Official: Marussia F1, in administration, will miss the United States GP
Marussia has been placed under administration and the administrators in charge of the team have stated that the team will not participate in the United States Grand Prix.
After Caterham, it is Marussia that has just been placed in administration. The information was confirmed via a press release by FRP Advisory LLP, the administrators handling the case.
Andrey Cheglakov, the owner of Marussia F1, is no longer able to fund the structure—which employs 200 people—and the team has been unable to secure financing from other sources.
At the same time, it was announced that the team would indeed miss the United States Grand Prix, even though the administrators refuse to confirm its absence for the races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. The GPs in Austin and Interlagos are one week apart, which nevertheless leaves a very limited margin for maneuver, as indicated by Geoff Rowley, one of the administrators.
« While the team has made significant progress during its relatively short period of operation, notably scoring two points in the constructors’ championship this season, the fact remains that running a F1 team requires significant additional investments, » explains the statement.
« The shareholders being unable to allocate the required level of funds, the team management worked tirelessly to bring in new investments to ensure the team’s long-term future but, regrettably, were unable to do so within the allotted time. Consequently, they had no alternative but to place the company under judicial reorganization. »
« With the Marussia F1 team now in administration, the administrators have deemed that given the current financial circumstances of the group, it is not viable […] to participate in the upcoming race […] set to take place this weekend in Austin. The company will continue to operate while the judicial administrators assess the long-term viability of the structure in its current form. »
« After Austin, there are two other rounds of the 2014 Championship, in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi, and the team’s participation in these races will depend on the outcome of the judicial recovery process and any related negotiations with interested parties in what is a very limited time frame. »
« No layoffs were made after the company was placed in receivership, and the entire staff was fully paid until the end of October. However, the future situation of the personnel will depend on new investments that the company can secure in a limited time. We remain highly focused on discussions with interested parties. »
According to the Daily Telegraph, Baljinder Sohi and Sonny Kaushal, two British-Indian entrepreneurs who made their fortune in the steel industry, might be interested in purchasing the team and have made an offer of 70 million euros. « We are very close to an agreement. But it must be at a fair price. We have made a serious offer, and we will see what happens, » stated Sohi.
