Caterham F1 team 2014

[Raleigh]

I'm expecting Kolles to find some backers to buy the team, with him then running it (and being paid well, without any of the responsibilities of actually owning the team). Would of course mean a name change, might even be on the grid as Forza Rossa...

Kolles already retreated from his managing function. He could of course return with somebody else their wallet in his hands, but that means getting into the mess of who actually owns the team (which still hasn't been cleared out).

All Kolles wants is someone paying him to run their team out of his facilities.

And there are 2 teams available for pretty much the cost of clearing their debts, so Kolles just needs to find some investors.

Although he didn't initially go for Marussia, now they have gone into administration the price will be right down, plus they could have some prize money incoming to offset or cover their debts, so they might well be the better choice.

We won't be seeing the names Caterham or Marussia in F1 after this season, but at least one of the teams might survive in another form.

[Richard]

By the way, with regard to the administrator, their job is to keep the business going in the hope of finding a buyer, if not they have to maximse the liquidation value for creditors. I suspect they have done well on both counts with the crowd funding.

The administrator says the crowd funding and pay drivers will cover the cost of attending the Abu Dhabi so that means the liquidation value doesn't go down. If the team race then they might be able to argue that they should get that last prize money slot that Marussia forfeited by not turning up, so a that's potential upside. If the team race they might be able to secure a buyer, another potential upside.

In a nutshell the team will not be worse off by attending, and there is a possibility that they could be better off.

[ScottB]

By the way, with regard to the administrator, their job is to keep the business going in the hope of finding a buyer, if not they have to maximse the liquidation value for creditors. I suspect they have done well on both counts with the crowd funding.

The administrator says the crowd funding and pay drivers will cover the cost of attending the Abu Dhabi so that means the liquidation value doesn't go down. If the team race then they might be able to argue that they should get that last prize money slot that Marussia forfeited by not turning up, so a that's potential upside. If the team race they might be able to secure a buyer, another potential upside.

In a nutshell the team will not be worse off by attending, and there is a possibility that they could be better off.

I disagree, by going they are burning cash, with no benefit, short of a very unlikely event of them scoring a lot of points. But even then, they need to survive long enough to get that resultant money.

Prize money for this season gets handed out next year, to get that you have to still be going next year. Joe Saward reckoned that Marrusia's demise (and they are 100% gone, by going into liquidation, I believe they lose their entry, so someone cant come along and buy the whole lot and start up again, well, unless Bernie n co agree, and if their 5 team / super GP2 conspiracy is the truth, they won't) means that even Caterham finish last, they'll be classified 10th, and get money.

The key point is that right now, the team don't have the money to survive till next season, when they'd get the prize money. What cash they've raised they'll burn through going to a race they could skip without threatening their entry. The Admin seems to be prattling on about meeting a potential buyer at the race, I suspect this is to try and stop creditors / unpaid staff from complaining about this waste of money by hinting that being there could lead to a sale, but really, if someone is willing to buy this mess, them racing or not makes no difference. If the Admin wants to try and keep the team alive till a buyer can be found, he should be keeping every penny he can, because as it stands, come Sunday night, the team has no cash, no income in sight and will be headed for the blender when the next bill arrives.

[diffuser]

By the way, with regard to the administrator, their job is to keep the business going in the hope of finding a buyer, if not they have to maximse the liquidation value for creditors. I suspect they have done well on both counts with the crowd funding.

The administrator says the crowd funding and pay drivers will cover the cost of attending the Abu Dhabi so that means the liquidation value doesn't go down. If the team race then they might be able to argue that they should get that last prize money slot that Marussia forfeited by not turning up, so a that's potential upside. If the team race they might be able to secure a buyer, another potential upside.

In a nutshell the team will not be worse off by attending, and there is a possibility that they could be better off.

I disagree, by going they are burning cash, with no benefit, short of a very unlikely event of them scoring a lot of points. But even then, they need to survive long enough to get that resultant money.

