Caterham has announced that Kamui Kobayashi will be replaced by Andre Lotterer in Belgium this weekend.

According to the team, it 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. The weather also plays a big role at Spa-Francorchamps and Lotterer is one of the most experienced drivers racing under mixed conditions."

While Lotterer, three-time Le Mans winner and WEC regular with Audi Sport Team Joest, will replace Kobayashi for this round of the championship, Caterham says the Japanese driver "still remains part of the team".

Born in Duisburg in Germany, Lotterer moved to Belgium when he was only two years of age and grew up close to Nivelles, only 150km from Spa-Francorchamps. Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner, Lotterer started racing in the early 90s, succeeding in both German and British Formula 3 championships before being named Jaguar Racing's Formula One test driver in 2002.

A year later he moved to Japan, doing well in both Formula Nippon and the Japanese Super GT Championship, which he won in 2006 and 2009. He made his debut in endurance racing in 2009, taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.

His performance that year earned him a drive with the works Audi Sport team in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, remaining with the team and winning the prestigious race three times (2011, 2012 and 2014). In 2011 he won the Formula Nippon championship. Since 2012, the German competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

"I am delighted to be given the opportunity to take part in a Formula One race weekend," said Lotterer, "I want to thank Caterham F1 Team 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. 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."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Dreadnaught, 21/08/2014 19:10

"Another load of claptrap. How do these people ever imagine they're going to appeal to sponsors. They deserve to fail."

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2. Posted by TokyoAussie, 21/08/2014 3:30

""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."

What a crock of ...
I'm sure Caterham have their reasons, but that PR statement is clearly not one of them. Replacing the experienced driver with someone who has never driven the car will NOT and CANNOT improve the performance of the car over one weekend. The PR team would surely be more respected if they just told the truth, instead of presenting some BS statement."

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3. Posted by Paul C, 20/08/2014 16:52

"Kamui should be racing at Spa. Marcus should be watching."

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4. Posted by Darvi, 20/08/2014 14:15

"I'm a huge fan of Kamui who is one of the drivers who seems to give his all in a race car. What a great shame to see him replaced (even if it is only for one race) for an "experienced driver" who hasn't raced single seaters for over two years and has never raced in F1. I can only assume that Caterham is being paid for his drive.

The real question is, how has he achieved the neccessary Superlicence?"

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Kobayashi dropped by Caterham for Belgium

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