Pic estimates that it will be very difficult to score points for Caterham in 2013
Charles Pic, new Caterham driver in 2013, admitted that it would be difficult for him and his team to score points during the season. He urges his team to constantly improve throughout the year in order to have a solid foundation for the regulatory changes planned for 2014.
After a year with the Marussia team, the Frenchman Charles Pic joined Caterham, a team powered by Renault that should be able to offer him a bit more performance.
Building on his first year of experience in the discipline, Pic is confident in his qualities: « I am quite confident. In a first year in F1, there are many things to learn, as there are numerous tools to use to optimize your car. It is important to know them all and know how to use them. »
However, after the first preseason tests, the 23-year-old driver (who celebrated his birthday on February 15) believes it will be difficult for him to consistently finish in the points: « We have to wait and see where we stand in Melbourne. That’s the first step. After that, we must progress throughout the year. I feel that the team is very motivated this year to do a good job. It’s very important for me. It would be great to be in a position to score points for the first time. I know it will be very, very hard, and we will need some changing conditions, a bit like the last race in Brazil. But we’ll see. »
Charles Pic is not worried either about the competition with his new teammate, Giedo Van der Garde: « Giedo is a very good driver. I raced a season with him in GP2, so I know him quite well. Everything is fine. I have one more year of experience in Formula 1 than he does, but he has been racing in motorsport longer than I have. I’m sure he’ll do a good job this year, and of course, I’ll do my best as well. »
With the expected changes in technical regulations in 2014, small teams like Caterham may have to quickly forgo the development of their 2013 cars to focus on those for the following season. However, Pic believes that this is not necessarily the right strategy to adopt: « I don’t want to think about 2014. To be good in 2014, you have to do well in 2013. When we get there, we’ll think about it. But we must be focused on the present moment to optimize the equipment we have and thus make progress. »
