SAO PAULO // The British-based Marussia Formula One team has folded with about 200 staff losing their jobs, administrators said in a statement Friday.
It means that no more than 20 cars will start the Etihad Airlines Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in two weeks.
FRP Advisory said the heavily indebted team had “no sustainable operational or financial structure in place to maintain the group as a going concern”.
“The joint administrators have now ceased trading Marussia F1 Team and unfortunately have had to make the remaining staff redundant,” it said.
The staff were told in a long and emotional meeting Friday.
Ferrari-powered Marussia went into administration last month and missed last weekend’s US Grand Prix in Texas and this week’s race in Brazil. Caterham, another team typically at the rear of the grid, are also in administration and seeking a buyer.
Both teams entered the cash-guzzling sport in 2010, encouraged by promises of a cost cap that never materialised, and were perennial backmarkers.
Marussia score their first two points, in Monaco in May, thanks to Frenchman Jules Bianchi, who is now fighting for his life in a Japanese hospital after a crash at Suzuka in October when his car hit a recovery tractor.
Britain’s Max Chilton was their other driver.
“It goes without saying that it is deeply regrettable that a business with such a great following in British and world motorsport has had to cease trading and close its doors,” said joint administrator Geoff Rowley.
“While the team made significant progress during its relatively short period of operation, operating an F1 team requires significant ongoing investment.
“Sadly, no solution could be achieved to allow for the business to continue in its current form.”
Rowley said the joint administrators would continue to realise the assets of the business “in the best interests of all the creditors”.
Marussia started out in F1 as Virgin Racing before being bought by Russian entrepreneur Andrei Cheglakovm, the majority shareholder who pumped considerable sums into the team before cutting his loses.
Their last race was the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi last month
On the track, Nico Rosberg had a slight advantage over Mercedes-GP teammate Lewis Hamilton in both practice session. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen had the third-fastest lap.
CATERHAM TURNS TO FANS FOR OUTSOURCING
Cash-strapped Caterham are pleading with fans to help finance the team’s £2 million attempt to race in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The backmarkers are currently in administration and will miss this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix having also sat out last Sunday’s race in Texas.
But on Friday, the team launched the #RefuelCaterhamF1 project where they asked fans to pledge any amount from £10 in an effort to reach a target of £2.35million to get to the grid in the UAE on November 23.
“We are working non-stop to get the Caterham F1 Team back racing, initially in Abu Dhabi, but hopefully that will be just a stepping stone to get it back racing on a permanent basis, under new ownership,” said Finbarr O’Connell, Caterham Sports Limited administrator and interim Caterham F1 Team Principal
“In order to achieve that one of our most useful, innovative and effective options right now is crowdfunding. We want to get as many sponsors and fans as possible involved this week and make our comeback something we can all be part of.
“This team deserves a future and I’m sure that there are plenty of fans and companies out there that agree with us, so I can’t think of a better way to get us all together and show our support to the team than this one, the Caterham F1 Team #RefuelCaterhamF1 project.”
The team has lined-up with “Crowdcube”, a crowdfunding platform, to facilitate the cash push.
Caterham’s announcement came just hours after fellow strugglers Marussia ceased trading and made nearly 200 staff redundant.
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