Vitaly Petrov not setting targets for himself ahead of F1 season with Caterham

Speaking after his first day of running with the Hingham-based outfit at Barcelona in Spain on Wednesday, Petrov sees plenty of room for improvement in how he and the team work together.

"At the moment I don't want to talk about high levels, or what team we will pass - what is more important in this moment is to understand what we want," he said.

"I want to improve with this team, go step-by-step in front - not to win but to close the gap in front of the team. And what we need is to work for 24 hours [each day].

"I know this year they will have bigger factory, have more people, have some technology - and [manufacture] carbon fibre themselves - so the team is moving in the right direction little-by-little.

"So we don't need to hurry up to take the first points until the end of the year. We need to continue to work the same, like we started here and they started before - but perhaps a little push more now."

Petrov's biggest problem on his first day in the Caterham was getting his tall frame comfortable in the cockpit - with the Russian only having done his seat-fitting last Friday.

"It was a normal first day when you want to understand the car, what brakes you use, and how they work," he said. "It was a positive day - and what is important is that they understand what I like and I what I want to have on my car in the future, so they can keep that in mind.

"Tomorrow is another day and we will start to work with the set-up. The steering position was right, but there was only a short time to make the seat, and they did maximum they could do [in that time].

"I am comfortable mostly, but my left hand side and legs are not comfortable - so today I continue to work with the seat and tomorrow I hope it will be easier to drive."