Bernie Ecclestone has given Caterham permission to miss the next two rounds of the season.

Late this afternoon it was revealed that the administrators of Caterham Sports Limited (CSL), Finbarr O'Connell and Henry Shinners of Smith & Williamson have agreed terms to acquire the share capital of 1MRT, the Malaysian company which holds the licence to participate in the Formula One World Championship.

On this basis the administrators now have the ability to sell the Caterham Formula 1 Team including the operations at Leafield.

"This includes the Formula 1 licence, the racing cars, the designs and intellectual property for current and future seasons plus the workforce and all of the technical support provided to the racing team by CSL from the Leafield Technical Centre," explained Henry Shinners, administrator from Smith & Williamson. "Purchasing the assets would give the buyer ready access to F1 racing."

In a telephone conversation between Finbarr O'Connell and Bernie Ecclestone, the F12 supremo agreed to support the administrators in their wish to sell the team to a party with the financial strength to sustain it into the future.

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

Mr Colin Kolles, the previous principal of the team offered today to hand over management control of 1MRT to the administrators. Lawyers for the administrators and Mr Kolles are currently working on the paperwork to effect this transfer.

The administrators have already been contacted by a number of interested parties expressing a wish to buy the team and they hope that a transaction with an operator of substantial financial means can be concluded in the next few weeks.

It is hoped that any purchaser of the F1 team will take over the employees and that they will be able to recommence their work including that at the Leafield site

"We believe this arrangement gives us a much better chance of being able to reach a better conclusion for the racing team and its creditors," said Finbarr O'Connell. "While this is a great step forward in making the whole team and assets more attractive, there is no need for the staff of 1MRT to return to the Oxford site in Leafield until a sale of the team occurs.

"This is a difficult situation which is not of our making. We regret any personal impact on 1MRT's employees. As administrators for CSL, we are seeking to maximise the outcome for its creditors and other stakeholders."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by my tyres are going off, 25/10/2014 11:43

"F1 is an evolution of teams, the trouble is today getting a franchise to race. Caterham have just one asset and that is the right to put two cars on the grid everything else is mortgaged or not owned by them. So if you want to run an F1 team this is your only chance. Also if the lesser teams drop out we go to 3 cars so here is my conspiracy theory:
Bernie allows the two struggling teams to miss this season and turn up next year with some sort of customer car. In return the big teams support them and allow bernie to have extra races in 2016. "

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2. Posted by MaximumF1, 25/10/2014 7:02

"Yep, it is sad for the employees, but in reality, these small teams were never going to survive. Haas may be a lot of cash behind him and a racing pedigree, but unless good results happen in the first three years, they pull out. Caterham pulling out of the next two races is the best decision they have made for a long time. I wonder how they maintain sponsors, especially General Electric. I chuckle to myself every time I see a Microsoft Dynamics commercial and they say 'just like the Lotus F1 Team we blah, blah, blah'. So your product looks good, is well funded, but doesn't work as well as it should? Wait a minute, that is Microsoft!"

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3. Posted by Ro, 24/10/2014 21:17

"I really feel sorry for all the people that work there. It was an accident waiting to happen. I just hope they all find employment."

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Caterham to miss United States and Brazilian Grands Prix

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