Prize money for this season gets handed out next year, to get that you have to still be going next year. Joe Saward reckoned that Marrusia's demise (and they are 100% gone, by going into liquidation, I believe they lose their entry, so someone cant come along and buy the whole lot and start up again, well, unless Bernie n co agree, and if their 5 team / super GP2 conspiracy is the truth, they won't) means that even Caterham finish last, they'll be classified 10th, and get money.

The key point is that right now, the team don't have the money to survive till next season, when they'd get the prize money. What cash they've raised they'll burn through going to a race they could skip without threatening their entry. The Admin seems to be prattling on about meeting a potential buyer at the race, I suspect this is to try and stop creditors / unpaid staff from complaining about this waste of money by hinting that being there could lead to a sale, but really, if someone is willing to buy this mess, them racing or not makes no difference. If the Admin wants to try and keep the team alive till a buyer can be found, he should be keeping every penny he can, because as it stands, come Sunday night, the team has no cash, no income in sight and will be headed for the blender when the next bill arrives.

YEah...I'm going with Richards version. To take up your version would mean believing that the administrators aren't gaining immediate value for Caterham by going and that doesn't make sense.

[ScottB]

By the way, with regard to the administrator, their job is to keep the business going in the hope of finding a buyer, if not they have to maximse the liquidation value for creditors. I suspect they have done well on both counts with the crowd funding.

The administrator says the crowd funding and pay drivers will cover the cost of attending the Abu Dhabi so that means the liquidation value doesn't go down. If the team race then they might be able to argue that they should get that last prize money slot that Marussia forfeited by not turning up, so a that's potential upside. If the team race they might be able to secure a buyer, another potential upside.

In a nutshell the team will not be worse off by attending, and there is a possibility that they could be better off.

I disagree, by going they are burning cash, with no benefit, short of a very unlikely event of them scoring a lot of points. But even then, they need to survive long enough to get that resultant money.

Prize money for this season gets handed out next year, to get that you have to still be going next year. Joe Saward reckoned that Marrusia's demise (and they are 100% gone, by going into liquidation, I believe they lose their entry, so someone cant come along and buy the whole lot and start up again, well, unless Bernie n co agree, and if their 5 team / super GP2 conspiracy is the truth, they won't) means that even Caterham finish last, they'll be classified 10th, and get money.

The key point is that right now, the team don't have the money to survive till next season, when they'd get the prize money. What cash they've raised they'll burn through going to a race they could skip without threatening their entry. The Admin seems to be prattling on about meeting a potential buyer at the race, I suspect this is to try and stop creditors / unpaid staff from complaining about this waste of money by hinting that being there could lead to a sale, but really, if someone is willing to buy this mess, them racing or not makes no difference. If the Admin wants to try and keep the team alive till a buyer can be found, he should be keeping every penny he can, because as it stands, come Sunday night, the team has no cash, no income in sight and will be headed for the blender when the next bill arrives.

YEah...I'm going with Richards version. To take up your version would mean believing that the administrators aren't gaining immediate value for Caterham by going and that doesn't make sense.

I don't see what value they gain, short of a forlorn hope of scoring double points, but even if they did, the issue of surviving long enough to gain from that is the critical issue.

Cash is king in this situation, once it runs out, it's game over, by going to the race the 'run out' date becomes much closer. I suspect it's a 'do or die' move; turn up at the race to flush out a buyer, if one doesn't appear they'll be in liquidation by the end of next week.

Or alternatively, the business was on the edge of liquidation already without the crowd funding, and the admins didn't believe people would cough up for keeping them going without turning up at the race.

[Richard]

I disagree, by going they are burning cash.

That cash is conditional on attending the race. If they don't go they don't get the cash.

Lets say Caterham has a current liquidation value of £5m.

If they attend the race in Abu Dhabi they gain £2m cash and spend £2m. Hence liquidation value after Abu Dhabi is 5+2-2=5.

