Beyond the on-track drama of cars battling for the win in Formula 1, there’s a perpetual soap opera taking place behind the scenes. As with everything, the problem often comes down to money, specifically not enough. Things looked bleak for two teams, Marussia F1 and Caterham, and while the former might have been given a temporary reprieve, it doesn’t look like Caterham will have the same fortune as all of the team’s assets have been put up for auction.
The writing on the wall spelled out doom for Caterham for some time, when the teams founder sold the F1 team to a group of investors, after which saw the teams management change more than a few times and the bankruptcy of the factory that built its race cars. There was even a crowdfunding campaign raised in an attempt to keep things afloat until the closeout of last season.
The team even got as far as receiving special dispensation to use the 2014 cars in the new season, saving them from the costly design and build of a new vehicle, as well as helping the administrators in charge of the bankruptcy in finding a buyer for the team. With everything going to auction, however, it doesn’t look like that buyer is coming.
Looking at the list of items going to the block is eerily depressing. Yes, whole cars and pit equipment are going up for sale, but there’s entire sections for office and gym equipment, hospitality, catering, factory tools and engineering machinery. We tend to focus on the driver and the racing team, but there’s a huge number of folks working behind the scenes to make all of that happen. Sadly, these people are most likely looking for new jobs as all the rest gets liquidated.
