The Caterham CT05 is a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing car that competed in the 2014 Formula One Season. It was the last Caterham F1 car before the team folded prior to the start of the 2015 season. The car was driven by debutant

Marcus Ericsson Marcus Thorbjörn Ericsson (; born 2 September 1990) is a Swedish professional racing driver. He competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 8 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing and is the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner. Ericsson previously ...

and

Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese professional racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) and in the Super Formula Championship for KCMG . He previously competed in Formula One, Formula E, the GP2 Series, and ...

who returned to Formula One after a season driving in the FIA World Endurance Championship with AF Corse. André Lotterer replaced Kobayashi for the Belgian Grand Prix, and

Will Stevens William Stevens (born 28 June 1991) is a British racing driver, who formerly competed in Formula One, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Toyota Racing Series and the British Formula Renault Championships. In Formula One, he made his debut at the 20 ...

replaced Ericsson for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Alongside the drivers, Caterham also operated a driver programme which expanded in mid 2014 when Christijan Albers took over as CEO. Drivers who were involved with CT05 either through practice runs or development included

Robin Frijns Robin Frijns (born 7 August 1991) is a Dutch motor racing driver. He is the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, and the first driver to have won the series in his debut season since Robert Kubica in 2005. Frijns is currently competing in F ...

Alexander Rossi Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...

, Julian Leal,

Rio Haryanto Rio Haryanto (born 22 January 1993) is an Indonesian racing driver and a former Formula One driver for Manor during 2016 season. He last competed in the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series and in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia for T2 Motorsp ...

and

Nathanaël Berthon Nathanaël Berthon (born 1 July 1989 in Romagnat) is a professional racing driver from France. Career Karting Berthon began his international karting career in 2006, with the highlights being a third-place finish in the Copa Campeones Trophy I ...

Development

The CT05 was designed by Mark Smith, Lewis Butler and Hari Roberts at the new

Leafield Technical Centre Leafield Technical Centre is a former radio transmission station, now turned motorsports centre of excellence, located in the hamlet of Langley, in the western part of the village of Leafield in Oxfordshire, England. Developed from 1912 as a radi ...

. The engine was the new Renault Energy F1-2014, and the gearbox from Red Bull Technology. Ahead of 2014, the team had struck an agreement with

Toyota Motorsport Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe GmbH (TGR-E), formerly Andersson Motorsport GmbH and Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG), is a fully-owned and controlled entity of Toyota Motor Corporation, based in Cologne, Germany, which provides motorsport and automoti ...

to utilise their wind tunnel for testing and development, alongside upgraded CFD capacity at the new base. The CT05 was launched during pre-season testing in Jerez in late January, 2014. Marcus Ericsson drove the new car first on track. Notably the car had a very unique nosecone. The CT05 also noted for having a rear and wing design similar to Red Bull Racing. By August, the controversial nose design was adapted slightly to a more rounded design. The CT05 featured a new livery design for the team, a bold metallic green set off with flashed of white, yellow and black.

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...

, GE and Dell Computers

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took major sponsorship on the car. After the team missed two races due to funding, the final race of the season saw a car adorned with sponsors who had helped the CT05 reach the final race of the year.

Racing Performance

The car performed poorly throughout the season. At the first Grand Prix of the year in Australia, both drivers retired. Indeed, the CT05 would chalk up 12 retirements in total, and three Grand Prix where neither car finished. The best result of the season was in

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, for Marcus Ericsson who finished in 11th place. André Lotterer took over driving the CT05 at Belgium as Kobayashi, with no specific reason given. He would ultimately retire from the race. Kobayashi returned to the car, and in Singapore he failed to start the race as his brakes failed on the formation lap. Financial difficulties hit the team and they failed to field either CT05 at the

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or Brazilian Grand Prix. However, they returned for the final round in Abu Dhabi where Will Stevens drove in place of Ericsson before folding.

Complete Formula One results

( key) ‡ — Teams and drivers scored double points at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caterham CT05 CT05 2014 Formula One season cars