The Caterham F1 Team is launching the #RefuelCaterhamF1 project today in order to help the team to go racing in Abu Dhabi "and hopefully beyond". The team reports it will reward fans with their presence on the grid at Abu Dhabi.
This forum contains threads to discuss teams themselves. Anything not technical about the cars, including restructuring, performances etc belongs here.
WaikeCU wrote:Is Caterham going to introduce a totally revised front wing + nose?
Its coming, as they have found the ram rod has been susceptible to yaw in crosswinds. And the fact it will be banned for 2015. So they have lots to learn by going for a more Ferrari/Mercedes style nose that most are expected to go with for 2015.
Truth be told Caterham need the fastest solution THIS year not what is mandated for 2015. I doubt that want to copy any of the concepts on the Ferrari hack.
You always want the fastest solution. However, just like everything something has a up and downside. What does Caterham have to gain from doing a change for this year? The chance they'll score more than two points is incredibly small, thus focussing on this year is a waste of time.
They'll put themselves in a better position by introducing updates that has effect heading into next year.
Also, the aerodynamics of the Ferrari is rated to be one of the better aero cars.
What Caterham has to gain (or lose) is $47.5 million.
Failing to take 10th will result in their losing category 1 status (worth $34 million) and receiving no prize money ($13.5 million for 10th). Sauber is currently vulnerable having scored no points, and if they keep up this record Caterham only needs 1 point (or even 2 11th places).
So Caterham desperately needs to develop towards performance for this year, because if they don't secure that 10th place the team is quite likely to go belly up.
Sure they need the performance, but they are still quite a bit behind with a gap I don't see them closing as they simply are lacking funds. It surprises me that Sauber is still on zero points and I think it is much more likely that Sauber scores points rather than Caterham.
I don't think spending quite a bit of money on an upgrade package is worth it. They simply do not have the resources to catch up. They are better off utilizing updates that can carry on to 2015, understanding the Renault powerplant and carrying this knowledge and experience into 2015. It generally isn't a good idea to bet on something when your chances of winning are slim.
Like said, they are simply lacking the resources to actually challenge it.