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Staff were left locked out of Caterham’s factory in Leafield yesterday morning as the future of the team looks in serious doubt.
After failing to come to an agreement with administrators on Wednesday, the team’s management threatened to quit and accused previous owner Tony Fernandes of not transferring shares to their investors during the sale of the team in July. Fernandes responded on Twitter, saying: “If you buy something you should pay for it. Quite simple.”
The situation leaves Caterham in limbo, with team manager Manfredi Ravetto, who has been the public figure head for the new investors running the team, saying he has been told to step back. In an interview with the media this week, Ravetto stated the following on the situation:-
‘I’ve been asked by my direct superior entities to step back and this I have to follow. So I presume that now the owners of Caterham F1 Team – who I understand is still Mr Fernandes – has to make all necessary steps from now on. I don’t know how to answer this question. I would have known after last week but the scenario has now drastically changed.’
His comments were followed by news yesterday morning that employees were being turned away from the factory gates by the administrators of Caterham Sports Limited (CSL) – the company that manufactures cars for the entry holder 1Malaysia Racing Team (1MRT).
In an interview with Reuters yesterday, Finbarr O’Connell, a joint administrator of CSL stated the following:-
‘They [the staff] can’t get into the factory today. They [1MRT] are using my facilities and haven’t paid me.Effectively 1MRT have been in the building for last few days since I arrived. We are trying to reach an acceptable arrangement for them to be there.
‘We had a meeting yesterday with 1MRT and lawyers and the offer they made was unacceptable. So I’ve sent them away. Hopefully they can come up with an acceptable proposal.’
With the US Grand Prix just one week away, Caterham’s participation is in serious doubt with its usual preparations on hold until an agreement can be reached in regards to ownership. As I have said previously, there is more to this situation than we know about and it is a difficult time for everyone associated with the Caterham team who have been battling hard over the past few months and weeks.
But all we can do is hope that Caterham and everyone involved in this difficult situation can resolve this matter as quickly as possible and to the benefit of every party involved. My thoughts are with the personnel back in the factory at Leafield whose livelihoods are at stake with the news that has surfaced yesterday
. I really hope that Caterham using the correct legal channels can sort out these issues to the satisfaction of all involved and get back to racing as soon as this matter is resolved once and for all.
