Lewis Hamilton on Monday branded those who overlooked Heikki Kovalainen for a 2013 race seat "fools".
Caterham has swept out last year’s driver lineup - Finn Kovalainen and Russian Vitaly Petrov - in favour of the well-sponsored Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde.
When asked about the demise of his former McLaren teammate, Hamilton said on Monday: "When my flight landed and I was driving to Jerez, I thought about what a great pity it is that Heikki is not here.
"When I think about the drivers that are here, they (team management) must be fools if they prefer them over Heikki," he is quoted by the Finnish website mtv3.fi.
"I think Heikki is a high quality driver, very experienced and deserves a place," the 2008 world champion added.