Caterham and Marussia to say goodbye to F1?

Both Marussia & Caterham have got very less time if they are to take any part in 2015

With just 26 days until the winter test season begins in Spain, neither of the two have committed to running at Jerez at the start of February.

“Talks with interested parties continue,” Caterham administrator Henry Shinners told the BBC, “but if a buyer is not found before the test, we will not put up the money to go.”

The team has arranged to be allowed to run its 2014 car and engine this year, but Shinners warned that any rescue deal would need to be in place within a “few weeks”.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out,” he said, “but if we reach the first race in the same position, the chances of saving the team are virtually nil.”

Marussia, whose crucial team equipment has been auctioned in a bid to pay back creditors, staff are laid off and even the Banbury headquarters could be sold to the new American 2016 team Haas are in an even worse situation.

Their only hope now is that an eleventh-hour investor might step in so that millions in official prize-money for finishing the 2014 season in ninth place can be unlocked.

“There’s still a slim hope,” team boss John Booth told the Yorkshire Post, “but it’s getting extremely late. We’ve got two weeks to complete something by. So there’s still a chance. We are talking to investors and they are positive talks.”

Lotus could change team name for 2015

Lotus may be in no danger of dropping out of formula one

On an updated official entry list for the 2015 season, the Enstone team was listed recently with a "subject to confirmation" asterisk alongside its name.

It sparked fears Lotus, whose Gerard Lopez led the angry complaints of midfield teams including Force India and Sauber late last season, could be the next to join Marussia and Caterham in serious difficulty.

But Italy's Omnicorse reports that those fears appear misguided, as the British-based team is busily "completing the construction of the first E23 chassis for next year".

"So what does the FIA's asterisk refer to?" the report said. "The answer is quite simple. Lotus has made a request to be able to make a change to its name."

Omnicorse referred to rumours that Lopez might be looking to exit F1 in the event he can recoup the investment of his company Genii Capital.

The report added: "But what is more likely is that the name change would only be the adding of a sponsor like PDVSA or Total, who are the main financiers of the two drivers Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean (respectively)."

This is how the 2015 F1 Grid will look like...

Toro Rosso have confirmed on Thursday that Carlos Sainz Jr. will partner Max Verstappen in 2015 season. The decision came after Jean Eric Vergne announced that he would be leaving the team.

It means that Toro Rosso, who finished 7th in the constructors championship in 2014 with 30 points will field two debutants in 2015. Carlos Sainz Jr won this year's Formula Renault 3.5 Championship and drove a Red Bull at this week's Abu Dhabi test.

The future of Caterham and Marussia still looks uncertain, while McLaren are yet to confirm their line-up.

MERCEDES
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg

RED BULL
Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat

WILLIAMS
Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa

FERRARI
Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen

FORCE INDIA
Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez

TORO ROSSO
Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz

LOTUS
Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado

SAUBER
Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr

McLAREN
Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso

MANOR (MARUSSIA)
TBC

CATERHAM
TBC

F1 : Double points & standing starts to be dumped

The plan to have standing starts after safety car periods in 2015 has been abandoned after this week's meetings of the Strategy Group and F1 Commission.

After more research, concerns emerged regarding issues such as tyre temperatures and pressures, and the complex procedures required in the cockpit prior to any start it was decided to axe standing restarts from F1.

As has been expected for some time, double points for the final race have also gone after F1 insiders accepted that the public didn't like the idea. Fortunately they did not affect the outcome of this year's title battle, but they also did not contribute to extending it until the final race.

Teams have also provisionally agreed that the likes of Caterham and Marussia can use the 2014 spec engines, if they want to. Current rules allow manufacturers to homologate only one engine spec. 

Caterham F1 will race at Abu Dhabi

Just a few moments back, Caterham F1 team announced that they will be racing at the 2014 F1 season ender in Abu Dhabi. Caterham F1 team took up to social media to reveal the big announcement and thank all the fans for their contribution in generating money for the team. This is what they had to say...

Finbarr O’Connell of Smith & Williamson, joint administrator of Caterham Sports Limited: “We set ourselves a major challenge, but it’s definitely been worth it! In only a week the fans have made the impossible, possible. We knew that the best way to keep this team alive and attract possible buyers was to show that it’s still a racing team and be in Abu Dhabi for the finale, and there aren’t enough words to say how grateful we are to all the fans that have made this possible.

“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. It has hard-working people, team spirit and experience and now it only needs a secure financial future which I’m very hopeful we can achieve. Once again, I’d like to reiterate that we are racing in Abu Dhabi thanks to all the fans out there – an achievement that will go down in F1 history and one that we can all be very proud of. We still need to raise a bit more cash so please do keep an eye on the Crowdcube website. Let’s go racing!”