Caterham finally had something to smile about in 2013 after their upgraded CT03 finished ahead of Marussia in Bahrain.

Eastern Daily Press: Giedo van der Garde heads for the grid in Bahrain.Giedo van der Garde heads for the grid in Bahrain. (Image: Archant)

Charles Pic came home 17th and Giedo van der Garde 21st as the Hingham-backed outfit started to show signs of life, having had to play second fiddle to their fellow 2010-arriving rivals in the opening three rounds.

'That's our best race of the year so far and one the whole team should be pleased with,' said Pic. 'I quickly passed both the Marussia cars after starting on the medium tyres, which held up pretty well.

'The car felt good, well balanced, and I was pulling away from the cars behind without any issues.

'I was keeping pace with Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) just ahead, and keeping Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) behind me and we decided to stay out after the third stop and that brought it home in 17th.

'I'm really pleased with how close we finished to the Toro Rosso ahead, and the fact we kept a Sauber behind – maybe if I'd been slightly further up the road after the start we could have beaten Ricciardo, but we can take this performance as a good step and look forward to what's coming next in Spain.'

Van der Garde added: 'It's been a good weekend for the team. The developments we put on my team-mate's car have worked well and there's another step to come in Spain, when I'll have the same package as Charles.

'From that point I think my season will look different. We'll be on tracks I know really well from GP2, World Series and from F1, and with the updates we have coming we have reasons to be positive.

'The first four races have been exactly what I thought they would – pretty tough – but I'm learning all the time and the whole team's right behind me. I'm feeling really good physically and mentally and I can't wait to get started again in Barcelona.'