Tony Fernandes acquired the British sportscar manufacturer Caterham Cars and changed their constructor name for the 2012 season from Lotus to Caterham.

The Caterham F1 Team was a Malaysian, later British owned Formula One team based in the United Kingdom which raced under a Malaysian licence. The Caterham brand competed in the Formula One World Championship from 2012 to 2014, following the acquisition of British sportscar manufacturer Caterham Cars by former owner and team principal Tony Fernandes, forming the Caterham Group.

In October 2014, Caterham entered administration and did not attend a race weekend for the first time in its history beginning from the United States Grand Prix. In November 2014, after also missing the Brazilian Grand Prix, Caterham became the first F1 team ever to resort to crowdfunding, enabling it to race at the final Grand Prix for 2014 and take part in end of season testing both held in Abu Dhabi.

 

Headquarters  Leafield, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, 2012-2014

ct05

The Caterham CT05 is a Formula One racing car that competed in the 2014 Formula One season. It was the last Caterham F1 car before the team folded prior to the start of the 2015 season.

The car was driven by debutant Marcus Ericsson and Kamui Kobayashi who returned to Formula One after a season driving in the FIA World Endurance Championship with AF Corse. André Lotterer replaced Kobayashi for the Belgian Grand Prix, and Will Stevens replaced Ericsson for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Alongside the drivers, Caterham also operated a driver programme which expanded in mid 2014 when Christijan Albers took over as CEO. Drivers who were involved with CT05 either through practice runs or development included Robin Frijns, Alexander Rossi, Julian Leal, Rio Haryanto and Nathanaël Berthon.

The CT05 was designed by Mark Smith, Lewis Butler and Hari Roberts at the new Leafield Technical Centre. The engine was the new Renault Energy F1-2014, and the gearbox from Red Bull Technology.

Ahead of 2014, the team had struck an agreement with Toyota Motorsport to utilise their wind tunnel for testing and development, alongside upgraded CFD capacity at the new base.

The car had a rear and wing design similar to Red Bull Racing and a unique nose cone. By August, the controversial nose design was adapted slightly to a more rounded design.

The car performed poorly throughout the season. The best result of the season was in Monaco, for Marcus Ericsson who finished in 11th place.

Financial difficulties hit the team and they failed to field either CT05 at the United States or Brazilian Grand Prix.

kamui kobayashi

2014

renault energy F1-2014, 1.6 L V6, turbo with ers, mid-mounted

albert park, australia

Caterham CT05 2014

2012-2014