ANDRE LOTTERER’S Formula One career lasted just one lap when his dream debut swiftly ended in a nightmare.
The German was called up out of the blue in 2014 when Caterham decided to replace Kamui Kobayashi at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Lotterer thought his F1 career was never going to take off after becoming a test and reserve driver for Jaguar.
But after winning three of the previous four Le Mans 24-hour titles, he was thrust onto the starting gird.
Lotterer became the oldest F1 debutant in over 20 years, aged 32-years-old.
However, his cameo did not go to plan despite finishing above team-mate Marcus Ericsson in qualifying.
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Lotterer was forced to retire from the race, having completed only one lap due to a technical fault.
He told the Daily Star: “I was happy. I did a good qualifying, was in front of my team-mate without testing anything, so it was good.
“A fuse popped over the curb, so I only managed to last 1.9 laps. It was (frustrating), but it is like that sometimes.
“I knew it was just going to be a one-off. They actually asked me to race in Monza the race after, then Abu Dhabi for the final, but I didn’t do it.
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“With my age and because I was racing with Audi at the time, being on the top of my game in endurance, it might sound weird, but I was not interested.
“I knew there was no shot for me to go into a good team and I had no interest in being in a back-marker team just to be in F1.
“It was nice to be an F1 driver for a weekend, but I was already established in endurance and knew I would not be able to be an F1 driver.”
Lotterer has now moved to Formula E and he drives for Andretti.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
