ANDRE LOTTERER’S Formula One career ended after just one lap when his dream debut ended swiftly 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.
GettyAndre Lotterer’s F1 cameo lasted just a lap[/caption]
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 thrusted into 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.
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.