Pic signs for Caterham

Charles Pic has agreed to drive for Caterham from 2013 on a “multi-year contract”, the team announced yesterday.

Frenchman Pic is in only his first season of Formula One, having joined Marussia to partner Timo Glock for 2012. Pic has compared well to his much more experienced team-mate, notably out-qualifying Glock by half a second at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Caterham, previously known as Lotus Racing and then Team Lotus, has easily been the most impressive of the three “new” teams since appearing in 2010. Part of the team’s success is due to prize money received from finishing 10th in the Constructors’ Championship in 2010 and 2011. The bottom two teams receive no prize money, which is a significant disadvantage and has hurt Marussia and HRT’s progress.

This season, however, Marussia look set to take that coveted 10th spot, and thereby receive the prize money that was expected to go to Caterham. Timo Glock finished an unlikely 12th in Singapore, which puts his Marussia team ahead of Caterham in the Constructors’ Championship. Nonetheless, Caterham are still considered the strongest of the three bottom teams.

2012 has easily been Marussia’s most competitive season to date. With extra, perhaps unexpected, funding for 2013, the team is likely to move forward further. If Caterham are to continue their run of progress, they will need to find an alternative source of funding – read sponsorship – to fill the gap left by the Formula One prize-money. Could Pic be that alternative source of funding?

There is no doubt that Pic has talent. He has shown it on the race track throughout the season. He also brings crucial sponsorship to a struggling team. Whether for reasons of talent or finance, he has been offered an opportunity to move to a more competitive team, and he has seized it with both hands. Next season will show more of what he can do, particularly as he now has a full season of Formula One racing under his belt. The only question now concerns the identity of his team-mate. Kovalainen and Petrov are the team’s current drivers, but neither has been confirmed for next season.

This is what Caterham and Pic had to say regarding their new contract:

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal of Caterham F1 Team:

“We are thrilled that Charles has decided to join us for his second season in F1 and beyond. We are all looking forward to working with a young driver who has clearly shown in his first season in F1 that he has the pace, racecraft and demeanour to help us achieve our goals.

“Throughout the 2012 season we have been monitoring the progress that Charles has made, challenging us on several occasions in qualifying, and it is clear that he is a special talent. As the year has progressed he has performed extremely well against a very experienced teammate and we are looking forward to seeing him develop further within the environment we will provide in 2013 and beyond.

“We will continue growing together, and the energy and image he will bring to our team and his partners will be a very positive influence on the seasons that lie ahead. Being able to make this announcement before the end of the current season gives us the chance now to allow Charles and the team to prepare fully for the 2013 season and quickly learn how to maximise the performance benefits of the Renault Sport F1 and Red Bull Technology powertrain that will be new to him.”

Charles Pic:

“I am very proud to be able to confirm that I am joining Caterham F1 Team next year and I’m looking forward to many seasons of successful racing co-operation. I’m enthusiastic to have the opportunity to continue to grow in a team that has a technical relationship with a number of French global companies, including Renault and Total, plus an official partnership with EADS. It is clear that the team has great ambitions for the future: the investments already made and the decisions taken in the last few months show how committed the shareholders are to succeed and demonstrates their willingness to keep going forward.

“The prospect of the automotive industry project nurtured by Caterham Group to produce sports road cars in conjunction with Renault is another reason for my decision to join the team. I would like to thank Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun for the roles they have played in helping make this dream come true.

“I am very excited about starting my second year in F1 with a team that has so much potential. Caterham F1 Team has everything in place to help it move into a position to fight with a number of teams ahead. I know how determined the team is to keep progressing and I am looking forward to playing my part in helping them move up the grid.”