Caterham on Friday announced it will return to formula one to contest the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Earlier, reports emerged that the embattled team was preparing freight to meet this weekend’s shipping deadline for the trip to the United Arab Emirates capital, which is set to host the final round of the 2014 season. Bernie Ecclestone has said Caterham, and the similarly struggling Marussia, must race in Abu Dhabi after missing Austin and Brazil if the teams are to keep their official F1 entries alive. Earlier, it had appeared Caterham would fail to reach its $3.7 million crowdfunding target by the Friday deadline.
But administrator and interim boss Finbarr O’Connell said the shortfall could be made up by new investors, including one who is backing a driver. “There’s a variety of contracts but this particular one is with one of the drivers we’ve been talking to,” he told the BBC. The crowdfunding page now shows Caterham has raised almost $3 million, or 80 per cent of its target, with O’Connell confirming on Friday that the team will now make the trip to Abu Dhabi. “We are delighted to announce that we will be racing in Abu Dhabi next week thanks to the support of the fans,” the team announced on Twitter.
And O’Connell said in a statement: “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,” he added.
