Marussia F1 administrators FRP announced that the team has "ceased trading and all staff will be made redundant," according to Andrew Benson of the BBC. The team went into administration last month and had "hoped to return for the final race of the season" after missing the U.S. and Brazilian Grands Prix. Marussia had been in talks with "two potential investors," but when a deadline of 12pm local time on Friday "passed with no funds transferred," the team folded. FRP Advisory Joint Administrator Geoff Rowley said, "It goes without saying that it's deeply regrettable that a business with such a great following in Britain and worldwide has had to cease trading and close its doors." Elements of Marussia management "still hope to return to F1 next season and have applied for entry to next year's world championship under the name of Manor F1, the team's original guise" (BBC, 11/7). REUTERS' Alan Baldwin reported the news left British driver Max Chilton out of a job, a "predicament that bears no comparison" to that of his French teammate Jules Bianchi, who is "still fighting for his life in a Japanese hospital after an horrific crash last month." Mercedes F1 Exec Dir Toto Wolff, whose team is "among the wealthiest, regretted the exit of 'a good group of people, real racers'" (REUTERS, 11/7). In London, Paul Weaver opined the "falling of the curtain on Marussia will dismay everyone in the paddock." This "small, well-run team" was the "most popular" in F1 since joining as Virgin in '10. However, "like most teams they were hit by an inability to agree on a cost cap against a background of rising prices and falling sponsorship and attendances." The "great shame" for Marussia is that it was "in line for a payment" of £27M ($43M) at the end of the season; its debts are £31M ($49M) (GUARDIAN, 11/7).
MALLYA 'VERY DISAPPOINTED': The PTI reported the "deepening of the Formula 1 financial crisis" has prompted Force India Owner Vijay Mallya to say that the sport's owners "must fix the revenue sharing model among teams for the survival of smaller outfits like his." Mallya: "We are very disappointed that Caterham and Marussia are no longer competing. The fact of the matter is that all these new teams (HRT, Marussia and Caterham) that were brought into F1 (in 2010) have sadly disappeared and there is a reason behind that. It is very clear that this distribution is skewed heavily in favor of the big teams (mainly manufacturers) and the smaller teams are at a disadvantage. For a sport that generates $1.7 billion in revenue, which is more than Rs 10,000 crore, it is sad that small teams (Marussia and Caterham) are being no longer able to compete" (PTI, 11/7). The BBC's Benson & Gow reported Sauber Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn called the Marussia team's demise "shocking news." Kaltenborn, whose team is also "struggling financially," said, "It is shocking news that we are not in a position to keep such a team alive." She said F1 had "more than enough money in it to ensure the survival of teams." Kaltenborn: "We have a turnover of billions of dollars and yet we are not in a position to keep 11 teams alive" (BBC, 11/7).
ECCLESTONE WEIGHS IN: The BBC's Andrew Benson reported F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "has rejected claims the sport he runs is in crisis." Ecclestone: "People say F1 is in crisis. Absolute nonsense. We've had a couple of teams in crisis." He pointed out that many F1 teams had "failed over the years" and criticized Marussia and Caterham for what he said was "poor financial management." Ecclestone said, "People come and go." He added that team bosses needed to know "how much is coming in and how much is going out." Ecclestone said that Marussia and Caterham "haven't calculated that too well -- they spent more than they had" (BBC, 11/8).
