line-ups.

2013 pre-season dates

Car launches

Team Date
McLaren January 31
Ferrari February 1
Force India February 1
Sauber February 2
Red Bull February 3
Mercedes February 4
Toro Rosso February 4
Caterham February 5
Williams February 19

TestingVenue Date
Jerez 5-8 February
Barcelona 19-22 February
Barcelona 28 February-3 March


According to F1fanatics the second driver will be announced before the launch of the car.
Now only pending for Marrusia en Lotus to provide update when they will launch the car.. Will Marrusia be on time for the first test?

[Leendert82]

and somebody will need to change the thread name to CT-03 instead of CT 02 which will be used for Caterham Renault road car.

[stefan_]

Can someone change the title into "Caterham CT-03 Renault (pre-launch speculation)", please?




via F1 Talks

[Blackout]

Is that a double intake airbox like in 2011 ? it looks very large...

[N12ck]

I suspect its the T128 with added a step nose onto it for show purposes

[Coefficient]

I suspect its the T128 with added a step nose onto it for show purposes

Why laugh, I think you're right. Look at the top of the sidepods, identical to the 2011 car.