Crowd-Funded Caterham Will Race In Abu Dhabi

And, probably, get a $40-million payday because of it.

The struggling Formula 1 squad went into administration and had padlocks on their doors. But a CrowdCube idea set forth the idea that if the Caterham F1 team (Kamui Kobayashi's car is pictured, thanks Caterham F1 Team) made a certain amount (2.35-million pounds), they could race in the last race of the 2014 season despite being in administration. That placement would put them top-ten in the standings for owners points and give them a mid-eight figure payday for their survival.

Much to the chagrin of F1 major domo Bernie Ecclestone- who thought the idea was a crock in the first place.

This coming from the guy who thinks social media isn't for his racing series, anyway...

“We set ourselves a major challenge, but it’s definitely been worth it! In only a week the fans have made the impossible, possible," Finbarr O’Connell of Smith & Williamson, joint administrator of Caterham Sports Limited. "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. 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!”

Here was Craig Slater outside Caterham HQ just a few weeks ago when things were pretty bleak...
((HT: Sky Sports))


No idea on who will drive the car (or cars) for the team since Marcus Ericsson quit. Kobayashi has driven the other car, but his future was in doubt as well.

Caterham Can Skip US Grand Prix To Find New Owners (UPDATE: Marussia Skips As Well)

((HT: FIA/Sky Sports))

Let's face it...

The situation at Caterham's F1 team is a mess-and-a-half...

The old owner says the new owners are responsible for paying the bills. The new owners are saying the old owner never turned over the keys to the kingdom. As a result, Formula One Major Domo Bernie Ecclestone has given permission for the team to miss the next two races while they get their finances straightened out.

it's so bad right now that administrator Finbarr O'Connell closed the team's doors and no one and nothing is allowed in or out to tinker with anything.

Chief Executive Graham McDonald discusses the current mood


Part of a statement from FIA read:

"In a telephone conversation today between Finbarr O'Connell and Bernie Ecclestone, Mr Ecclestone agreed to support the administrators in their wish to sell the Formula One team to a party with the financial strength to sustain it into the future.

"Mr Ecclestone also agreed to give dispensation to Caterham F1 such that it could, if necessary, miss the US and Brazilian Grands Prix, but hoped that a new owner would be in a position to race the team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix."

Ecclestone has said in the past that FIA would be okay with ten squads. But the new owners who thought they were the new owners and have gone back and forth with the Tony Fernandes ("old") group in a war of words saying one group is responsible to pay bills and not themselves.

The lack of a Caterham side opens the door for both Sauber and Marussia to make more owners points in-roads and put Caterham in a deeper financial hole for the beginning of the 20125 racing season.

Especially, if no new owners are found by Abu Dhabi...

UPDATE: Looks like the Marussia squad is done with the US and Brazil GP's as well. The crash involving Juiles Bianchi in Japan has ricked the team to its core. At the last race in Russia- a race the home-owned squad wanted to have a stellar showing- they only ran one car in deference to Bianchi. The group hasn't seemed to be emotionally in the game and their financial issues are leaning them to regrouping for 2015 as well.

FIA rules say that you can sit out three races without violating the racing charter- looks Marussia might do that by choice and Caterham not so much so...

Formula 1 Race In Hungary Almost Had History And Another Argument

((HT: F1/NBCSN))

It was "almost" a historic Hungarian Grand Prix for Lewis Hamilton.

Having to start on the pit lane because of disastrous qualifying (and an on-board fire), he almost became the first driver to go from pits to top step. Hamilton finished third, but the larger issue is again between Hamilton and teammate Nico Rosburg. Hamilton was given a suggestion to have Rosburg pass, but Hamilton wasn't going to slow down to make it happen. Rosburg was too far behind to use his in-car "push-to-pass," so Hamilton kept racing his normal race.

Hamilton finished third and Rosburg fourth- the end result being the lead for Rosburg for the title is now down to 11 points at the season mid-break.

Oh, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo won and Fernando Alonso was second


Post race, Hamilton defended his stance- as well he should have...
((HT: SkySports))


Now, to the rest of the run...

Sauber was 1 for 2, but their highest finish was 11th- just out of points. Marussia finished 15th and 16th- good for finishing, but bad for points-gathering.

It was disastrous for Force India as both Perez and Hulkenberg

(pictured right, thanks Sahara Force India Formula One Team) didn't finish the race. Hulkenberg qualified 9th and Perez 13th. They're now only one point ahead of McLaren in the team competition in 5th.

