Cyril Abiteboul is still transitioning from his former role at Renault Sport F1 into his new job as team principal at Caterham, but the Frenchman already has big ambitions for new team.
Caterham has so far consistently been the best of the "new teams" that arrive in 2010. In each of their three seasons, it finished ahead of their startup rivals Marussia and HRT; most memorably in 2012, thanks to Vitaly Petrov's 11th place finish at the last round of the season.
For the years to come, Abiteboul wants Caterham to race with other midfield teams like it did in that last Brazilian Grand Prix, not just with the back-markers.
"The end of the Brazil race meant two things to me," explains the new boss in an interview with Formula1.com. "Firstly it means we are on a better financial footing than if we had finished 11th.
"But what finishing tenth also meant to me was that it showed our team what it felt like to be part of the show, and that’s something that has been missing for most of the 2012 season.
"We are determined to fight harder than ever to succeed," he added. "So I hope 2013 is a year we remember for the right reasons."
Caterham has so far consistently been the best of the "new teams" that arrive in 2010. In each of their three seasons, it finished ahead of their startup rivals Marussia and HRT; most memorably in 2012, thanks to Vitaly Petrov's 11th place finish at the last round of the season.
For the years to come, Abiteboul wants Caterham to race with other midfield teams like it did in that last Brazilian Grand Prix, not just with the back-markers.
"The end of the Brazil race meant two things to me," explains the new boss in an interview with Formula1.com. "Firstly it means we are on a better financial footing than if we had finished 11th.
"But what finishing tenth also meant to me was that it showed our team what it felt like to be part of the show, and that’s something that has been missing for most of the 2012 season.
"We are determined to fight harder than ever to succeed," he added. "So I hope 2013 is a year we remember for the right reasons."