Caterham Racing

Caterham Racing was a professional single-seater motor-racing team that competed in the GP2 Series and GP2 Asia Series. The operation was established in 2010 by Tony Fernandes, the entrepreneur behind AirAsia and the revival of the Lotus name in Formula One. It was initially presented as Team AirAsia and was formally accepted onto the GP2 Series grid on 21 September 2010, alongside Carlin Motorsport. Its entry filled places left vacant by the departures of Durango and DPR. The team was created as part of Fernandes's broader motorsport and automotive structure. It was connected to the Formula One operation that was initially known as Lotus Racing and later became Team Lotus and Caterham F1 Team. This relationship gave the GP2 team access to shared technical resources and personnel. Its drivers also served as test and reserve drivers for the associated Formula One team, making the GP2 program both a competition entry and a development pathway for drivers and engineering talent. The Caterham identity was introduced progressively. In June 2011, the team's official name incorporated Caterham following Fernandes's acquisition of the Caterham company. For the 2012 season, the team adopted the simpler Caterham Racing name, corresponding with the renaming of the Formula One operation as Caterham F1 Team. The rebranding aligned the team's visual identity and organizational presentation with Caterham Cars and the wider Caterham Group. Caterham Racing made its competitive debut in the 2010–11 GP2 Asia Series with Luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi. In the main 2011 GP2 Series, Valsecchi secured the team's first feature-race victory at Monaco, while Razia later delivered its first pole position at the Hungaroring. The team finished sixth in the 2011 teams' championship. In 2012, after the GP2 Asia Series had been discontinued, Rodolfo González and Giedo van der Garde competed for the team in the expanded GP2 season. Van der Garde won two races and achieved additional poles and fastest laps, although the team slipped to seventh in the championship. The GP2 operation moved to the Leafield Technical Centre in Oxfordshire in 2012, joining the Caterham Formula One team and Caterham Cars at the former Arrows and Super Aguri facility. This relocation reinforced the team's integration with Caterham's wider racing and engineering activities. The team continued under the Caterham name during the 2014 season, but in October of that year Status Grand Prix acquired the operation from Fernandes. It was rebranded as Status Grand Prix from the 2015 season, bringing the Caterham Racing identity to an end.

Caterham Racing originated in Tony Fernandes's effort to build a connected motorsport and automotive group around the AirAsia-backed racing project and the revived Lotus Formula One identity. The team was accepted onto the GP2 grid in September 2010 and entered the first round of the 2010–11 GP2 Asia Series under the name Team AirAsia. It was one of two new GP2 entrants that year and was established to compete at the level immediately below Formula One while also supporting the associated F1 operation. For the 2011 season, Luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi were selected for both the GP2 Asia and main GP2 programs. Both drivers also held test-driver roles with Fernandes's Formula One team, then known as Team Lotus. Valsecchi delivered the team's first major result by winning the Monaco feature race after a strong opening to the season. Razia later obtained the team's first pole position at the Hungaroring. The team ended the truncated GP2 Asia campaign seventh and completed its first main GP2 season sixth in the teams' championship. The organization adopted the Caterham identity during 2011 after Fernandes acquired Caterham. Its formal name was subsequently aligned with the Formula One operation, becoming Caterham Racing for 2012. The rebranding was part of a wider consolidation involving Caterham Cars, the Caterham Group and the Formula One team. The GP2 team's livery also moved away from its original AirAsia red-and-white presentation toward the colors associated with the Caterham and Team Lotus structure. The 2012 season brought a new driver pairing. Rodolfo González and Giedo van der Garde replaced Razia and Valsecchi, while van der Garde also served as a Caterham F1 test and reserve driver. With the GP2 Asia Series discontinued, the drivers competed in the enlarged main GP2 championship. Van der Garde was the team's leading performer, recording two victories, poles and fastest laps, and finished sixth in the drivers' standings. González scored six points and ended the year twenty-second. Caterham placed seventh among the teams. Operationally, the team moved in 2012 to the Leafield Technical Centre in Oxfordshire, a facility previously associated with Arrows and Super Aguri. The relocation placed the GP2 operation alongside Caterham F1 Team and Caterham Cars and reflected the team's close technical relationship with the Formula One organization. The shared structure allowed personnel and development functions to overlap, although the GP2 team remained a distinct championship entrant. Caterham Racing remained active under its established name through the 2014 season. In October 2014, Status Grand Prix purchased the operation from Tony Fernandes. The team retained the Caterham designation for the remainder of that season before being renamed Status Grand Prix in 2015. Caterham Racing therefore became a defunct team identity rather than an ongoing racing brand.

