It may have the schnozz that only a mother (or a chief designer) could love, but the Caterham CT01 Renault is a car with an awful lot of expectation heaped onto its awkward and ungainly form. For Tony Fernandes's team 2012 really has to be the year that they start to make a significant step forwards in the F1 pecking order, regardless of how their car looks.
Granted, it does look appalling, the ugly stepped nose providing the sort of jarring blemish against the purity of Formula One car design not seen since, erm, we entered the current formula of awkward low-slung front wings and towering narrow rear wings in 2009. But the feeling is that Caterham's design is little more than the start of a trend for 2012, representing as it does the ideal compromise between the FIA's new mandatory lower noses and the aerodynamic needs of the rest of the car.
And the team themselves have more pressing issues than F1 fans grouching over aesthetic issues. For the team that has managed to secure more name changes than points in their time on the Formula One grid so far, the CT01 really does need to be a car capable of fighting for points. Which, on today's F1 grid, is a lot more difficult than it sounds.
So far, Catherham have certainly shown the most potential from F1's new trio of backmarking teams, drafted in back in 2010 to plug the hole in the grid left behind by the sport's manufacturer exodus at the end of the last decade. Whether they were competing as Lotus Racing, Team Lotus, 1Malaysia F1 Team, Team Fernandesisawesome, or whatever, they proved to be a competent and ambitious outfit, and in bettering both Virgin and HRT back in 2010 despite being forced to work within a far shorter development time was a remarkable achievement.
But in 2011, their progress stalled slightly. The TF128 - with the benefit of a full development cycle behind it - was launched with the express desire of getting into the fight for points. "I think we're targeting eighth strategically, but I doubt there'll be a lot between sixth, seventh and eighth," said the team's CEO Keith Saunt at the launch of the car, while also boldly predicting that they would rack up "between 40 and 50 points".
They ended up, of course, with 40 or 50 points less than that. Precisely zero, the same number they had managed in their troubled 2010 campaign with the rushed and unfinished T127. There were a few moments that hinted at their potential, with Heikki Kovalainen in particular managing to occasionally mix it with the dregs of the midfield, but generally they found themselves stuck in a competitive no man's land, significantly off the pace of those ahead of them, but significantly faster than those behind.
To their credit, the Caterham squad remain in by far the best position of the three newbie teams. But then, that's currently a compliment up there with being by far the more talented half of Jedward. And while they should have few issues hanging onto their top ten spot in the constructors championship this year, that will not be enough for the team, or their new gawky car. "We want to be racing that midfield group - and if you're racing them, you're looking to score points," the team's technical chief Mike Gascoyne told the BBC Sport website after the launch. "I have been quoted as saying I want us to score a point this year and that really has to be the aim. It has to be," Fernandes added.
However, that is easier said than done these days. With F1's current era of near-perfect reliability (eleven of 2011's nineteen races featured less than five retirements from the 24-car field), simply clamping yourself into the rear of the midfield pack won't get you anywhere near the points-paying positions. To score points through any means other than a tremendous amount of luck - and a first corner pile-up - Caterham will have to do more than pick off the odd Williams or Toro Rosso. The CT01 will need to be capable of running ahead of, and fending off, a combination of Saubers, Force Indias, Toro Rossos and Williamses. And that would be quite a significant leap for the team to make over one single winter break.
Still, there are positive signs that their new car could prove to be what is required. Nose aside, the design has been praised for showing a more dynamic and in-depth approach to their aero package, and from 2012 the team will run with KERS for the first time, something that they have insisted was a huge stumbling block to them last year. "At the last race in 2011, Heikki made a good start and gained a lot of positions but then lost out by not having KERS," Gascoyne posited, "We had our best ever qualifying ...in Brazil, and with KERS we could have possibly out-qualified a few of them."
We will, of course, not know Caterham's potential until testing is underway, or possibly even until we get to Melbourne after the season-opener. But for now the team are keeping their cards tightly to their chest, checking themselves from making further bold '40 or 50 points' claims.
The one thing they will be hoping is that the CT01 goes better than it looks.
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