2013 will be Caterham’s fourth season in the sport and the team has yet to finish in the top ten of a race.
“This season, the most satisfaction would come from scoring Caterham’s first point in Formula One, but we know that’s a big ask and needs a crazy race to help us,” Van der Garde told The Official F1 website. “So for me, it’s about learning in the first half of the season, then using what I’ve taken in to progress, fight where I can, and do the best job possible.”
Van der Garde believes he and the team have made good progress over the winter and that his comparatively late signing won’t be a hindrance.
“Pre-season testing was pretty good. The weather could have been better, but we needed some time to try out the wet tyres and set-ups, and we’re on target for what we wanted to achieve in the tests, so all good.”
“Sure, it’s not ideal to have been announced as late as I was, but, as I said, I was with the team in 2012, both in F1 and GP2, so nothing’s really new to me. That has made it easy just to go to work.”
Van der Garde partners former GP2 team-mate Charles Pic at Caterham and Van der Garde says he is already learning from the Frenchman, who made his debut with Marussia in 2012.
“I also already knew my team mate – Charles Pic – very well. We were team mates with Addax in GP2 in 2011 and he already has a year of F1 on his CV, so I can – and I am – definitely learning from him. Our relationship is great.”
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