Caterhams unable to get past Bianchi at Austin
Caterham had a disappointing race in Austin. Both Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde were unable to pass the Marussia of Bianchi and therefore trailed him from start to finish, ending in 19th and 20th positions.
Charles Pic, car 20, chassis CT03-#6, 20th: “Off the line I passed Chilton and was right behind Giedo and Bianchi at the end of the first lap. However, the car balance today was the same as it’s been all weekend, just not quite there, which meant I couldn’t push at all. I was keeping up with my teammate for the whole race, up to the drive-through in the last couple of laps, but we just didn’t have the pace today to put in the normal sort of race performance we’ve seen for most of the season.
“We have the chance to bounce straight back in Brazil, and we’ll work hard over the next few days to understand what we need to do to find a setup that allows us to get the most out of the package. I had my highest finish of the season in Brazil last year so we’ll aim to sort out the setup issue and be there to take advantage of anything that comes our way.”
Giedo van der Garde, car 21, chassis CT03-#5, 19th: “I didn’t have a good start and was behind Bianchi at the end of the first lap. From there it wasn’t possible to pass him as, even though I had a quicker car round the whole lap, his straightline speed was better than mine and every time I got close my front tyres started graining because the car was understeering a lot so I couldn’t make a move past him stick. Sometimes it’s like this, there’s not much you can do when you’re so evenly matched.
“Despite how today went, overall it’s been a good week in Austin. The track is good and the atmosphere in Austin and at the circuit is amazing, but obviously for us we need a bit of a crazy race to be in with a chance of reclaiming tenth in the Championship, so now it goes down to the wire in Brazil. We’re ready, we just need to see what happens.”
