The Caterham Formula One team has been handed over to an administrator in a race against time to find a new owner and stay in the sport.
A statement on Friday said Finbarr O'Connell, who was already an administrator of the Caterham Sports Limited company that made the cars at the Leafield factory, was now running the team as well.
In need of financial support: Caterham Formula One team.Credit: Getty Images
With back-to-back races in Austin and Sao Paulo looming it seems increasingly unlikely that Caterham will be on the grid in either, although F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said that even if they did miss those races, the team could still continue.
Caterham, which has competed under various guises since its debut in 2010 as Lotus Racing but has yet to score a point, is officially entered in the world championship as 1Malaysian Racing Team (1MRT).
Friday's move followed a war of words between 1MRT management and team founder Tony Fernandes, who also runs struggling Premier League soccer club Queens Park Rangers and the fast-growing AirAsia airline, over the transfer of ownership.
Fernandes had announced the sale of the team in July but both sides have acknowledged the formal transfer of shares was not completed.
"Representatives of 1MRT/Caterham F1 Team have agreed, with all rights reserved, to hand-over management of the Caterham F1 Team to the administrator Mr Finbarr O'Connell in the higher interest of allowing the team to continue operating and preparing for the next events," the statement said.
FACTORY SHUT
O'Connell ordered the factory, with the cars inside, closed on Thursday and said it would stay shut until an acceptable arrangement was reached.
The next race is in Austin, Texas next week and the cars are due to be flown out on Saturday, leaving the administrator with little time to find a solution.
"It's very important to us they race, but for the creditors of Caterham Sports Limited it's not up to them to fund racing," O'Connell told the BBC.
"Our objective is to get this team racing on a proper financial standing," he added. "Hopefully if a funder comes through, this team can run again."
Ecclestone told Reuters "it would be ok" if Caterham missed the next two races as long as they were in Abu Dhabi.
"I wonder if they are going to do it (find a buyer)," Ecclestone said. "Let's hope it's alright and someone might come along and they may be able to do something."
Caterham's current drivers are Japan's Kamui Kobayashi and Sweden's Marcus Ericsson.
Reuters