Tag: caterham f1

The Caterham F1 team will be racing in Abu Dhabi

The Caterham F1 Team has confirmed its participation in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Caterham has missed the previous two races in Austin and at Interlagos, but have confirmed that it will be making its F1 return at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Last week, the administrators of the Caterham F1 team Smith & Williamson announced the launch of a crowd funding website in a desperate bid to raise £2.35m in time to race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The team’s target has not yet been reached, Caterham does expect to hit the mark in time.

The deadline on its crowd-funding website has been extended to the end of next Sunday’s season ending race.

It is yet to be confirmed who will be driving for the team. Just yesterday Marcus Ericsson cut all ties with the Caterham F1 team, ending his contract with immediate effect.

Caterham F1 adminstrator Finbarr O’Connell said, “We set ourselves a major challenge, but it’s definitely been worth it.

“In only a week the fans have made the impossible, possible. We knew that the best way to keep this team alive and attract possible buyers was to show that it’s still a racing team and be in Abu Dhabi for the finale, and there aren’t enough words to say how grateful we are to all the fans that have made this possible.

“We now head to Abu Dhabi ready to show what a hard-working and positive group of people this is and to hopefully secure a future for the team. ”

O’Connell also says that things are looking up for the Caterham F1 team’s future in 2015 and sounds optimistic about the progress that’s been made this past week.

“During the past few days the interest of many potential buyers has increased massively and by racing in Abu Dhabi the team will be showcasing itself as a live and functioning team that deserves to continue into 2015 and beyond,” he said.

“It has hard-working people, team spirit and experience and now it only needs a secure financial future which I’m very hopeful we can achieve. Once again, I’d like to reiterate that we are racing in Abu Dhabi thanks to all the fans out there – an achievement that will go down in F1 history and one that we can all be very proud of.

“We still need to raise a bit more cash so please do keep an eye on the Crowdcube website. Let’s go racing!”

Photo Credit: Caterham F1 Team

November 14, 2014
Caterham Given Special Dispensation to Miss US and Brazilian Grands Prix

The Caterham Formula 1 Team is almost certain to miss next weeks United States Grand Prix and the Brazilian Grand Prix the week after that.

This comes after Mr Colin Kolles, the previous Team Principal agreed to hand over management control of 1MRT, the Malaysian company that holds the licence to participate in the Formula 1 World Championship, to the administrators Finbarr O’Connell and Henry Shinners of Smith & Williamson.

There is no official confirmation from the team that it will miss the US Grand Prix and the Brazilian Grand Prix but the administrators, Smith & Williamson, released a statement on Friday afternoon revealing that they have obtained special dispensation from Formula 1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone if the need arises.

“Mr Ecclestone also agreed to give dispensation to Caterham F1 such that it could if necessary miss the U.S. and Brazilian Grands Prix but hoped that a new owner would be in a position to race the team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix,” read the statement.

According to the statement there are a number of interested parties expressing their wish to buy the team and they are hoping that a transaction with an operator of substantial financial means can be concluded in the next few weeks.

“It is hoped that any purchaser of the F1 team will take over the employees and that they will be able to recommence their work including that at the Leafield site,” read the statement

Finbarr O’Connell had the following to add: “We believe this arrangement gives us a much better chance of being able to reach a better conclusion for the racing team and its creditors.

“While this is a great step forward in making the whole team and assets more attractive, there is no need for the staff of 1MRT to return to the Oxford site in Leafield until a sale of the Formula 1 team occurs.

“This is a difficult situation which is not of our making. We regret any personal impact on 1MRT’s employees. As administrators for CSL, we are seeking to maximise the outcome for its creditors and other stakeholders.”

October 24, 2014
War of Words at Caterham as Engavest Responds to Fernandes’ Allegations

The chances of the Caterham Formula One team making it to the grid for the United States Grand Prix are looking ever more slim as the crisis continues to spiral out of control.

A legal dispute between the new team owners and Tony Fernandes has turned into a war of words, with both sides pointing fingers at each other.

Fernandes sold the Caterham F1 team to the Engavest Consortium ahead of the 2014 British Grand Prix. Despite the sale, the team’s financial woes continued and resulted in Caterham Sports Limited (CSL) – who are responsible for making and servicing the F1 cars – going into administration.

The administrators locked the Caterham factory doors and staff continue to be refused access to the premises until an “acceptable proposal” is put forward. Nobody seems to want to take responsibility with the team’s current owners threatening to quit F1. Both Engavest and Fernandes continue to point fingers and blame each other the crisis.

Fernandes last night released a statement insisting that Engavest are to solely to blame as they have not paid their creditors. “We agreed in good faith to sell the shares to a Swiss company named ‘Engavest’ on the basis that Engavest undertook to pay all of the existing and future creditors, including the staff,” Fernandes said.

“The continued payment of staff and creditors was so important to me that I ensured that the shares would not be transferred to the new buyers unless they complied with this condition.

“Sadly, Engavest has failed to comply with any of the conditions in the agreement and Caterham Sports Ltd (the UK operating company of the F1 team) has had to be put into administration by the bank, with large sums owing to numerous creditors.”

Click here to read Fernandes’ full statement.