• 2015

  Caterham identity retired

  [1]Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org

  The former Caterham Racing operation began competing as Status Grand Prix.

• 2014

  Acquired by Status Grand Prix

  [1]Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org

  Status Grand Prix purchased the team from Tony Fernandes in October.

• 2012

  Renamed Caterham Racing

  [1]Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org

  The GP2 operation adopted the Caterham Racing name to match the renamed Caterham Formula One project.

• 2012

  Move to Leafield Technical Centre

  [1]Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org

  The team completed its relocation to Leafield alongside Caterham F1 Team and Caterham Cars.

• 2011

  Caterham name enters the official identity

  [1]Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org

  The Caterham designation was added after Tony Fernandes acquired the Caterham company.

• 2011

  First GP2 victory

  [1]Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org

  Davide Valsecchi won the feature race at Monaco, the team's first GP2 race victory.

• 2011

  First pole position

  [1]Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org

  Luiz Razia took the team's first pole at the Hungaroring.

• 2010

  GP2 entry accepted

  [1]Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org

  The team was officially accepted onto the GP2 Series grid on 21 September 2010.

• 2010

  GP2 Asia Series debut

  [1]Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org

  Team AirAsia competed in the opening round of the 2010–11 GP2 Asia Series.

A Caterham Group-affiliated international single-seater racing team positioned as a competitive GP2 entrant and a development platform linked to the group's Formula One operation.

• Motorsport team · 2010

  GP2 Series program

  Caterham Racing's principal competition activity was its entry in the GP2 Series, the international single-seater championship positioned below Formula One. The program operated with two cars and developed drivers who could also be connected to the Caterham Formula One team. Its notable results included a feature-race win at Monaco, a pole at the Hungaroring and a sixth-place finish in the 2011 teams' championship.

• Motorsport team · 2010

  GP2 Asia Series program

  The team made its competitive debut in the 2010–11 GP2 Asia Series under the Team AirAsia name. The regional championship provided an early competitive platform for the new operation before its participation in the main GP2 Series. Caterham Racing's GP2 Asia activity ended when the series was discontinued after its 2011–12 season.

• Driver development · 2011

  Driver development and Formula One reserve support

  The team formed part of a broader Caterham and Team Lotus driver-development structure. Its GP2 drivers, including Davide Valsecchi, Luiz Razia and Giedo van der Garde, also held test or reserve responsibilities with the related Formula One team. This arrangement linked GP2 competition with Formula One evaluation and provided a visible pathway within Fernandes's motorsport organization.

• 2014

  Sell the GP2 operation to Status Grand PrixM&A

  Background

  The Caterham Group's motorsport structure changed during 2014, and the GP2 team was no longer retained by Tony Fernandes.

  Action taken

  Status Grand Prix acquired the team in October 2014.

  Aftermath

  The operation kept the Caterham name for the balance of 2014 and became Status Grand Prix from 2015.

  Source

• 2012

  Consolidate operations at LeafieldStrategy

  Background

  Caterham sought to bring its GP2, Formula One and automotive activities closer together operationally.

  Action taken

  Caterham Racing relocated to the Leafield Technical Centre alongside Caterham F1 Team and Caterham Cars.

  Aftermath

  The move reinforced the team's technical and organizational links with the Caterham Formula One operation.

  Source

• 2011

  Add the Caterham name to the team identityStrategy

  Background

  The GP2 team began as Team AirAsia but was connected to Tony Fernandes's expanding Lotus, Caterham and Formula One structure.

  Action taken

  After Fernandes acquired Caterham, the Caterham designation was added to the team's official name and its presentation moved toward the wider Caterham identity.

  Aftermath

  The team competed in 2011 with a progressively more Caterham-aligned identity and became Caterham Racing for the 2012 season.

  Source

1. 1Caterham Racing (GP2 team)en.wikipedia.org