[Jonnycraig]

As said on the previous page, once the team goes bust, a salvager will come in and buy up all the lanyards, caps, shirts etc at a few pence on the pound and then sell them on to the sorts of vendors you see at the likes of Goodwood with row after row of Jordan, Arrows, Prost, Stewart, HRT merchandise for sale. As it is, people have come in and bought up a lot of that merchandise at a very good price in order to 'crowdfund' the team.

Similarly the brake discs, wheel nuts, wheel rims, wings, engine covers which have raised far more money than they would've at salvage auction.

If by going to Abu Dhabi, a new buyer is found then beers all round. If not, then at least some revenue has been raised to go towards the liquidation pot.

[turbof1]

By the way, with regard to the administrator, their job is to keep the business going in the hope of finding a buyer, if not they have to maximse the liquidation value for creditors. I suspect they have done well on both counts with the crowd funding.

The administrator says the crowd funding and pay drivers will cover the cost of attending the Abu Dhabi so that means the liquidation value doesn't go down. If the team race then they might be able to argue that they should get that last prize money slot that Marussia forfeited by not turning up, so a that's potential upside. If the team race they might be able to secure a buyer, another potential upside.

In a nutshell the team will not be worse off by attending, and there is a possibility that they could be better off.

I disagree, by going they are burning cash, with no benefit, short of a very unlikely event of them scoring a lot of points. But even then, they need to survive long enough to get that resultant money.

Prize money for this season gets handed out next year, to get that you have to still be going next year. Joe Saward reckoned that Marrusia's demise (and they are 100% gone, by going into liquidation, I believe they lose their entry, so someone cant come along and buy the whole lot and start up again, well, unless Bernie n co agree, and if their 5 team / super GP2 conspiracy is the truth, they won't) means that even Caterham finish last, they'll be classified 10th, and get money.

The key point is that right now, the team don't have the money to survive till next season, when they'd get the prize money. What cash they've raised they'll burn through going to a race they could skip without threatening their entry. The Admin seems to be prattling on about meeting a potential buyer at the race, I suspect this is to try and stop creditors / unpaid staff from complaining about this waste of money by hinting that being there could lead to a sale, but really, if someone is willing to buy this mess, them racing or not makes no difference. If the Admin wants to try and keep the team alive till a buyer can be found, he should be keeping every penny he can, because as it stands, come Sunday night, the team has no cash, no income in sight and will be headed for the blender when the next bill arrives.

The issue is that they need to turn up at Yas Marina, else they are in full violation with the concorde agreement which means FOM doesn't need to pay them whether they finish 11th, 10th or 1st. Assuming they'll get Marussia's WDC spot, they'll get 35m column 1 price money and I believe 14m column 2 price money.

Conversely, they raised 2m by telling everyone that that would allow them to race in Abu Dhabi. They never would have gotten that money otherwise. Basicilly even if they don't get Marussia's spot, it still is a 0 operation as Richard told. 2m raised under pretence of racing - 2m for actual racing. It'll atleast increase their odds a bit of finding a buyer. And potentionally getting 49m (!!!) if they earn Marussia's spot. That latter will depend on how the FOM will handle this or has to handle this.

EDIT: looks like there's a column 3 too, which earns 10m. So by showing up they can effectively claim that. So it's 2m - 2m + 10m at the very least.

[ScottB]

By the way, with regard to the administrator, their job is to keep the business going in the hope of finding a buyer, if not they have to maximse the liquidation value for creditors. I suspect they have done well on both counts with the crowd funding.

The administrator says the crowd funding and pay drivers will cover the cost of attending the Abu Dhabi so that means the liquidation value doesn't go down. If the team race then they might be able to argue that they should get that last prize money slot that Marussia forfeited by not turning up, so a that's potential upside. If the team race they might be able to secure a buyer, another potential upside.

In a nutshell the team will not be worse off by attending, and there is a possibility that they could be better off.

I disagree, by going they are burning cash, with no benefit, short of a very unlikely event of them scoring a lot of points. But even then, they need to survive long enough to get that resultant money.