Engavest has issued a statement in response to Fernandes’ allegations, citing “total contempt” of Fernandes and the Caterham Group executives.

“Engavest SA, strongly refutes the allegations of Tony Fernandes and Caterham Group CEO Graham Macdonald regarding its conduct while trying to purchase Caterham F1. Our statement of earlier today still stands,” said their statement.

“Every single condition precedent of the Sales and Purchase Agreement for which Engavest was responsible has been met. Only the seller, which includes Mr Fernandes, failed to meet his obligations.

“All salaries have been paid.

“Engavest sold CSL. It did not appoint Mr Cojocar who, we believe, was a former top footballer for Steaua Bucarest during the 1980s.

“The claims of Mr Fernandes and Mr Macdonald contradict their own press statement dated 03 October 2014:

“”Caterham Group wishes to clarify that, following the sale of the F1 business in July, it has no affiliation with Caterham F1 Team”.

“That one sentence alone contains two errors:

“1, the date was June 29

“2, having failed to transfer the shares Caterham Group and Mr Fernandes wholly owned Caterham F1 at the time of the statement, as they do today.

“Incidents such as a Caterham Group representative forcibly breaking into a filing cabinet containing our private and confidential documents and the continued refusal to deal with the outstanding loan of Exim Bank and complete the agreement has culminated in Engavest’s total contempt of Mr Fernandes and his Group executives with whom we entered a deal in good faith.”

Photos: Caterham F1 Team

October 24, 2014
Tony Fernandes Responds to Criticism

Tony Fernandez hit back at criticism toward him and claims that the Caterham Teams’ troubles are because of the current owners.

After a strongly worded statement was released by the current owners of the Caterham F1 Team pointing out Tony Fernandez was to blame for their issues. The Malaysian businessmen has broken his silence on the matter and maintains that he’s not to blame.

In his statement he claims that in order for him to transfer his shares. Certain conditions had to be fulfilled. These conditions have not been met by Engavest, which resulted him in retaining ownership of the team. The condition according to the statement was that “all existing and future creditors” had to be payed before Fernandes could transfer his shares. This comes after Engavest had claimed that they have paid all the creditors.

Below is the statement from Tony Fernandes:

“In June 2014, I decided, together with my co-shareholders, to sell my stake in the Caterham F1 team,” read the statement

“We agreed in good faith to sell the shares to a Swiss company named ‘Engavest’ on the basis that Engavest undertook to pay all of the existing and future creditors, including the staff.

“The continued payment of staff and creditors was so important to me that I ensured that the shares would not be transferred to the new buyers unless they complied with this condition.

“Sadly, Engavest has failed to comply with any of the conditions in the agreement and Caterham Sports Ltd (the UK operating company of the F1 team) has had to be put into administration by the bank, with large sums owing to numerous creditors.

“Our agreement with Engavest was very clear: there was no legal obligation to transfer the shares to them unless certain conditions – which included paying creditors – were met.

“Those conditions have not been met. Our lawyers have asked Engavest several times to comply with these conditions but they have failed to engage.

“If you agree to buy a business, you must pay its bills. They have breached that promise and now, sadly, it is others such as the employees and the fans of the Caterham F1 team that will suffer if the team ceases to race. I sincerely hope that this will not be the case and that a solution can be found.”

Fernandes took to Twitter last night tweeting a rather blunt response to what he thinks of the situation:

October 23, 2014
André Lotterer to replace Kamui Kobayashi at the Belgian Grand Prix

The Caterham F1 team announced on Thursday afternoon (20 August 2014) that three time Le Mans winner, André Lotterer, will drive for the team at this weekends Belgian Grand Prix.

Lotterer will take Kamui Kobayashi’s seat for the weekend. However, the Japanese driver will still remain part of the team and is expected to be back for the Italian Grand Prix.

Lotterer isn’t new to single seater racing. He was the test driver for Jaguar F1 team in 2002 and he’s raced in F3.

“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to take part in a Formula One race weekend,” said Lotterer

“I want to thank Caterham F1 Team for this chance. I’m ready for this challenge and I cannot wait to jump in the car and make the most out of the weekend ahead,” he added.

“I will need to get settled and used to the car quickly, as the team has worked on a number of updates and we will need to have as much time as possible out on track to optimise the car’s performance.”

“I really enjoy racing at the legendary circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, it’s one of my favourite tracks and it’s very close to where I grew up, so this makes the weekend even more special and one to remember.”

Photo Credit: Caterham F1 Team

August 20, 2014
Fernandez:”Caterham Is Not for Sale”

These were the words from Caterham F1 Team Boss Tony Fernandez after speculation that the Leafield based team was for sale after a string of poor results from the opening races of the 2014 Formula 1 season.

A statement released by Caterham Group on Tuesday stated that the Caterham Group was not for sale, however, the Group is actively looking for additional investment. The statement goes on to say that the shareholders of the Group, co-Chairmen Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, remain wholly committed to the Caterham brand.

Fernandes later added: “The Caterham Group is not for sale. We love what we build and we are always looking for further investment. This is no different to how we started AirAsia. Yes, we are constantly challenging ourselves and making decisions on everything from the structure to projects within the Group. That is normal business. That does not mean we are selling.”

May 28, 2014