Caterham F1 Gone?

[61GT]

Looks like it according to this: -

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cac...

Very sorry for all those working for Caterham F1 directly affected by this news, hopefully this will be a sale to another buyer rather than closing down the whole operation.

Edited by 61GT on Friday 27th June 11:25

[AndrewEH1]

Is there another non-twitter source? Twitter is blocked at work...

[61GT]

AndrewEH1 said:

Is there another non-twitter source? Twitter is blocked at work...

Here you go, just picked this up:-

http://www.therakyatpost.com/business/2014/06/27/t...

[61GT]

A little more here from Adam Cooper: -

http://adamcooperf1.com/2014/06/27/new-owners-at-c...

[2fast748]

Add Mr Fernandes to the long list of people who thought the current teams in F1 were somehow doing it wrong and could be shown the right way by a newcomer.

Next on the list..Mr Haas?

[viggyp]

Bloody hope they've not gone. One of my closest mates works there.

[benters]

will the Canadian Motor Mouth (or J.V.) finally get his act together and step up do we think ??

[spunkytherabbit]

benters said:

will the Canadian Motor Mouth (or J.V.) finally get his act together and step up do we think ??

I sincerely hope not. I'll cancel my Sky subscription if he does. Never in the history of watching the sport the last 35 years have I seen a driver make themselves so fundamentally 'obsolete' by spouting tripe and annoying people as JV did.

To quote someone who used to work at BAR on the test team, he was 'painfully obnoxious'.

I'm all for characters in sport and I think F1 needs them more so than any other. Rude, obnoxious and embarrassing isn't a measure of if someone is a character though. Please God, do not let the man back into the sport!

[Frimley111R]

viggyp said:

Bloody hope they've not gone. One of my closest mates works there.

I am sure the team will stay but someone else will buy it and rebrand it. Again.

[anonymous-user]

I can't find anything that says the team is going, just that it has been sold. In all honesty, any new owner has to be better than Fernandes.

[Henry Fiddleton]

I see Prodrive are moving offices?

;-)

[Crafty_]

Fernandes tweeted this shortly before deleting his account


For my money he wasn't dedicated enough. You need Frank Williams levels of determination and sheer bloody mindedness to make something of it. Fernandes thought it would be an easy ride wandering around the world doing the "I'm a team owner" bit When things got hard he disappeared and bought a football team and (from what I'm told) did pretty much the same thing.

F1 isn't a game.

Will Buxton tweeted that there are lots of rumours but "a usually impeccable source reckons its about to be bought by a very familiar source" and then followed up with "if true I don't imagine they'll be getting their hands on Mercedes engines any time soon"

So, familiar name, possibly at odds with Merc..

BMW then ? Want a slice of the action and to fight arch rival Mercedes ?

Some are saying Brawn but I don't think there are is necessarily any animosity there, plus he gave up BrawnGP because he didn't want to run a team, I don't see him returning to do that.

Any other names we can think of ? Maybe Toyota coming back to rival Honda ?

Edited by Crafty_ on Friday 27th June 15:23

[confucuis]

Honda hardly will buy them?

[zac510]

Crafty, you're just naming every name that's been in F1 in the last 10 years.

[Crafty_]

zac510 said:

Crafty, you're just naming every name that's been in F1 in the last 10 years.

I mentioned two and dismissed another.

Plenty more names from the last 10 years.

[Tc24]

Struggling to think who would buy Caterham and fit the criteria of not getting Merc engines any time soon...

RBR 3rd team?
McLaren/Ferrari 2nd team? (though this seems a bit too un-McLaren, and Ferrari already have Marussia/Sauber)
Renault/BMW/Toyota return?

I've read elsewhere that it's not Haas or Kolles (as I initially thought it might be) so that leaves me a bit confused.

[skinny]

i'd have thought someone like Kolles etc would be much more likely than BMW, Toyota, or Honda coming back and taking over.

[Crafty_]

I don't think Honda have the stomach to run a team, they had their best successes as an engine manufacturer and they'll be quite content with that.

As Tc24 says the alleged new owners are noting to do with the Romanian outfit that Kolles is with or Haas. Makes sense to me, both have (or are going to) stump up a wad of cash for their entry, buying another team means they then have two entries and to be honest the entry is the biggest asset of the team.
All depends on the purchase contract but there is nothing to say that buying a team means you also get the premises, staff, equipment, sponsors etc.

[fcuk1_6]

I could see one of the bigger teams such as Mercedes (bases less than an hour apart) buying them as a feeder team as RBR does with Torro Rosso, doubt it would be Ferrari as I think they have something in place with Marrussia. I'd much prefer to see Prodrive take them over though as they have tried to enter F1 in the past and have proven successful in other forms of Motorsport.

[C Lee Farquar]

Quantum Motorsport?