F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has granted Caterham Formula 1 team the permission to miss the next two races of the season as administrators look for buyers for the Leafield based team. After staying at the back of the field for four seasons, Tony Fernandes sold Caterham to a consortium of Middle East and Swiss investors who now claim that they are yet to receive shares of the company despite making all payments to the Air Asia boss. Fernandes, however, insists that the buyers haven't fulfilled all the considerations of the purchase including paying to the creditors.
Amidst this row, Caterham F1 team was taken over by administrators, who in turn, closed the factory for the employees. They are now in search for buyers for the squad.
"Purchasing the assets would give the buyer ready access to F1 racing,'' said Henry Shinners, one of the administrators. “This includes the Formula One licence, the racing cars, the designs and intellectual property for current and future seasons plus the workforce and all of the technical support provided to the racing team by CSL from the Leafield Technical Centre."
"It gives us a much better chance of being able to reach a better conclusion for the racing team and its creditors,'' Finbarr O’Connell, the other administrator from the same organisation added. 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.”