Marussia’s path back to Formula One could be blocked by the other teams who want a share of their £40m prize money for finishing ninth last season.
The former Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King is attempting to revive the marque which has been renamed Manor Grand Prix on the FIA entry list for 2015.
The team are due to emerge from administration on 19 February by entering into a Company Voluntary Arrangement, a key step towards reclaiming their place on the grid.
King, whose son Jordan is due to compete in one of the main feeder series of GP2 this year, is said to be close to completing a deal though Marussia would have to compete this season using last year’s car, albeit modified in line with the new 2015 rulebook.
That is allowed under the rules of F1, but only if the other teams agree. The trouble is that in the dog-eat-dog world of F1 other teams are casting covetous eyes on that £40m and at least one team has made it known that they are not willing to let Marussia take part.
Marussia will get an idea about their chances after Thursday’s meeting of F1’s Stategy Group. If that goes against them their best chance would rest with Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s chief executive, brokering a deal between everyone. If that fails, Marussia will go under for a second and final time.
Marussia ceased trading last November but a path has been cleared for them to come out of administration. The administrators FRP Advisory said the company was making “progress towards a longer-term viable solution”. Only last month an auction of the team’s remaining assets – including F1 cars driven by Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton – was cancelled at the last moment. But now the administrator Geoff Rowley says: “Since the appointment of administrators, negotiations have taken place with a number of parties to try to secure a long-term solution for the team.
“We can confirm that negotiations continue towards a longer-term viable solution for the business and participation of a team in the 2015 season.”
Marussia had their most successful season in F1 – they won points for the first time to ensure they finished ahead of Sauber and Caterham – but it ended disastrously. In the worst accident for 20 years, Bianchi sustained serious head injuries in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka last October; he remains critically injured.
The team missed the last three races of the season as it plummeted into administration with debts of £31m. Their biggest creditors are the engine-suppliers Ferrari, who are owed £16.6m, and who would be in line to supply their power unit again this year.
Most people had written off Marussia. However they never gave up hope of taking part in 2015. But even if they do appear on the grid for the first race of the season in Melbourne on 15 March, considerable doubts will remain about their long-term future in the sport unless their president Graeme Lowdon unearths some heavyweight investors.
A number of their mechanics and engineers have already moved on because of the uncertain future. And the sustainability of a back-of-the-grid team will always be in doubt in a sport so heavily weighted in favour of the big names. It is an irony not lost on Marussia that it is some of the other struggling teams, fighting for survival themselves, who are desperate to have a piece of that £40m prize money.
