Giedo van der Garde to get third practice outing at Korea

Caterham have confirmed that reserve driver Giedo van der Garde will receive his second practice outing in a row during the opening practice session at the Korean Grand Prix this weekend, following on from his outing at Suzuka. The Dutchman competed in GP2 for Caterham earlier in the year, and drove for the team during practice back in China.

Like several drivers up and down the paddock, the opening practice session will be Giedo van der Garde’s first taste of the Korean International Circuit. However, the 27-year-old Dutchman remains confident he’ll quickly learn the tricky circuit as he aims to once again complete the teams program on the opening day of the weekend. Giedo van der Garde will replace Vitaly Petrov for the opening session, after replacing Heikki Kovalainen last time out in Japan.

“I’m looking forward to my second FP1 in a row in Korea after driving the first Friday in Suzuka.” Explained Giedo van der Garde, “The Korean track is another new circuit for me so I’ve spent quite a lot of time at home on my own simulator to get used to the layout but you never really know what it’s like until you actually get on track.

“It looks like it’s a pretty technical circuit and one that will take a few laps to find all the right braking points and apexes, especially as a couple of the corners are blind, but it’ll be fine. The plan for Korea is the same as Suzuka – run through the program, minimize the mistakes and get the job done for the team.”

Giedo van der Garde finished 6th overall in the GP2 Drivers’ Championship, scoring 160 points with two wins in Spain and Singapore. With Formula 1 currently entangled in an exciting “silly season”, van der Garde’s name has been rumored at several teams for next season including Caterham and HRT. After the opening practice session, Vitaly Petrov will return behind the wheel of his machine for the second practice session in the afternoon.

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