Dutchman makes sudden departure from struggling outfit
Sunday 7 September 2014 17:41, UK
Christijan Albers has resigned as Caterham's Team Principal – just two months after arriving at the team as part of the Leafield outfit's takeover by unknown Swiss and Middle Eastern investors.
In the latest twist amid a season of upheaval at the former Tony Fernandes-owned squad, Caterham announced immediately after the Italian GP that Albers had stood down from his joint role as Team Principal and CEO at Caterham to be replaced by his deputy Manfredi Ravetto.
Ex-F1 driver Albers, who started 46 grands prix for Minardi and Midland/Spyker between 2005 and 2007, cited "private issues" for his sudden resignation in a post-race statement issued by Caterham after their cars finished 17th and 20th at Monza.
"Over the past months I have dedicated all my energy to ensure the takeover of the team would go as smoothly as possible and to achieve the best possible result for our investors, sponsors and all the people involved with Caterham F1 Team," the Dutchman said.
"As such I worked tirelessly to reconstruct the team while, at the same time, making technical updates on the car. In doing this we created both a better foundation for the team's future and achieved significant improvements on the speed of the car.
"Due to private reasons and in order to be able to spend more time with my family, I will resign from my position as CEO of Caterham F1 Team. I wish the team all the best in the future."
Ravetto, who like Albers has also worked for Caterham advisor Colin Kolles in the past, paid tribute to the work his former colleague had completed in his short spell at the team.
"Christijan has been an asset to the team since the moment he joined. It's been a challenging last few months, but we have moved forward together and we want to thank him for his hard work and commitment to the team. We wish him the best for the future."
Caterham currently sit bottom of the Constructors' Championship having still yet to score a point since first joining the grid under the Lotus name in 2010.
However, on track at Monza they showed signs of progress by outqualifing perennial rivals Marussia for the first time since April and then finishing ahead on race day.
