Rossi looking to impress

Giedo van der Garde will sit out four practice sessions during 2013, with Caterham reserve drivers Alexander Rossi and Ma Qing Hua making the step up.

21-year-old American Rossi will be the first to get a chance to impress as he takes over Free Practice One in Bahrain later this month.

‘I’m very much looking forward to that because it’s a chance to drive the car and I know the track pretty well. I did GP2 Asia there so, while it’s only 90 minutes, it gives me a chance to make an impression,’ he was quoted by Sky Sports.

Rossi has previous experience behind the wheel of a Formula One car having previously been involved in first practice at Barcelona last year replacing Heikki Kovalainen.

He continued: ‘The main focus is to carry out the programme for the team, but let’s be real here; motor sport is all about lap times isn’t it? So I’m going to need to find the balance between carrying out the job for the team and performance.

‘At the end of the day everybody is going to look down at the results and see how you do, so while you have to ensure you can get through the run plan and you have to save the tyres, you can’t be out for a Sunday drive because that will hurt you in another way.’

It is yet to be confirmed when Ma Qing Hua will get a drive, the 25-year-old Chinese driver has previously raced in A1, Superleague, GP2 Series as well as competing in Spain and China.