Caldarelli 'excludes' himself as candidate for Caterham seat

  • Published on 16 Sep 2014 11:32
  • comments 0
  • By: Rob Veenstra
Andrea Caldarelli has counted himself out of the running to race for Caterham in the near future. As the cockpit reshuffling continues in the wake of Kamui Kobayashi's missed race at Spa, it is known that the team's new leadership wants Roberto Merhi to drive the car under Singapore's lights this weekend.

But although the Spaniard drove on Friday morning at Monza recently, he still did not collect enough kilometres to automatically qualify for his F1 super license. We reported last week that Japanese Kobayashi could return to the wheel of his car yet again in Singapore.

But other reports in Japan suggested a driver called Andrea Caldarelli could be another candidate, especially for the subsequent race at Suzuka. The 24-year-old Italian was in the news recently when he was called up to race in the premier Japanese open-wheel series Super Formula when Andre Lotterer got his Caterham opportunity at Spa.

It is rumoured Caldarelli, who has tested F1 cars for Toyota and Ferrari, has the backing of Caterham's newly installed boss Manfredi Ravetto, and strong ties within Japan. But he has now ruled out a Suzuka debut, insisting it clashes with his duties in the Japanese Super GT series. "I can categorically exclude it," Caldarelli is quoted by Speed Week, "because on the same weekend is the GT race in Thailand and this is an absolute priority for me."

Indeed, driving a TOM's Lexus, Caldarelli is running second in that high-profile Japanese series, and Thailand is the penultimate round. Caldarelli continued: "It is clear that formula one is a dream for me, and given my experience with Ferrari and Toyota I would not rule out being back in a car one day. But for the moment, for sure not," he added.

Meanwhile, ahead of Singapore, the well-sponsored Caterham regular Marcus Ericsson insists he can give no insight into the identity of his forthcoming teammates. "To be honest, when you're in the car and preparing for race weekends you're so focused on that you don't really think about it," he told Reuters.

"It's not been something that has influenced me but obviously now we have the new owners that have come in and they've been pushing really hard to continue developing the car, so that's been very positive," Ericsson added. (GMM)

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Sauber
  • Points 18
  • Podiums 0
  • Grand Prix 81
  • Country SE
  • Date of b. Sep 2 1990 (34)
  • Place of b. Kumla, SE
  • Weight 63 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar