Caterham Racing confirm Ma Qing Hua for 2013

After impressing in the recent GP2 test in Jerez Caterham Racing is delighted to announce the signing of Chinese racer Ma Qing Hua, the first driver to be named in the team’s 2013 Championship line-up.

Ma joins the team with experience in karting, European F3 Open, Formula Renault 2.0 Asia, and F1 after becoming the first Chinese born driver to compete in a Formula One event after driving FP1 sessions in 2012.

For 2013 Ma has made the decision to gain further race experience and contest the GP2 Series with Caterham Racing, also being named as one of the Caterham F1 Team Reserve Drivers.

Caterham Racing Team Manager Phill Spencer: “We are delighted to have Ma joining Caterham Racing to contest the 2013 GP2 Championship and we look forward to guiding him through his rookie season. Everyone who has worked with Ma comments on his commitment and ability to learn quickly and we have found this to be the case in Jerez. A season in GP2 will stand Ma in good stead and hopefully secure him a full time Formula One seat in the future. This is our third season in GP2 and we aim to continue our progress since our inception 2 years ago. We will be announcing our second driver very shortly.”

Caterham Racing Chief Engineer Humphrey Corbett: “Ma Qing Hua will be a great addition to Caterham Racing. He performed well in the recent Jerez test and showed that he is very willing to learn and, although realistic about the challenges ahead, he is striving to be highly competitive. In Caterham Racing he has an experienced team around him and he will have excellent support to guide him through the learning process. Throughout the test in Jerez, which was Ma’s first outing in a GP2 car, he provided detailed feedback and was extremely receptive to our engineering input. He was quick to put into practice our recommendations and adapt his driving style. It will be a pleasure to work with Ma this season and he shows great promise.”

Ma Qing Hua: “It is very exciting for me to be given the opportunity to race in GP2 with Caterham Racing and I am looking forward to the whole season. This year will be a big challenge for me, as the drivers in the Championship are the best from around the world and it is very competitive. I will try my best to learn as quickly as possible and I hope to be able to help the team gain some good data in Barcelona next week. At the start of the season I will be learning rather than gaining results instantly, but I felt good in the car during the test in Jerez and I look forward to driving again in Barcelona next week. It is so great to be part of the Caterham family and I would like to thank everyone involved for giving me this chance.”