Van Der Garde enjoys another productive morning with Caterham

Giedo van der Garde enjoyed another productive morning practice session behind the wheel of the Caterham CT01 at the Buddh International Circuit, as the Dutchman completed his fourth outing with the Leafield-based outfit. He eventually finished the first session 19th overall, ahead of fellow GP2 competitor Esteban Gutierrez in the Sauber.

Giedo van der Garde replaced Heikki Kovalainen behind the wheel for the opening practice session of the weekend, joining fellow reserve drivers up and down the grid in receiving valuable track time in Formula 1 machinery. With the 27-year-old Dutchman strongly linked to several teams for 2013, the Friday practice sessions offer him a tremendous opportunity to showcase his skill in an F1 car.

After finishing the session 19th, just behind team-mate Vitaly Petrov and ahead of fellow GP2 rival Esteban Gutierrez, Giedo van der Garde dedicated his running throughout the 90 minute session to his Grandfather, who sadly passed away last week. The Dutchman was able to quickly learn the still relatively new Buddh International Circuit, and completed the session’s program without any issues.

“It was another good session for me today and one I want to dedicate to my Grandpa who sadly passed away last week.” Explained Giedo van der Garde, “I know he’s always been very proud of me and he told me to enjoy myself whenever I’m driving, so I made sure I did today. The circuit is pretty technical but I was up to speed quickly and didn’t have any problems getting through the plan we were running today. One thing that was really obvious was just how much the track evolves – even on my first run I could feel the grip levels improving with every lap, so by Sunday it will probably feel very different, but for me in FP1 it was fine.”

After a very successful season in GP2 with Caterham, Giedo van der Garde has since returned to his reserve driver duties within the Formula 1 outfit and has partaken at every Friday practice session since the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Next weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Giedo van der Garde will once again return behind the wheel for the opening practice session Friday.

“I’ll be back in the car again next week in Abu Dhabi at a track I know well, and then I have two full days at the Yas Marina Circuit in the young driver test.” Confirmed Giedo van der Garde, “It’s good to keep adding to the mileage I’ve already done this year and I’m really pleased with how much progress I’m making with the car and the team in general.”

With neither Heikki Kovalainen or Vitaly Petrov currently confirmed for next season at Caterham, speculation continues to gather momentum that Giedo van der Garde could well be in the mix to receive a ‘promotion’ within the team to a full-time drive. However, with other drivers such as Bruno Senna and Charles Pic in the equation as well, the Dutchman will have to continue impressing on the Friday mornings in the hope of receiving that full-time drive he is after.

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