Lotterer

[airbusA346]

Originally Posted by Hawkwood

Why? He did exactly the same thing last year (as did Loic Duval).

Wasn't that because of sportscar commitments though?

[chernaudi]

Both have missed races due to their WEC commitments with Audi, including Loic missing a race last month because of the concussion he had as result of his LM accident.

And, speaking of Audi: Since there's money talk going around, could Audi be paying Kolles to let Andre have his one race deal?

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

Wasn't that because of sportscar commitments though?

Yep, but it shows that Super Formula is secondary.
F1 and WEC are World Championships, Super Formula keeps their skills sharp.

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Both have missed races due to their WEC commitments with Audi, including Loic missing a race last month because of the concussion he had as result of his LM accident.

And, speaking of Audi: Since there's money talk going around, could Audi be paying Kolles to let Andre have his one race deal?

I was wondering that too. Maybe Audi are letting a good servant try something he desparately wants to try, or they may be doing it to keep him sweet? Or something else along those lines maybe?

[Paradise City]

Audi aren't paying for Lotterer. Fox Sports says there's no sponsorship strings attached. For feedback only. I don't know what to make of that.

It's a strange maneuver as these cars are very different from back in the day.

[davyboy]

Think Fox have got their facts awry there.

[Gingers4Justice]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

Audi aren't paying for Lotterer. Fox Sports says there's no sponsorship strings attached. For feedback only. I don't know what to make of that.

It's a strange maneuver as these cars are very different from back in the day.

Lotterer's LMP1 experience is more relevant than Kobayashi's 2012 F1 experience.

He's also done well over a whole F1 season's worth of testing, developing and racing the R18. I would imagine his feedback is pretty good as a result. That part of a driver's locker is much more important than outright speed in sportscar racing, because the car is the dominant factor.

I can see some method in the madness.

Having said that, I find it hard to believe there's no money changing hands here. Why would they ditch their best performing driver, otherwise? The feedback is probably a nice bonus to the money, but being used for positive spin.

[chunterer]

This all smacks of Lotus dying days in 1994...

Various guys got a drive for a race or two some talented, some not but it was all about keeping things afloat as long as possible whilst extra funding was sought (in vein)..

On the other hand Kolles and co might just rate Andre's feedback in trying to make sense of what the car is doing?

[wolfhound]

I can't see any up side for Lotterer if he is going to race the car.
I would rate him highly as a driver but I see no advantage for a mid season move, I doubt he needs the money.
If he is only going to test on Friday then it might make sense but would it not be better to use someone with recent F1 experience in that case.

[chernaudi]

I see no gains for Andre beyond being able to cross racing a F1 car/driving a F1 car at Spa off his bucket list.

But then again, Lotterer has been one of the main test drivers for Audi since he was hired, and if Audi didn't give him a big wad of cash to give to Kolles in return for doing Andre and Audi a favor, that's what they could be looking at.

But then again, the question is why not have Andre drive the car in a private test? Well, Catherham and Kolles are cheap (not that can be avoided for Catherham), and they're a back of the field team anyways, so why not use future races as test sessions for improvements for next year's car?

But for Lotterer, he has nothing really to lose or gain from this personally aside from driving a F1 car at Spa.

[wolfhound]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

I see no gains for Andre beyond being able to cross racing a F1 car/driving a F1 car at Spa off his bucket list.

But then again, Lotterer has been one of the main test drivers for Audi since he was hired, and if Audi didn't give him a big wad of cash to give to Kolles in return for doing Andre and Audi a favor, that's what they could be looking at.

But then again, the question is why not have Andre drive the car in a private test? Well, Catherham and Kolles are cheap (not that can be avoided for Catherham), and they're a back of the field team anyways, so why not use future races as test sessions for improvements for next year's car?

But for Lotterer, he has nothing really to lose or gain from this personally aside from driving a F1 car at Spa.

There is no testing in F1 at the moment so the only time he will get to drive the car will be 9AM Friday in the first practice as I am not aware of Caterham having a simulator. I believe it will be very difficult for him to be quicker than his team mate let alone drag the Caterham further up the grid. The problem with jumping into a modern F1 car is to fully understand all the systems and how they effect the car not forgetting what all the buttons on the steering do.

[S griffin]

I'm sure if he was offered the ride it would be hard to say no. After all you can't get higher than F1 and it's something he was aiming for when he was young.

[mountainstar]

I think it's easy for some to bag this as some bad thing, terrible team and car and all.

But if you'll ever been someone with the dream of driving in F1, you'd consider it an honor just to be able to drive one in a test, much less race one. To me drivers that line up for one grand prix in their lives are heroes. It's the pinnacle and your name will always be in the history books and you'll always be an F1 driver.

I say go for it and have your day in the sun.

