Andre Lotterer debut at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix in Caterham Team

Three time Le Mans 24 Hour winner Andre Lotterer will now race in Formula One’s Belgian Grand Prix by replacing Kamui Kobayashi. It will be Lotter’s first experience at the Formula 1 as he has never raced here but he does know his way around the F1 cars as he was the Jaguar’s test driver in 2002. While the statement from Caterham team did not mention how many races Lotterer would take part in but they did say Kobayashi "still remains part of the team". Lotterer will partner up with Marcus Ericsson in the future races.

The team statement further mentioned that, "Lotterer will replace Kamui Kobayashi for this round of the championship. "The team will benefit from having another experienced driver at the wheel of the car throughout the weekend and the German's feedback will contribute to improve the performance of the car."

Born in Duisburg, Germany, Lotterer moved to Belgium when he was only two year old and grew up near the city of Nivelles. He first competed in the British and German F3 series before joining hands with Jaguar as the F1 test driver in 2002. In 2003, Lotterer moved to Japan and took part in the Formula Nippon and the Japanese Super GT Championship.

Excited over this development Lotterer said: "I am delighted to be given the opportunity to take part in a Formula 1 race weekend - I want to thank Caterham for this chance.I'm ready for this challenge and I cannot wait to jump in the car and make the most out of the weekend ahead."

Lotterer’s life turned when he made debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours race in 2009 and just in his third year he bagged the apex position (2011) and repeated his win in 2012 and 2014. He has also competed in the World Endurance Championship since 2012.

He further added, “I will need to get settled and used to the car quickly, as the team has worked on a number of updates and we will need to have as much time as possible out on track to optimise the car's performance.

"I really enjoy racing at the legendary circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, it's one of my favourite tracks and it's very close to where I grew up, so this makes the weekend even more special and one to remember."