Photo: Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service
Sergio Canamasas has been confirmed as racing for Caterham in the GP2 Series this season.
The 24-year-old Spaniard finished eighth in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2011 before making his GP2 debut mid-way through last season with the Lazarus team. Although he showed a decent turn of speed he failed to score any points after getting involved in a number of incidents in his ten-race spell, including squeezing a rival into the pit wall at Spa-Francorchamps and ignoring a black flag in Singapore.
He tested for the Caterham team in the two pre-season tests at Jerez and Barcelona and has now signed to partner Ma Qing Hua in the 2013 season which gets underway in Malaysia next weekend. He will also take up a development driver role with the Caterham F1 Team, conducting simulator work and straight-line aero testing.
“For me driving with Caterham Racing for a full season in GP2 this season is very exciting,” said Canamasas. “My winter training means that I feel physically and mentally prepared and I will arrive in Malaysia in good shape.
“My work with the team in Jerez was a good opportunity to get to know everyone and work on the car setup. We found a good balance, and I feel I can still get more out of the car, which is very positive. I look forward to a competitive season in GP2 with Caterham Racing, so see you all in Malaysia.”
Team manager Phill Spencer expects Canamasas to score regular points finishes.
“We are very pleased to have Sergio driving for Caterham Racing and he brings some GP2 experience from the ten races he completed last year,” said Spencer. “We look forward to supporting him and see no reason why he cannot consistently score points following his performance on the final day of testing in Barcelona.”
Chief Engineer Humphrey Corbett added: “I am happy that Sergio has signed to drive for the team and I feel that we did not see his full potential during the pre season tests. To some extent this was due to his uncertainty surrounding the season ahead, but once his decision was made, we saw a glimpse of the real Sergio as he consistently ran in the top five during the morning of the final day in Barcelona.
“Sergio has great potential and although he is still relatively inexperienced in GP2, he has a good feel for the car, provides valuable feedback and he has already built a good relationship with his engineer Patrick.”
GP2 2013 grid so far:
DAMS: Ericsson/Richelmi
ART: Calado/Abt
Arden: Cecotto/Evans
Racing Engineering: Leal/Leimer
Carlin: Nasr/Palmer
Russian Time: TBA/Dillmann
Caterham: Canamasas/Ma
Addax: Rosenzweig/Haryanto
Rapax: Coletti/Trummer
Trident: TBA/TBA
Hilmer: TBA/TBA
Lazarus: Binder/Giovesi
MP: Quaife-Hobbs/De Jong