2013 season ’really starts in Spain’ - van der Garde

Giedo van der Garde has admitted he is prepared to endure a couple more painful grands prix.

The Dutchman has been struggling so far in his young F1 career, while Caterham’s usual wheel-to-wheel rival Marussia - particularly the red and black car driven by impressive rookie Jules Bianchi - looks set to race into the midfield.

Van der Garde told De Telegraaf newspaper that his green car will not be updated until the fifth race of the season, once F1 has returned to Europe.

"The season really starts for me in Spain," he said.

In the meantime, Marussia has sped into the lucrative tenth spot in the constructors’ championship, with France’s Auto Hebdo calling compatriot Bianchi "flawless" so far.

The Ferrari-linked 23-year-old was recruited by Marussia at the very last minute, after Brazilian Luiz Razia’s sponsorship money failed to arrive.

"It was nice to have held off (Williams’ Pastor) Maldonado (in Malaysia) and to maintain the gap for so long," the Frenchman, who like teammate Max Chilton also complained at Sepang about being "stuck behind" a Caterham, said.

"This shows we have the car to fight with them (the midfield teams) in the future."