Caterham prepares for Korea with Van der Garde

After driving Heikki Kovalainen’s single-seater in Suzuka, Giedo van der Garde will do it again this weekend in South Korea, this time in Vitaly Petrov’s Caterham CT01. The Dutch driver is eager to get back in an F1 car: « I am looking forward to driving for the second consecutive time in Free Practice 1 in South Korea after driving on my first Friday in Suzuka. The Korean track is new to me, so I’ve spent quite a bit of time at home on my simulator to get used to the layout, but you never really know what it’s like until you’re actually on track. »

Van der Garde’s objective is simple for these 90 new minutes behind the wheel of the Caterham: « The plan for Korea is the same as in Suzuka – execute the planned program, minimize mistakes, and do good work for the team. »

Vitaly Petrov would have preferred to give up his seat at another event because the Yeongam circuit is a complicated track, but the Russian driver has the advantage of already knowing it: « The track itself was quite difficult to learn when I drove there for the first time in 2010. There are some blind corners, and selecting the right gear on the gearbox is very important to achieve the fastest laps, but now, after a few races here, we know which direction to take for the settings. »

The Russian driver even believes he might have a chance to perform well in South Korea, as it’s a circuit where the safety car is often deployed: « In the race, there is a high chance of a safety car intervention, […] so we need to be prepared for that. We know we don’t yet have the pace to fight with the cars in front, but we need to take advantage of anything that might happen ahead of us, and maybe this is the kind of race where we can do that. »