Caterham will return to race in Abu Dhabi

Caterham will return to race in Abu Dhabi this weekend

Later on last week, it was announced that Caterham will return to the Formula 1 grid at next week's Abu Dhabi GP after raising sufficient funds through their bold crowdfunding scheme.

The Caterham team went into administration ahead of the U.S./Brazil double-header three weeks ago amid an ownership dispute and spiralling debts. Since then administrators Smith & Williamson have been trying to raise sufficient funds to initially ensure Caterham’s participation in next week’s season finale and, in a long-term goal, the team’s outright survival.

Last week, the administrators launched a crowdfunding scheme with the aim of raising £2.35 million to get the team to Abu Dhabi, and while they were around £1 million short of their target as of Thursday night, further pledges on Friday mean that shortfall has halved ahead of the midnight deadline.

Caterham’s joint administrator Finbarr O'Connell has nonetheless confirmed the team will be racing in Abu Dhabi, a feat he believes will increase the likelihood of one of the prospective buyers stepping forward to keep them on the grid in 2015.

In his statement to the media last week, O'Connell stated the following:-

'We set ourselves a major challenge, but it's definitely been worth it! In only a week the fans have made the impossible, possible. We knew that the best way to keep this team alive and attract possible buyers was to show that it's still a racing team and be in Abu Dhabi for the finale, and there aren't enough words to say how grateful we are to all the fans that have made this possible.

'We now head to Abu Dhabi ready to show what a hard-working and positive group of people this is and to hopefully secure a future for the team. During the past few days the interest of many potential buyers has increased massively and by racing in Abu Dhabi the team will be showcasing itself as a live and functioning team that deserves to continue into 2015 and beyond. It has hard-working people, team spirit and experience and now it only needs a secure financial future which I'm very hopeful we can achieve.'

As O'Connell has stated in his statement last week, the challenge was massive to get Caterham into a position to be back racing in Abu Dhabi and they made the decision to undergo a crowdfunding programme which has helped them achieve this. It is clear that many pundits and fans have backed the programme and have donated as much as they can to bring Caterham back to Abu Dhabi, even if people agree with this or not.

The objective set by O'Connell with the programme has allowed them to go racing in Abu Dhabi with the hope that they can find a prospective buyer for the team to stay racing in the sport for as long as possible in the future. With many potential parties according to O'Connell interested into buying the Caterham team and securing its future, Abu Dhabi could be their final chance to show that they have the potential to succeed if they can get some investment in as quickly as possible.

Further on in his statement, O'Connell thanked the fans for putting up the funds to make Caterham's return possible. O'Connell added the following:-
'Once again, I'd like to reiterate that we are racing in Abu Dhabi thanks to all the fans out there – an achievement that will go down in F1 history and one that we can all be very proud of.

'We still need to raise a bit more cash so please do keep an eye on the Crowdcube website. Let's go racing!'

Even if you don't agree with the methods that Caterham have used to get back onto the grid in Abu Dhabi, it is nice that they will be back racing for the final race of the season, even if things haven't taken the step forward that they would have liked right now. But it is a fantastic achievement and shows that the fans do care about the smaller teams of the sport. But I do feel that this method they have used could have been used to keep their 2015 entry alive incase a potential investment arises or to keep anyone interested in buying the team and you can understand why if that is the case.

With the administrators receiving it is to be believed around 50 enquires expressing an interest in taking the team on, with that number having since being whittled down to a handful of serious potential investors. It is also understood that crowd-funding is not the financial model the team will adopt should it continue beyond Abu Dhabi and that would be the incorrect way to go in my opinion to secure the team's future in the sport.

Let us not forget that Caterham, who have yet to score a point in five seasons, currently prop up the Constructors’ Championship but, having missed two grands prix already, their participation in Abu Dhabi was thought to be key to them maintaining their share of any end-of-season revenue payments.

And this could be another key reason to the crowdfunding programme and a small way to help their future in the sport as well. But Caterham continuing down this path would not the right way to secure their future and they do need new owners or investment that is continued and can be maintained to secure their future in the sport.

But at the moment, the drivers that Caterham will field on their return to the grid remains unconfirmed/ Marcus Ericsson, who had already signed a contract with Sauber for 2015, quit the beleaguered team earlier last week while his erstwhile team-mate Kamui Kobayashi's future was already in doubt even before the administrators were called in.

It is to be rumoured in the paddock that that Caterham have concluded a deal with one driver to race in Abu Dhabi with as many as four contenders under consideration for the currently unoccupied second seat that is available for the Grand Prix this weekend.

Former GP3 driver Alice Powell had been linked to a potential run-out, at least in Friday practice, thanks to fund-raising efforts from her grandfather, but she tweeted on Friday afternoon: –

'News from my end… None, apart from it’s looking very unlikely due to getting a super license! Great news for @CaterhamF1 though.'

Also, new GP2 Champion Jolyon Palmer is also understood to be out of the running. And with a few drivers circulating around the paddock, which driver will Caterham choose for their return? My inkling is on Kamui Kobayashi and Rubens Barrichello who both have experience that Caterham could benefit from, but nothing has been confirmed at this stage.

But I do sincerely hope that Caterham show their potential in Abu Dhabi this week and as a result, this leads to them securing new owners or investment that helps them stay in Formula One now in the near future. I really hope that this happens and we see them back racing properly in 2015 and beyond.

Sarah Jones