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal & Managing Director, waxed on a missed chance afterwards:

“It is disappointing to come away from this weekend with nothing, especially as the race was shaping up nicely for us. Both Checo and Nico were on course for a points finish, but it was not our day. Sometimes, this is how motorsport is. But a negative result must not detract from our great first half of the year because this is the first race in 2014 in which we have not scored points. Despite the missed opportunity, we remain in fifth place in the championship. It was also a fantastic race for Formula One with wheel-to-wheel racing and a great show for the fans. We have the summer break now, an occasion to regroup and come back stronger in Belgium and get ready for the final eight races.”

Caterham and Sauber are still pointless in the season and the day was a long one for Caterham. Both Kobayashi and Ericsson didn't finish the race.

Kobayashi: “It’s obviously a shame we couldn’t finish the race today but an issue with the fuel system meant I had to stop the car as I had no power.

“My start was pretty good – I stayed on the outside to avoid any issues going into turn one and I had good traction out of the first corner, helping me pass a couple of cars and straight away I could push. The car felt good in the wet / dry conditions, they seem to suit us, and my pace in the first stint was pretty strong. We boxed for the first time on lap nine and rejoined on softs and again I had good pace, enough to push me up to 14th.

“I had a big moment with Maldonado when he span after making contact with Bianchi. That’s the third race in a row I’ve had a very near miss and this time I saw him hit the Marussia and then start spinning – I managed to turn in just enough to avoid him hitting me, but there must have only been millimetres in it!

“After that I was into a good rhythm and the balance was fine. We were going to run quite long on that set but then on lap 24 I lost power just after turn 12 and that was the end of my race.”

Marcus Ericsson: “It was quite a good race up until the point where I crashed on lap seven. My start was ok and I was having a good fight with Chilton and Maldonado, trying to line them up through turn three and I was just a bit too eager in the throttle. The back stepped out and I couldn't catch the car and that was it, I was in the wall.

“It was a pretty big shunt! I went to the medical centre straight after the crash and they told me it was about 20g, but physically I feel fine. I’m sorry for the guys on track and back at Leafield though – they put in 100% all the time and it’s obviously not a good feeling for them to see one of their cars in the wall, but we’ll come back fighting in Spa where we have some new parts and we’ll keep pushing, there and for the whole second half of the season.”

Next up for F1 is Belgium in a little less than a month...

OSG Formula One: Life On The Edge

((HT: NBCSN/F1))

For the remainder of the Formula One racing season, we're going to talk about very fast cars that travel the globe. There are a couple of different angles to pay attention to- the top...

Nico Rosberg won on home soil holding off Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton- who had to start 20th because of an brake failure in qualifying.

Here's the highlights...


Rosberg's points lead is now 14 heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix- the official half-way point of the season on the calendar.

And the bottom:

The other part of the dynamic is the team championship. Marussia, Sauber, and Caterham are fighting it out for 9th, 10th, and 11th. If Marussia holds their space, it could be worth $50-million extra dollars. There are three columns that are the breakdown for payouts in the sport. The percentage pile (last year, it was $350-million) meant that 10th was worth four-percent and 11th got nothing.

The previous year's performance column would help Marussia since they placed top 10 last year and could net them up to $35-million extra. That's what makes Sauber and Caterham's pace pick up just a bit.

Joe Saward's blog breaks it down as to how all the financing works.

So, Caterham had its two drivers finish 16th with Kamui Kobayashi:

"16th was about as much as we could have done today – we didn’t quite have the performance to catch Bianchi so now it’s on to Hungary next week for the last race before the August break.”

And 18th with Marcus Ericsson:

“I started from the pitlane so it was always going to be a struggle today. Obviously the safety car on lap one helped but I had to serve the ten second stop / go we’d incurred for breaking parc fermé rules last night after the issue with the power unit straight after the safety car came in, and from that point I was having to try and play catch up for the whole race."

Sauber had the chance to grab a point but Adrian Sutil had to retire and Esteban Gutierrez only finished 14th:

“The whole team did a good job over the weekend. From Friday on we developed the car as best we could. However, 14th position is not satisfying. I was fighting the entire race from the beginning to the end, trying to gain positions and keeping cars behind me. At the moment we are missing the pace to be able to fight with the others in front of us. There was not much that we could do. We need to keep working and focusing on our performance so we can be more competitive in the next races."