[chernaudi]

There is private testing in F1 since the end of last season (FIA's mea culpa to the Tiregate saga), but with as cash strapped as Catherham is, private testing is probably unfordable to them compared to almost everyone else aside from Marussia.

Besides, they are at the back of the pack in F1, so they have nothing to lose as far as using every race weekend from now until season's end as a test session. After all, it's rumored that Lotterer has been hired for Spa to basically "test" the car.

[Paradise City]

Yes, there are alot of fans here giggling at Caterham and are flabbergasted that Lotterer would 'demean' himself by a return. The reality is Lotterer has devoted his early years to be in the top tier, sunk treasure and sweat to achieve this goal. That may not mean much sitting to those sitting on the couch but for Lotterer a 2nd tilt at the top tier maybe irresistible. I can perfectly understand that.

A bit more mysterious is what Caterham would want with him. His feedback at Audi must be spectacular or something. In any event, I doubt Audi was pushed to get a dime. Sportscar teams are good at giving even their hotshots space if a spot in the top tier becomes available. I see no real reason why this shouldn't be so at Audi. I appreciate Lotterer is a class act - but he's not that indispensable, particularly post LeMans.

[naca]

Originally Posted by Biscuits In A Red Bull

I don't think there's any doubting how good Lotterer is. However, it's not going to happen, and if it does, Tony Fernandes will likely cry.

Well that's his own fault isn't it. If he had the guts to stay in F1 for the long haul instead of storming off when his team wasn't doing so well this wouldn't be happening.

[OZ_HCR32]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

... so they have nothing to lose as far as using every race weekend from now until season's end as a test session

Spa, Japan and maybe Brazil are the three races where you want someone like Kobi in the car in the hope that he will bag one of his brilliant drives. He came so close in Monaco until Bianchi did a hatchet job on him.

With mixed weather, some crashes etc...Kobi is their best chance of ensuring they are in a position to perhaps capitalise on a little chaos! AND bag cash for WCC

[darcym]

Originally Posted by OZ_HCR32

With mixed weather, some crashes etc...Kobi is their best chance of ensuring they are in a position to perhaps capitalise on a little chaos! AND bag cash for WCC

Let me fix that quote for you

Originally Posted by OZ_HCR32

With mixed weather, some crashes etc...Kobi is their best chance of ensuring they are in a position to perhaps cause a lot of chaos! AND bag cash for WCC

[p-matt]

Apparently a one-off race deal for Lotterer will be announced this morning. KK will be back in the car in Monza. It might be linked to a new sponsor. Quite frankly I can't see how this stunt would net much money for the team. If they're going to sell KK's seat, particularly on a weekend where there's a better than average chance of nabbing a point, surely it should be for wads of cash?

I can't help but think that Red Bull ought to stump up a bit of cash to stick Verstappen in that seat for the rest of the season to give him much needed experience ahead of his Toro Rosso debut next year.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

Yes, there are alot of fans here giggling at Caterham and are flabbergasted that Lotterer would 'demean' himself by a return. The reality is Lotterer has devoted his early years to be in the top tier, sunk treasure and sweat to achieve this goal. That may not mean much sitting to those sitting on the couch but for Lotterer a 2nd tilt at the top tier maybe irresistible. I can perfectly understand that.

A bit more mysterious is what Caterham would want with him. His feedback at Audi must be spectacular or something. In any event, I doubt Audi was pushed to get a dime. Sportscar teams are good at giving even their hotshots space if a spot in the top tier becomes available. I see no real reason why this shouldn't be so at Audi. I appreciate Lotterer is a class act - but he's not that indispensable, particularly post LeMans.

Lotterer can't possibly hurt Caterham's performance and he has certainly boosted their exposure and will continue to do so apparently no matter what happens!

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by kipper

It is an intriguing move. I'd assume that money is at the route of this (I can't imagine that Lotterer will put in a significantly better performance than Kobayashi), but I'm intrigued as to where it is coming from.

A quick Belgian in Belgium... some sponduli from Hype Energy Drink... its a marketing opportunity just waiting to happen...

[Mike E]

Originally Posted by davyboy

Think Fox have got their facts awry there.

This could be the most versatile response ever written!

[airbusA346]

Andre has confirmed on Twitter, he will be racing at Spa for Caterham.

[chernaudi]

Maybe the guys at Kolles have decided that they can't find their a**es with both hands when it comes to the car, and have to resort to someone with a fresh pair or eyes and experience in a car of broadly similar performance and tech (Super Formula, LMP1) to try and "sort" the car for a weekend.

[davyboy]

If this had nothing to do with money and was solely about getting feedback from an experienced driver, then surely Marcus Ericsson would be the one you'd drop... particularly given that he's been out qualified by Kamui 11-2 this season. In any event, I'm sure that it would be entirely possible to pop the third driver from another team on the pit lane into the Caterham race seat to give 'F1 2014' car feedback and comparatives.

It's about money pure and simple. This is how Colin Kolles works.