Caterham and Marussia need to up their game with Haas Racing and another new team joining the F1 party in 2015

By Steven Oldham

The announcement that Nascar team boss Gene Haas' entry to Formula 1 has been accepted by the FIA should act as an incentive for Caterham and Marussia to up their performance.

Haas - whose estimated $740 million personal worth dwarfs budgets up and down the grid - is set to lead an American team to the grid for the first time since the ill fated US F1 outfit went bust before the season opener in 2010.

Both Marussia and Caterham debuted in that year under different names (alongside the now defunct HRT) but have still yet to score a point. 

The battle between the two teams to finish tenth in the constructors table - and the extra funds unlocked for doing so - has been an interesting side note in recent seasons - but finishing tenth this year could be more important than ever.

With the Haas entry and the as yet unconfirmed 13th team, the chances of either outfit coming in the top ten next year are reduced - either by outright performance, reliability or sheer pot luck.

Caterham's 2014 car (thanks to Autosport for the photo)

Caterham boss Tony Fernandes has been outspoken about the sport's failure to implement a budget cap since the last intake of teams and is unlikely to relish the thought of a cash-rich new entry leapfrogging his team in their first season.  The lack of a cap has undoubtedly hindered both backmarker teams as the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari continue to pour vast amounts into their budgets.

Talented American racer Alexander Rossi - and Caterham reserve driver - may also have his head swayed if Haas takes the patriotic route new teams often do with a home driver in a race seat.

Marussia and Caterham are not the only pointless teams after the opening races but, as bad as Lotus and Sauber have started the year, they are surely more likely to collect points, so it's imperative they hit the ground running from the European season onwards when the first new upgrades to their cars are likely to arrive.

Max Chilton's ability to get his car to the end of a race - he has still yet to retire over a year into his F1 career - could prove critical and his pair of 13th places in Australia and Bahrain have given Marussia an early lead, with Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi finishing in the same place in Malaysia.

More teams in F1 can only be a good thing - more cars means more overtaking and more interesting racing - but the existing strugglers need to be able to hold their own or face a further slide down the rankings and maybe into total non-existence.

Marussia MR03 in testing (thanks to Getty Images for photo)

Formula E needs to embrace young talent to avoid being labelled F1 dumping ground

By Steven Oldham

Formula E, the forthcoming electronic racing car series, have so far announced 16 members of a Driver's Club who will be given the opportunity to test the new series' car.

The first season of the 10-race competition begins in Beijing in September and 10 teams have signed up for the series.

Over half of the Driver's Club members are ex-Formula 1 drivers including Bruno Senna, Sebastian Buemi and Takuma Sato.

No decisions have yet been made on who, if any, of these drivers will take to the grid in September but I hope the entry list gets some young, unknown talents added too.

With respect to the other ex-F1 drivers, (Christijan Albers, Sebastian Bourdais, Lucas di Grassi, Narain Karthikeyan, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Karun Chandhok and Franck Montagny), it's fair to say these drivers will only be remembered by the sport's more diehard fans. 

Between them, in 334 race starts, only one podium finish was achieved (by Sato).  This is not necessarily an indication of their true skill - at best, these drivers drove in midfield teams.  But as front men for probably the most important new race series in a generation? These names alone will struggle to capture racing fans or the general public's imagination.

I'm not advocating Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel to join, but more that teams look for stars of the future when picking their drives.  The other names on the Driver's Club list include young talent from series including GP2, GP3 and IndyCar. 

These drivers may be better investments in the long run for the series if it wants to be considered a serious competition, rather than a retirement home for Formula 1 drivers who never quite reached the top.  I might be wrong - maybe Liuzzi and co will use any success here to springboard back to the top table of motorsport.

This new series has the potential to be huge if done right.  It ticks the environmentally friendly box as well as providing affordable entries to independent constructors with a spending cap in place before the season begins.  Only time will tell who will take to the grid and how successful they can make this exciting new prospect of a championship.

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