Caterham pick Rossi, Ma Qing Hua for reserve duty

Barcelona: Alexander Rossi and Ma Qing Hua have been confirmed as Caterham F1 team`s reserves, joining Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde in the drivers line-up.

As reserve driver, Alexander comes with a large amount of experience and success in junior formula. He will continue the development he has made with Caterham since first driving for the team at the 2011 Abu Dhabi Young Driver test and building on the test driver role he fulfilled in 2012, making his F1 debut in Barcelona in the Spanish Grand Prix FP1 session. As part of his 2013 role, Alexander will be taking part in a number of FP1 sessions throughout the season, building on the experience he has gained with the team since 2011. Ma Qing Hua is a new addition to the team and will drive in the Chinese Grand Prix FP1 session as part of his reserve driver program. In addition, Ma will be racing throughout the forthcoming season with Caterham Racing in the GP2 series, giving him the opportunity to compete against some of the best young talent in motorsport whilst being fully integrated into the F1 environment. Ma already has FP1 experience on his CV, having driven in four Friday practice sessions in 2012 for now defunct HRT. He first competed in motorsport in 2005 in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge, and in Italian F3000, and since then he has competed in various series including A1 Grand Prix and the British Formula 3 Championship. Cyril Abiteboul, Caterham team principal said: "I`m very pleased to welcome Ma into our team. Alexander continues his development with us into 2013 and his promotion is a reflection of the investment we are making in him for the future." IANS