Caterham have until the end of the month to find a buyer for the team

Caterham have until the end of the month to find a buyer for the team

Yesterday afternoon, it was announced that the clock is yet again running against Caterham who have until the end of January to find a buyer for the beleaguered Formula 1 team.

Last year Caterham went into administration and failed to contest either the United States or Brazilian grands prix. The Caterham team turned to a crowdfunding project which the team did raise the necessary funds to return to the grid for the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP and in doing so made the team a viable option for a new buyer.

However, despite talks progressing with three potential buyers, no one has yet agreed to take on the backmarker outfit. In an interview with the media yesterday, Finbarr O'Connell who is an administrator with Smith & Williamson, has stated that they are in talks with a few parties interested in buying the team but is proving to be harder to get one of these parties to commit to the team. O'Connell stated the following:-

'We are in talks with a few people who have the wherewithal if they decided to go ahead. But it’s a tough investment decision. Formula One is so expensive and there is not a line of people queuing to get in. There are only a very limited number of parties who can afford to get into it.

'One of those interested is a billionaire who would come into F1 for himself and to promote his products, whilst the other two are in the automotive industry.'

From what O'Connell has stated in his interview with the media, it is absolutely clear that they are still in talks with a few potential buyers who could have the investment needed to secure the future of the Caterham team in the sport. However, as O'Connell rightly points out, it is not a decision to be made lightly and the interested parties need to make sure that they have the investment and the capital required to keep their commitment to running the Caterham team in Formula One long term to recoup their investment and for the team to be successful on the track.

Further on in his interview with the media yesterday, O'Connell who in Abu Dhabi took the role of F1 team boss, is however confident that a deal will be done. O'Connell added the following:-

'These people can all do it, and I would like them to move quicker because there is a limited period of time. But if you are spending £100million you are not going to buy it and rush in at the end and do a half-baked season for 2015.

'People who are spending that amount of money per season want to do it completely properly. However, there is only now a small window of time to do 2015 as well as it can be done. My view is we have this month and that’s it. It might slip into next month, but only if final details are being resolved.'

Even though O'Connell has stated once again his intention that one of the interested parties he is talking to needs to commit to taking on the Caterham team, he has contradicted what he has previously stated in the same interview. He has stated previously that he understands why the interested parties are taking so long to decide what they would like to and if they have the necessary capital to invest long term in the team while stating he would like a deal done quickly just after it.

I do understand that he has a limited timeframe on which to secure the future of the Caterham team with the level of investment that they need to survive in the sport and it would be stupid for O'Connell as an administrator to allow a party to fully commit to the team without having the necessary capital needed to sustain them as they would be in the same situation once again in the near future and could be in a worse position as a result of this.

For me personally, if an interested party that is currently talking to O'Connell now will need to take the necessary time to make sure they can full commit to the project properly by having the funds needed to take over the team, compete in the sport season after season and have the right resources and personnel required to do the job year after year in order to be successful in the sport. And that is something that cannot be rushed and it is decision that needs to be thought about very carefully while understanding the risks in taking on the Caterham team in the process.

In conclusion, it would seem that time is running out for the Caterham team to secure its future in Formula One. O'Connell has provided the team and his firm with more than enough adequate time for interested parties to get involved with the team and help secure the team's future in the process.

But he does appear to understand in my opinion every aspect that is involved in order to help the Caterham team survive in Formula One and is somewhat realistic in his approach to achieving that objective. He understands just how much investment and capital is needed to save the team and also allow them to compete in the sport long term, he understands that the interested parties will need to take some time to evaluate their options and understand the risks of getting involved in Formula One and also if they have what it takes to invest in them to buy them in the first place and also to keep that investment going year after year in a sport where money helps a long way.

Even though it is starting to become increasingly likely that O'Connell may not be able to find an investment for the Caterham team, at least you can say that he tried his hardest to do this. I really do hope that Caterham get the investment they need to survive in the sport in the future but I really do feel that this is the end of the road for the team that has disappointed in its short history in Formula One and has not been able to achieve the success that it wanted and needed to do where it mattered; which is ultimately on the track.

Sarah Jones