Team mate Rodolfo Gonzalez also made an impressive start, running in tenth position until he touched another car and had to come in for a new front wing. Despite his final finishing position of P21, Rodolfo put in a very good race pace today, giving the team a solid foundation to work from for the second race in Bahrain next week.
Caterham Racing Team Managers Phill Spencer “We have made some progress here in Bahrain which gives us all encouragement going into the second GP2 race next week. Both Giedo and Rodolfo had a strong race this morning but like many other cars they lost pace towards the end of the race due to tyre degradation. I think as a team we have learnt a lot this week and I hope the drivers are encouraged with the progress we have made so far. There seems to be a couple of teams that have found something that sets them apart from the rest so we have to reach that standard and will keep working hard to give the drivers a strong car for next weekend.”
Giedo van der Garde (P9 – Best lap 1:45.650) “We made some changes to car which made us more competitive today. This is a step in the right direction but we still have some work to do. We were very quick at the beginning and during the middle of race but towards the end I was struggling with rear tyre degradation which meant I couldn’t challenge for positions. I think with my earlier pace we could have finished fifth or sixth so we need to work on preserving the tyres more so we are able to come back fighting next week and bring the car home with a strong points finish, here and at every race.”
Rodolfo Gonzalez (P21 – Best lap 1:46.760) “We were pretty quick out there today but we suffered with tyre degradation later on. I fought hard which would have worn the tyres down but we also still need to find that perfect set up that allows us to save the rear tyres and fight for a win. I know I could have finished in the points today but I was too optimistic when trying to pass Haryanto so I must apologise to the team for the mistake I made. I have a good team here with some great engineers and a great team mate, all of whom I can learn a lot from so I feel confident we will continue to make good progress.”
Caterham Racing Chief Engineer Humphrey Corbett “We tried something new on Giedo’s car today and it seemed to work. We recorded the fastest lap which is encouraging but we still have a problem towards the end of the race. Our paced dropped off and we were unable to defend our position, so although in one area we have made a step forward we still need to understand the tyres more.
“Rodolfo had a good race and was running in a strong tenth position until he touched Haryanto, but during the race his pace was up there with the leaders so I am very happy about that. We can take away some positives from today but we need to work hard so we can give ourselves every opportunity of finishing in the points in the races here next week and throughout the season.”