Former CEO Asmat leaves Caterham

Riad Asmat - former Chief Executive Officer of the Caterham Group - has left the company after five years with the team.

Asmat was appointed CEO of Caterham's F1 team (then Lotus Racing) ahead of its debut in the sport in 2010. He then rose through the ranks to be Group CEO, responsible for the F1 team, GP2 and Caterham Cars among other areas, before handing over the reins to Graham Macdonald late in 2013. Announcing his departure on Twitter, Asmat described it as "a great honor" to have worked for Caterham.

"It is that time my family and friends, when one needs to close a chapter and being a new one," Asmat wrote. "It's been 5 wonderful years with all the ups and downs as well as the emotions that came with it. I have seen so many of you grow, move, progress and somehow I am happy that I could have contributed in one for or another.

"But more importantly though it that you all have made me a better person, a friend, a family member and a leader. It has been a great honor to have been part of this family. To quote one of my dear friends, there are no goodbyes, as family members never do that, it is more like until we see each other again."