Marussia F1 Team have entered administration

This morning it was announced that the Marussia F1 Team have entered administration and will miss this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

A statement released this morning by the administrators FRP Advisory LLP have said that with current owner Andrey Cheglakov no longer able to provide investment, the team had tried unsuccessfully to find backing elsewhere.

The administrators have refused to rule out a return at either the Brazilian or Abu Dhabi GPs but added that Marussia’s re-appearance – not to mention the futures of nearly 200 employees – depends on whether a buyer can be found.

However the statement, made by joint administrator Geoff Rowley added that only a “very limited window of opportunity” exists for talks. Rowley stated the following in his statement:-

'Whilst the team has made significant progress during its relatively short period of operation, the highlight of which included securing two constructors championship points in the current F1 season, the position remains that operating a F1 team requires significant ongoing investment.

'With the existing shareholder unable to provide the required level of funding, the senior management team has worked tirelessly to bring new investment to the team to secure its long term future, but regrettably has been unable to do so within the time available. Therefore, they have been left with no alternative but to place the Company into administration.

'With the Marussia F1 Team now in administration, the joint administrators have assessed that, given the current financial circumstances of the Group, it is not viable for the Marussia F1 Team to participate in the next race, the 2014 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, due to take place this weekend in Austin, Texas.

'The Company will continue to operate while the joint administrators assess the longer term viability of the Company in its present form.

'Following Austin, there are two further rounds of the 2014 championship remaining, in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi, and the team's participation in those races will depend on the outcome of the administration process and any related negotiations with interested parties in what is a very limited window of opportunity.

'No redundancies have been made following the Company’s entering into administration and all staff have been paid in full to the end of October. The ongoing staff position will however be dependent on whether the Company can secure new investment in the limited time available. We remain highly focused on engaging with interested parties.'

From the announcement this morning, it is really sad to hear that Marussia have entered administration despite the highlight of their year has been scoring two championship points in Monaco. It is clear that their best efforts to find an investment have not been successful in order to try and avoid the situation they are currently in.

As the statement from the administrator points out, it is clear that the existing owners and management have tried to do everything possible to make sure the team survives by gaining further investment and sadly have not been able to achieve their objective and have had no choice but to enter administration this morning.

Despite the extenuating circumstances surrounding the team at the moment, I think the team and the administrators have made the correct decision not to attend the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend and both parties need concentrate on trying to save the future of the team and also its the future of employees who I feel so sorry for during this difficult time. It was also nice to see that all the current staff been paid until the end of the month, even if the situation at the moment looks uncertain.

It is clear that unless the Marussia team get the right investors on board who have the funding and investment behind them to ensure they can stay in the sport for the foreseeable future; they may not attend the Brazilian Grand Prix or the final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi and this may lead to the team having no choice but to leave the sport for good and their employees will sadly lose their livelihoods in the process.

I really hope that it doesn't happen and that the team working alongside with the administrations find an interested party or parties who have all the investment they need to ensure that they remain in Formula One and get back to racing as soon as possible.

But no matter what team or driver you support in the sport, it is without question that Marussia will be missed this weekend in Austin and I hope that the team gain the investment they need to remain in Formula One because they do deserve to be in the sport and take their place on the grid at a Grand Prix weekend, they really do

Reporting by Sarah Jones