Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Malaysian-owned Caterham emerged at the head of the pack as the first of the Formula One teams to show off their 2012 car.
If the green and yellow CT01 was unlikely to win any beauty parade, with some branding the ‘platypus-nosed’ car downright ugly, technical head Mike Gascoyne was sure it would not be alone. Team principal Tony Fernandes said he loved it.
“As we’re the first car out it is obviously stirring up a lot of debate, but because of the 2012 regulations I think you’ll probably be seeing this type of nose on most of the cars this year,” Gascoyne said on the team’s Facebook page.
The rules have been changed to limit the height of the nosebox to try and ensure noses are not too high.
Renault-powered Caterham were Team Lotus last year and Lotus Racing in their 2010 debut season.
Gascoyne said the new car had passed all the mandatory crash tests and would be ready for the first pre-season test in Jerez, Spain.
Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen and Italian Jarno Trulli are their named drivers, although there has been lingering speculation about the latter’s race seat. The season starts in Australia on March 18. Bahrain International Circuit will host the fourth race on April 20-22.
