Lotterer Linked to F1 Drive with Caterham

Photo: Audi

Reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer has been linked to a surprise Formula One debut in this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix with Caterham.

Multiple sources have reported that the 32-year-old German is set to replace Kamui Kobayashi in the British squad, which is now managed by Christijan Albers and under the advisement of Colin Kolles.

Lotterer drove a Kolles-run Audi R10 TDI at Le Mans in 2009, a drive which led to his hiring as an Audi factory driver one year later.

He has since gone onto claim victory at Le Mans three times, as well as winning the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, while currently sitting second in this year’s title race alongside longtime co-drivers Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer.

Sportscar365, meanwhile, has learned that Lotterer was at Caterham’s workshop on Monday, sampling the team’s F1 simulator. Caterham has yet to release a statement on the potential move.

There are many questions still surrounding the situation, including whether his rumored outing at Spa-Francorchamps is a one-off or would be for the remainder of the season.

Two of the remaining eight F1 races this year clash with rounds of the FIA WEC, while this weekend’s race is also in direct conflict with a round of the Japan-based Super Formula series, where he currently sits second in the standings.

Should Lotterer’s deal be finalized, he would become the first driver since Yannick Dalmas to have won Le Mans overall and taken part in a F1 race in the same year. Dalmas achieved that feat in 1994.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John