Marussia now formally gone into administration as attempts continue to save the Banbury-based team.
Geoff Rowley and Geoff Carton-Kelly, partners of FRP Advisory LLP, have been appointed joint administrators of Manor Grand Prix, the company behind the team.
The team was always facing a deadline related to the Russian GP. Owner Andrey Cheglakov wanted to see a car on the grid at his home race, but had tired of underwriting the running costs of the team.
One key to the future is the question of whether the team still has a Ferrari contract. Sources told this writer in Sochi that that might no longer be the case.
Rowley explained: “Whilst the team has made significant progress during its relatively short period of operation, the highlight of which included securing two constructors championship points in the current F1 season, the position remains that operating a F1 team requires significant ongoing investment.
“With the existing shareholder unable to provide the required level of funding, the senior management team has worked tirelessly to bring new investment to the team to secure its long term future, but regrettably has been unable to do so within the time available. Therefore, they have been left with no alternative but to place the Company into administration.
“With the Marussia F1 Team now in administration, the joint administrators have assessed that, given the current financial circumstances of the Group, it is not viable for the Marussia F1 Team to participate in the next race, the 2014 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, due to take place this weekend in Austin, Texas.”
The comment regarding the existing shareholder would seem to be a little ungracious given that sources have told this writer that Cheglakov has pumped £185m into the team.
Regarding the future, Rowley said: “The Company will continue to operate while the joint administrators assess the longer term viability of the Company in its present form.
“Following Austin, there are two further rounds of the 2014 championship remaining, in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi, and the team’s participation in those races will depend on the outcome of the administration process and any related negotiations with interested parties in what is a very limited window of opportunity.
“No redundancies have been made following the Company’s entering into administration and all staff have been paid in full to the end of October. The ongoing staff position will however be dependent on whether the Company can secure new investment in the limited time available.
“We remain highly focused on engaging with interested parties.”
Adam Cooper F1 
Do interested parties (for either team) include Gene Haas or Forza Rosso?
Adam wrote: “The comment regarding the existing shareholder would seem to be a little ungracious given that sources have told this writer that Cheglakov has pumped £185m into the team.”
What was the “existing shareholder’s” business plan going into this venture?
Why did it get to this point, before he realized this wasn’t turning out the way he expected and decided to pull the plug now??
Just another billionaire egomaniac attempting to convert his billions into millions by entering F1???
My regrets to all the the hard working team members and suppliers now standing around with their hands on their asses and having to rescue their futures. But please don’t ask for any sympathy for the “existing shareholder”.
I think his plan was that the team management that he employed found some sponsors, but they failed to do so…