The AirAsia Caterham Driver Development Program was initiated in
early 2010 in conjunction with AirAsia. From the early days of just
two drivers in 2010, the program has matured and with five drivers,
giving an array of talent from around the world the chance to climb
through the ranks, right up to the ultimate motor racing challenge
- the Formula One World Championship.
The Driver Development Program's primary objective is to use the
expertise with Caterham F1 Team to help grow the best young driving
talent from around the world. Around the drivers selected is an
organisation that nurtures and supports them through career
guidance, coaching and sponsorship procurement.
Formula One drivers are athletes and the Caterham Development
Drivers mirror their F1 counterparts with the same physical and
mental training to ensure their race preparation is perfect. The
rigours of driving a Formula One Car are immense and the earlier a
driver can learn the work ethic needed to succeed, the more likely
he will be successful in Formula One.
All five drivers are part of the Caterham F1 Team family and
they are taught not only how to race, but also given in-depth
insight into the inner workings of the F1 team - from vehicle
dynamics to simulators, giving them a thorough understanding of the
relationship between them and the cars they compete in.
AirAsia has been an important part of the selection process of
these drivers. The team at AirAsia have the same belief in
nurturing youth, so that our young drivers are not just the
quickest racers on track but also the most well balanced, helping
them prepare fully for the journey ahead of them as they strive to
become Formula One World Champions of the future.
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Alexander Rossi
Age: 20 years old
Country: USA
Alexander won the Formula BMW World Championship in 2008, which
resulted in him testing for BMW F1. He was a race winner in GP3 in
2010 and finished as the top rookie in the World Series by Renault
last year in third place overall.
He tested for Caterham F1 Team in the rookie tests at the end of
2011 and will be the team's official Test Driver in 2012, as well
as racing in World Series by Renault with Arden Caterham
Motorsport.
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Matt Parry
Age: 18 years old
Country: England
Matt won the Super 1 kart series championship in 2010 and has
been hailed by many in the UK press as one to watch. He made the
step up to cars with the works Van Dieman team in Formula Ford in
2011, and in 2012 will be racing in the Intersteps championship in
the UK.
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Weiron Tan
Age: 17 years old
Country: Malaysia
Weiron started karting aged 13, but proved to be a very fast
learner when he won the Yamaha SL International Cup in 2010. Having
shown he could win in Asia, he was very busy in 2011 as he raced
back and forward in karting between Asia and Europe. This year he
makes his first step up to cars in the JK Tyre Series.
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Max Klinkby-Silver
Age: 17 years old
Country: Denmark
Born in the UK to an English father and Danish mother, Max has
grown into one of the most exciting karting talents around. He
races in KF1, the highest level of International karting, for the
works Birel team in 2012.
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Daim Hishammudin
Age: 14 years old
Country: Singapore
Daim has won a karting championship in every season for the last
four years. He is racing in Europe and Asia this year in Junior
karting. Daim is the most successful driver to come out of
Singapore so far.
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