The Caterham F1 Team saw both drivers see the chequered flag at Monza, with Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson finishing the Italian Grand Prix seventeenth and nineteenth respectively.
Kobayashi was involved in an almost race long battle with the Marussia of Jules Bianchi that the Japanese driver was happy to come out on top of, and he said the upgraded Caterham is working far better than the one he last raced at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“I’m happy with my race,” insisted Kobayashi. “We finished in front of Marussia, which is a good result for us. The new updates that were introduced in Spa are working well and we are definitely improving.
“Monza is quite a unique track, so let’s see how we get on at other circuits, but I am happy with our result – the team has worked very hard and done a great job, it’s been a very smooth weekend.”
Team-mate Ericsson started the race from the pit lane after being penalised for failing to slow down under yellow flags during practice, an offence that also saw the Swede handed three penalty points on his licence. He felt he had a steady race but was disappointed that the pace was not there in improve his position.
“Starting from the pit-lane because of yesterday’s penalty wasn’t ideal, but in the end I think it was a decent race,” said Ericsson. “I didn’t do any mistakes and I was very consistent on the lap times. Unfortunately the pace isn’t there to finish higher up, but I feel that I did everything I could today.
“Now we just need to carry on working as hard as always and prepare for the flyaway races.”
Renault Sport F1 track support leader Cedrik Staudohar was happy that Kobayashi came out on top in the battle with Bianchi, and hopes the improved performance of the car can continue in the remaining races starting with Singapore in two weeks time.
“Today was a good race for us, with both cars getting to the end and a big fight between Kamui and Bianchi,” said Staudohar. “In the end we were clearly ahead, which shows the progress we’ve made over the last couple of events.
“On the engine side we had to manage temperatures at the beginning of the race but everything stayed manageable and under control. We hope to be able to bring improved engine performance to capitalize on this race with an even better result in Singapore.”