Prize money for this season gets handed out next year, to get that you have to still be going next year. Joe Saward reckoned that Marrusia's demise (and they are 100% gone, by going into liquidation, I believe they lose their entry, so someone cant come along and buy the whole lot and start up again, well, unless Bernie n co agree, and if their 5 team / super GP2 conspiracy is the truth, they won't) means that even Caterham finish last, they'll be classified 10th, and get money.

The key point is that right now, the team don't have the money to survive till next season, when they'd get the prize money. What cash they've raised they'll burn through going to a race they could skip without threatening their entry. The Admin seems to be prattling on about meeting a potential buyer at the race, I suspect this is to try and stop creditors / unpaid staff from complaining about this waste of money by hinting that being there could lead to a sale, but really, if someone is willing to buy this mess, them racing or not makes no difference. If the Admin wants to try and keep the team alive till a buyer can be found, he should be keeping every penny he can, because as it stands, come Sunday night, the team has no cash, no income in sight and will be headed for the blender when the next bill arrives.

The issue is that they need to turn up at Yas Marina, else they are in full violation with the concorde agreement which means FOM doesn't need to pay them whether they finish 11th, 10th or 1st. Assuming they'll get Marussia's WDC spot, they'll get 35m column 1 price money and I believe 14m column 2 price money.

Conversely, they raised 2m by telling everyone that that would allow them to race in Abu Dhabi. They never would have gotten that money otherwise. Basicilly even if they don't get Marussia's spot, it still is a 0 operation as Richard told. 2m raised under pretence of racing - 2m for actual racing. It'll atleast increase their odds a bit of finding a buyer. And potentionally getting 49m (!!!) if they earn Marussia's spot. That latter will depend on how the FOM will handle this or has to handle this.

EDIT: looks like there's a column 3 too, which earns 10m. So by showing up they can effectively claim that. So it's 2m - 2m + 10m at the very least.
https://joesaward.files.wordpress.com/2 ... tures3.jpg

Teams can miss three races and not lose their entry, Caterham have missed two. They could have skipped Abu Dhabi no problem.

[astracrazy]

Not according to Bernie


http://youtu.be/7gmy80CaYIY I'm sure in this interview i watched the other day he said if the teams don't turn up in abu dhabi they are out the championship

[turbof1]

Teams can miss three races and not lose their entry, Caterham have missed two. They could have skipped Abu Dhabi no problem.

The entry is a FIA affair and is independent from the price money. The concorde agreement, the contract that gives right to claim prize money and made with the FOM, is assumed to state that the team needs to attent all races. Basically by skipping USA and Brazil, they already forfeited in principle their claim on it. However, Bernie gave them 2 races off in order to sort it out.

[Richard]

I see Bernie is doing his usual thing of helping others when he wants to look like the nice guy. He's waiving the costs of the freight and passenger travel to Abu Dhabi. I wonder if he'll also let them get hold of Marussia's prize money ahead of time? He did that with Brawn in 2009 when Brawn should have applied to be a new entrant and Honda should have forfeited their prize money.

They wanted to go, so we've transported them at no cost to them. We've at least helped them to some degree, something we need not have done. We've even chartered another plane to take them. We've gone a little bit over the top, but anyway, we've done it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/30116227

[FW17]

Are they running 2 cars or 1 for the weekend?

[Raleigh]

2

Will Stevens will drive the second car.
http://www.espn.co.uk/caterham/motorspo ... 84611.html

[Richard]

It's nice to see that Caterham managed to get a decent number of laps under their belts in testing last week, 101 on day 1 and 76 on day 2.

http://www.caterhamf1.com/news/2014/201 ... test-day-1
http://www.caterhamf1.com/news/2014/201 ... est,-day-2

Also the FIA have said they'd allow Caterham to run the 2014 car in 2015. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/30272621

... but the administrator has said time is running out ...

Within the next two weeks – because then the employees would have to look for other jobs. They would drift away – and if that happens that would mean the end of Caterham F1.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2014/ ... st-1-60/5/