Caterham came within a whisker of retaking 10th place in the constructors' championship in this year's Korean Grand Prix – but the Norfolk marque will hope the chance to overtake Marussia will come along in the final five races of the year.
The Hingham-backed outfit need a 13th-placed finish and then to match Marussia for the rest of the season to return to the top 10, and pocket the extra millions of pounds in revenue that delivers.
And with a healthy number of retirements around the Yeongam circuit on Sunday, Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde came very close – finishing 14th and 15th respectively ahead of their Marussia rivals.
'That was a good race for me,' said Pic. 'We were looking at a long final stint to the flag. However, then the second safety car was brought out almost immediately and that obviously helped with the tyre management for the final stint.
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'I did have some issues with the front right for the last few laps but nothing too bad so I got the car to the flag in 14th which is a decent result for us – not quite where we want to be but almost.'
Van der Garde, who had to serve a penalty during the race, added: 'My start was great, really strong and when everyone was moving to avoid (Felipe) Massa in turn three I had to push out wide to avoid contact with a few cars around me.
'I really don't think I'd pushed any other cars out on purpose on lap one but I was told to box for a drive-through penalty because of what the stewards saw and from there my race was pretty much over.
'Without the drive-through I'm sure I could have finished higher. Maybe not up in 13th, but close and while that's obviously frustrating, it shows how close it's getting and that's good for my motivation and the whole team.'
It is a quick turnaround for Formula One as the grid returns to action in Japan, at Suzuka this weekend – before races in India, Abu Dhabi, USA and Brazil complete the season.
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