Caterham Sports Limited placed into administration; F1 team operated by 1 Malaysia Racing Team; Leafield squad also dismiss reports Kobayashi was fearful of his car safety in Russian GP
Wednesday 22 October 2014 13:00, UK
Caterham have dismissed reports that Caterham Sports Limited (CSL) entering administration will impact the future of the Formula 1 team.
Whilst both are based in Leafield, the F1 team is operated by 1 Malaysia Racing Team (1MRT) which is a separate entity from CSL.
Press reports on Monday suggested CSL entering administration cast “doubts over the team’s future” but a spokesperson for the F1 squad told Sky Sports that “the administration does not threaten the racing team”.
London-based accountancy firm Smith & Williamson are serving as CSL’s administrator and the firm say they are in communication with the F1 team.
“Positive discussions were held between the administrators and the team manager, Manfredi Ravetto, and also with the financial backers of the team on Friday, 17 October,” the spokesperson said.
“It is hoped these will lead to a financially acceptable arrangement for the continuation of the relationship between the company (CSL) and the F1 team.
“If a financially acceptable arrangement cannot be agreed between the administrators and the Caterham F1 Team, the administrators will then enter into dialogue with other interested parties with regard to a sale of the business and assets of the company.''
It is understood the assets seized by the bailiffs who visited the team's Leafield base belonged to 1MRT, or a parallel company known as Caterham CF1 Grand Prix Ltd, and not CSL, so preventing the auction, in turn leading to administration.
“Caterham Sport Ltd have today entered into Administration (No. 7424 of 2014),” bailiffs The Sheriffs Office confirmed on Monday. “Under such circumstances this office will not be auctioning the goods seized and removed.”
Caterham have also rejected suggestions that Kamui Kobayashi felt his car’s suspension was unsafe at the Russian GP.
During the race weekend the Japanese driver posted on his personal Facebook page a picture of his car with a status which reportedly translated as “last night a suspension defect was found. There is no spare so it was repaired by wrapping it in carbon fibre. It is checked all the time but, even so, being asked to race like this is too scary! I want to go home already.”
The post was removed a couple of hours later and Kobayashi continued to drive the car for the remainder of the grand prix weekend, retiring from the race on lap 21.
“After Friday practice at the Russian Grand Prix, the team performed the standard checks on the cars and we noticed a small inconsistency on the left rear suspension of Kamui Kobayashi’s car,” the team explained to Sky Sports Online.
“It was extensively evaluated at Sochi and Leafield and ultimately a carbon fibre wrap was applied to provide additional reinforcement – a normal procedure. The component was signed off as safe and re-checked between each subsequent session, to be absolutely sure there was no issue. Kamui withdrew the post you mention and drove the car in this form throughout the rest of the weekend with no hint of any other problem with the suspension. Kamui was kept informed at all times and at no time did he have any reason to believe it was not safe.
“The fact of Kamui having to retire from the race has nothing to do with the above. We saw an issue on the brakes – a problem that Kamui had already reported on Saturday during FP3 - so we decided to change them, but the problem persisted so we decided to stop.”
