Charles Pic had the potential to do better

Charles Pic was one of the many victims of the rain during Q1 contested on the wet Albert Park circuit. The Frenchman seemed comfortable during most of the first qualifying session despite the difficult conditions, but the lull at the end of the session redistributed the cards as the drivers were able to switch from rain tires to intermediate compounds. While the Caterham driver was hurrying to set a better time before the end of the session, the French driver lost control of his CT03 and ended up in an accident condemning him to last place on the grid.

“Qualifying sometimes goes like today.”, comments the new recruit from Tony Fernandes’ team. “We didn't finish where we wanted but we were in a good position for most of the session and I was setting some pretty good times. We changed to the intermediates five minutes from the end of the session and the first lap on these tires was very difficult. There was a lot of standing water and it was difficult to keep the car on the track, but it quickly improved and I started to push. Then I drove on the white strip, which caused me to spin. I hit the wall and had to return to the pits. Before that I was much faster but I didn't have the luck that you sometimes need. Our speed was good in these conditions today, it was similar to the pace of the cars in front of us, but obviously it is important to finish the fastest laps. We didn't do it today but the speed shown is a good reason to stay positive. »

Caterham F1 Team had no better luck with Giedo van der Garde who also made a mistake at the end of the session and who will start alongside his teammate on the last row. If the CT03s had potential in the rain, the weather should remain dry for the Grand Prix.