Caterham F1 completed the line up of teams that revealed their new single seaters for 2013 during the first pre-season testing at Circuito de Jerez in Spain.
The British team will not be using a re-designed car for the new season, choosing an evolution of last year's CT01 model. Basically, Caterham decided to stick with the old stuff and prepare a new car for 2014, when the V6 Turbo engines will become mandatory.
"CT03 is the first car we have produced in the Leafield Technical Centre so it marks an important milestone in the development of our team. The season ahead presented us with an interesting challenge early in the design process as it is the last year of the current regulations before the introduction of the new engine rules in 2014. With that in mind we decided that CT03 would be an evolution of CT01 rather than a complete re-design, allowing us to beginning work on the 2014 package," said Caterham F1 Team Technical Director, Mark Smith.
But Caterham still hopes for a decent season after modifying the car's sidepods, diffuser, engine cover and cooling exits for better airflow. Other subtle improvements are also planned, but the major updates will be in place "soon after the start of the season", with new front and rear wings, as well as a new diffuser.
Aside from the aforementioned updates, Caterham CT03 showed up in Jerez in new clothes, the traditional green and yellow racing livery getting a refreshed and lightened scheme for the new season.
Caterham's CT03 will be raced in 2013 by former Marussia driver Charles Pic and Dutch beginner Giedo van der Garde.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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