Caterham closed down by authorities?

tj13: Caterham facility closed down by authorities:

#F1 Daily News and Comment: Wednesday 1st October 2014 | thejudge13

 

i thought cost cutting was going to save the smaller teams....feel bad for those people who worked their azzes off for ths team, assuming it folds.

 

Another one bites the dust !!

More teams to follow maybe ?

Sauber ?

Marussia ?

Lotus ?

 

Dayum!

Doesn't matter who it is, it's sad. Particularly if it's come to this with cops & bailiffs involved.

I'm sure there's a lot more to it than we know of course, but the now interesting question is who holds their entry license? This makes is sound like Fernandez may not have actually transferred it to the new guys yet. That alone has pretty substantial value.

Anyone here live anywhere close to Leafield? Maybe have a drive out and a look-see.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Great. It seems you're jumping up and down with joy!

They may be minnows, but they were out their working their asses off. And, if true, well over a hundred people are out of work. Numerous suppliers, some of whom aren't as wealthy as Renault or Red Bull are no doubt out substantial unpaid bills.

Incidentally, can you even name the last team that folded? "Another one bites the dust". Who bit the dust previously?

Ian

 

Another one?

HRT died in 2012, Toyota in 2009...It's not as if teams are dropping like flies right?

 

Looking scandalous.

 

I cannot say I feel sorry about Caterham imminent demise.
Tony Fernandez launched it as a hobby to entertain himself, then lost interest, starved it of funds and let it hand high and dy. The writting was on the wall for a long time.

What I am surprised is that Caterham F1 being a company of Fernandez empire, Air Asia, the creditors can't turn against him.


I don't think there is a huge demand for entry license, right now ...
If this one is not taken over immediatly, it wll laps, like in the cae of Arrows, Prost, SIMTEK ...

 

I'll concede HRT as the last one. Prior?

Toyota withdrew (no balls! ), but its hardly like they 'bit the dust'.

And by all accounts, their facility in Cologne is now going great guns as an R&D facility for others.

Ian

 

Seems as though there are more on the brink now than ever...

 

They say they're going to race in Japan and operate as normal.

Caterham says it will race in Japan - AUTOSPORT

 

Well, this confirm my hunch that there is no more room for minnow "constructors" in F1; only the best financed and run outfits will survive.

That may precipitate customer cars soon for small teams just as I predicted.

 

Yes completely agree... I was going on top of my head of the last couple of teams that ''retired'' from the sport and didn't get sold on. Think I have to dig down to Arrows as the one to die before HRT...before that? I think 97 (or 98) when those horrible master card F1 Lola's bit the dust at some point on the weekend at the 'ring.

Yeah. Writing is on the wall for them IMO. No real interest as far as I can gather. Sucks for their boys big time, and actually for Marussia as well as that battle is quite entertaining to see.

 

3 teams die in the last 15 years and it's all over? Far from it I'd say.

Like Ian, I say Toyota and BMW don't really count; not lack of cash but lack of testes IMO.

 

When was Arrows? Prost ? SIMTEK ?

Who is queuing up to replace Caterham, HRT, Marussia?
Don't forget they were attracted by the "budget cap" !!
What joke that turned to be ...

Now, you need between 300 and 500 people to field just 2 cars.

IRL does the same with 10 times less staff. Way to go !!!

 

Forgot about Prost. So we are at 3 teams (with Caterham likely 4) since 1997 (!) due to financial issues.

I don't think it's that bad, right?

Honestly if they where attracted to F1 solely by a budget cap idea that was in the stages of being discussed...I'm sorry but that's their own dumb fault then. No sympathy on that front.

IRL is spec racing right? i.e. buy a chassis, an engine, install some drivers and good to go? Incomparable to F1. Maybe that's where Caterham should've have been all those years...

 

Just wiki'd Lola and they only competed in a single race. Not really an established team even. Just a terrible pipe dream that got one stage further than USF1 (It's about time those morons got mentioned again ) in which I mean they managed to bolt together a car.

Can we even count them?

In which case it would be 3 teams since 1995 (simtek) IF Caterham joins them on the has-(never?)-beens line.

 

Hmmm, no mention of the Super Friends yet... Aguri-san.

 

Well, that's when F1 was at its best and how several teams started: Tyrrell, Williams, etc ...

If F1 don't change and adapt to economic reality, it will become a specs series before long ...

 

It's amazing how quickly we forget!........

However, contrary to Williams apparent belief, teams have been coming and going since the dawn of the sport. Nothing new here.

Further, if Bernie is to be believed (!), we're not going to see customer cars either. A concept I'm still dead against. Yes, it happened in the past, but so did guys getting killed every weekend.

Rather, what we're going to get is a few three car 'super teams'. Which sucks almost as badly IMO.

Hopefully Bernie will do another of his quiet bailouts to keep them all going if needed.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Still have my Super Aguri hat.

Its sad when any team bites the dust but F1 is supposed to be tough.

 

I truly hope so..... I'd *love* for them to score a point or two as well! That would be epic!

I have no idea who or what this guy is, but he's claiming a bunch of (pretty needed!) stuff was seized earlier today.

F1 Formula One seizure and sale of vehicle and equipment | The Sheriffs Office

An 'interesting' list if true....... And may be your chance to pick up an F1 simulator on the cheap!.....

Forza Caterham!
Cheers,
Ian

 

Cool on the hat!

I've always said that F1 is hard. Just as it should be. The pinnacle of any sport is hard. Budgets at the top level are huge, be it soccer, the NFL, whatever.

A fairer sharing of the prize fund would help, as in the NFL or MLB. But unfortunately it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon. With my optimistic (tin foil?) hat on, maybe when Bernie goes a new 'commissioner' may be found who can drive them in the right direction for the overall good of the sport.

Cheers,
Ian

 

So, tell us what is your weight at the FIA and more important in the FOM decision making process ? LOL


I think that if the circus is threatened with extinction because of lack of participants, or a sizeable reduction of them, the ring master will swiftly change the rules to keep the show on the road.

Don't forget that in sport, like in business, in war or politics, economic reality has the last word in the end.

 

Huh? WTF?

Sure. And as I said, Bernie is on record as saying he's got the bases covered should the grid drop below the required 20 cars. The existing teams are contractually obligated, according to him at least, to field three car teams. Not to supply customer cars.

Now, Boullier is also on record as saying they couldn't do three cars next season. But, there's an interesting article at Pitpass ( I'll dig it up) that the fly in this ointment could be the engine manufacturers.

Cheers,
Ian