Marussia follows Caterham into administration

Marussia F1 team has been handed over to administrators and will not take part in forthcoming US Grand Prix, it has been confirmed.

FRP Advisory LTD will provide administrative services to the Banbury outfit after its current owner, Russian billionaire Andrey Cheglakov failed to provide the required investment needed to run the team in the future."Whilst the team has made significant progress during its relatively short period of operation, the highlight of which included securing two constructors' championship points in the current F1 season, the position remains that operating a F1 team requires significant ongoing investment,’’ the statement read."With the existing shareholder unable to provide the required level of funding, the senior management team has worked tirelessly to bring new investment to the team to secure its long term future, but regrettably has been unable to do so within the time available. Therefore, they have been left with no alternative but to place the Company into administration."With the Marussia F1 Team now in administration, the joint administrators have assessed that, given the current financial circumstances of the Group, it is not viable for the Marussia F1 Team to participate in the next race, the 2014 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, due to take place this weekend in Austin, Texas."The company will continue to operate while the joint administrators assess the longer term viability of the company in its present form.Marussia’s participation in the final two rounds of the championship is also in doubt, with administrators insisting it will depend on finding a buyer ‘in the limited time available.’"Following Austin, there are two further rounds of the 2014 championship remaining, in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi, and the team's participation in those races will depend on the outcome of the administration process and any related negotiations with interested parties in what is a very limited window of opportunity.’’Administrators have further revealed that no redundancies have been made and that all salaries have been paid till the end of October."No redundancies have been made following the Company's entering into administration and all staff have been paid in full to the end of October. The ongoing staff position will however be dependent on whether the Company can secure new investment in the limited time available. We remain highly focused on engaging with interested parties.With Caterham also going into administration and consequently missing the next two races, only 18 cars will form the grid at this week’s US Grand Prix.F1's US $ 750 million prize money is distributed inequitably between the 11 teams with the top teams taking the lion's share of the money pot, leaving little for the remainder of the oufits.Earlier this year, the same top teams disagreed to implement a cost cap that could have prevented a situation like this.