As Jules
Bianchi continues to fight for his life, the FIA had released a provisional
list teams for the 2015 season. The list mentioned 11 two-car teams with
Marussia F1 Team renamed as Manor F1 Team. But it has come to light that the
team hasn't been able to find any investors by Friday’s deadline for the
Brazilian Grand Prix and folded leaving 200 people unemployed.
As Marussia
F1 Team had announced that they had gone into administration before the United
States Grand Prix in Austin, Manor Racing was in talks with the management of
Marussia to make their return to the grid in Abu Dhabi, but it wasn't meant to
be. As on Friday before the practice sessions in Brazil, Marussia were absent
from the grid and had announced that the team had folded all operations and
will not be taking part any further.
Another team
who had gone into administration around the same time, and still remains is the
Caterham F1 Team. The team hasn't been able to find a solution to their
financial woes, but is now campaigning for crowd funding to raise enough money
to race in Abu Dhabi. With hopes to raise £2.35 million by November 14, but up
until this point have only managed £320,744, even after selling collectables,
the team have managed only 13pc of their target which can be tracked on the
website www.crowdcube.com/caterham.
It seems unlikely that Caterham will be able to meet its target in the next 6
days, and even if they do, it will not clear the debt they owe to Renault for
the engines or all the other suppliers and investors.
With 3 teams withdrawing
from the sport in a span of 3 years, questions are being raised on the Concorde
Agreement, the Formula 1 Management and Bernie Ecclestone. Ecclestone has
admitted that it is his job to find a solution, but nothing further has been
rectified.
The Concorde
Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
(FIA), the Formula One teams (currently represented by the Formula One Teams
Association (FOTA)) and the Formula One Administration which dictates the terms
by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television
revenues and prize money.
In the midst
of all this, the last update on Jules Bainchi’s condition, still remains the
same as “critical but stable” after the French driver lost control of his car
at the Japanese Grand Prix, colliding his car with a recovery vehicle and
knocking him out, unconscious suffering ‘severe head injuries’. The driver was
taken to Mie General Medical Center in Yokkaichi, Japan where he will remain
until further notice.