The two cash-strapped teams currently fighting for their future in Formula One have both lodged entries to compete in next season’s world championship.
Under FIA regulations, all entries have to be confirmed by November 1, with the required fee to be paid by the end of this month.
It is a move undertaken by the administrators working on behalf of the two marques to ensure they are a more attractive proposition to a potential purchaser.
Without an entry the team would be virtually worthless. Finbarr O’Connell, one of Caterham’s coadministrators representing Smith Williamson, said: “This is restructuring, and we’re clearly trying to restructure so a new owner can race this season and into next season.
“With a team having an entry in the championship it makes them a far more viable proposition for us to do a deal.
It’s absolutely essential. We’ve explained to the FIA and FOM we are looking for a new owner, but the paperwork for the entry has been done.
“We’re hoping the new owner will then pick up things like the fees and to finalise the 2015 design etcetera.”
Caterham F1 Team have again been entered under their company name of 1 Malaysia Racing Sdn Bhd that owns the rights for the marque to compete in F1. Initially, it was a company by the name of Caterham Sports Ltd, which supplies and makes the cars for the team, that was placed in the hands of London–based accountancy firm Smith Williamson.
Following a very public dispute behind the scenes between past and present owners as to the rights of ownership, it was quickly decided to allow the administrators to also take over the team in order to find a buyer.
As for Marussia, they followed Caterham into administration three days later as primary shareholder Andrey Cheglakov opted to stop bankrolling the Banburybased outfit.
Marussia have now re-branded themselves and will be known as Manor Grand Prix if they return to the grid. Unlike Caterham, however, their entry is subject to confirmation.
Both teams were given special dispensation to miss last Sunday’s race in Austin, Texas, and they will again be absent for this weekend’s race in Sao Paulo., Brazil.
O’Connell, however, is confident Caterham will be racing again in the final event of the year in Abu Dhabi from November 21-23.
He said: “We are still hopeful we will be racing in Abu Dhabi.
There are a number of parties involved, but because the financial commitments are so huge it is difficult for people to commit.
“But I’m hoping when the sport is in Abu Dhabi we will have finalised a deal before then, or at that point. “I’m very, very hopeful the team will be in Abu Dhabi.
We are making arrangements to go to Abu Dhabi as we speak.” It is understood that Marussia are in a similar position, with the team waiting on the green light for a deal as all the freight is packed and ready to go to Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, there is a proposal to give struggling F1 teams a bigger slice of the money cake to help them survive.
At the moment the big teams like Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes get what is seen as a disproportionately huge slice of the cash leaving crumbs for the smaller teams like Caterham and Marussia.
The proposal currently being discussed is to make a larger pot of money available to the smaller outfits, thought to be around $20m per team, to top up what they already get depending on where they finish in the constructors championship.
