Team story
Origins
Tony Fernandes adopted the Caterham name in 2012 after buying the British sports-car manufacturer. The team was the one that had entered in 2010 as Lotus Racing and been called Team Lotus in 2011. It was neither Colin Chapman's historic team nor Enstone's Lotus F1, which raced during the same years as a different organisation.
The Formula 1 journey
Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov drove the CT01 in 2012. Petrov's eleventh place in Brazil put the team ahead of Marussia in the Constructors' Championship without scoring points. Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde arrived in 2013; the following year, Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson faced a season interrupted by financial crisis and the team entering administration.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Caterham
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Australian Grand Prix
Heikki Kovalainen · Australian Grand Prix 2012. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Brazilian Grand Prix
Vitaly Petrov · Brazilian Grand Prix 2012. The recorded position is P11; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Kamui Kobayashi · Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2014. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
Caterham retained Renault engines and its technical operation in the United Kingdom, moving to Leafield. The three seasons used the CT01, CT03 and CT05: the missing numbers do not automatically represent omitted World Championship cars. The name referred to the manufacturer's lightweight sports cars, but the F1 programme was a separate business that had to finance design, development and international travel.
What remains
After missing the 2014 United States and Brazilian Grands Prix, a fundraising campaign helped the team return at Abu Dhabi. Will Stevens made his debut alongside Kobayashi, but that remained Caterham's last race. The team did not return in 2015, and its assets were auctioned.
The attempt to continue, supported by crowdfunding contributors, produced neither a new season nor a first World Championship point.
