Yesterday in an interview with Reuters, Caterham administrator Finbarr O’Connell is adamant there is a “real possibility” of the team finding a new owner before the 2015 season begins.
With time fast running out for the beleaguered team, O’Connell – who acted as team principal during a one-off return to the grid in Abu Dhabi last season – says all is not lost.
Unlike fellow struggler Marussia, Caterham have yet to auction off assets meaning the team still has everything in place, it just doesn’t have the money to race. In an interview with Reuters, O’Connell is refusing to give up on finding a buyer for the Caterham team just yet. O’Connell stated the following:-
‘I am still hopeful. As long as there are people (out) there who have got a real possibility of doing something, I’m not going to close it (the team) down. Because if I do, then I will just be organising an auction as regards the assets – which I can do at any stage anyway.’
From his interview yesterday, it is clear that O’Connell believes that the possibility of Caterham finding either a new owner or investment is still pretty much available at this stage. Even though O’Connell right now is not closing the team down until he is forced to, he understands that if they cannot gain investment, he will have to go down the route that their rivals Marussia did, even though he could do organise that option now if he wanted to.
Further on in his interview, O’Connell does concede that out of Marussia – who finished ninth in last year’s Championship – and Caterham, the latter was “a much more difficult sell.” But despite this, he feels that this does not mean it won’t happen. O’Connell added the following:-
‘I’ve had people visiting the site. Some people are trying to find a way to make it work for them. We will do anything we can to make it happen, but it’s really in the hands of the prospective purchasers.
‘I’m very conscious that a time will come when it will not make sense for anybody to invest large sums of money in racing the Caterham team for the 2015 season. Time will just run out. I’m not going to stifle any interest, but time is definitely running out.’
O’Connell sums it up for me personally. As we all know Caterham have had longer than they originally planned under O’Connell to find another buyer or gain some investment that is needed to secure its future in Formula One. Even though O’Connell has had people visit the team and are looking into the ways that they can help the team, it is not a decision to be taken lightly especially given the economy at the moment.
Of course O’Connell will try and help any interested parties to commit to buying the team, but he has to be sure that they can maintain and sustain their investment, otherwise they will be back in the same position that they are currently in at the moment and it would be a shame to see Caterham back there again if a rescue deal could be achieved.
But overall, it is clear that time is running out for the Caterham team. If O’Connell can find an interested party who have the capital needed to buy and maintain the team before the start of the season, then he will have done his job and would provide him with a great sense of satisfaction.
However, O’Connell is realistic that despite his efforts, things may not work out as he would like and a buyer cannot be found in the short timeframe that he has due. He also understands why many people are reluctant to invest huge amounts of money saving firstly the Caterham team and secondly keeping the investment going year upon year and that is a decision interested parties cannot take lightly either.
I really hope that Caterham can find a buyer that is willing to buy the team firstly and then is able to maintain their investment in the near future in order to keep them in Formula One in the near future. It would be a shame if Caterham ended up the same way as Marussia, but we have to be open to that possibility, given the scale of time Caterham have left.
