The Caterham Formula One team, which is in administration and fighting for survival, said yesterday it had raised more than a million pounds in the space of 48 hours and attracted a new potential buyer.
“A new financially-sound interested party has entered the arena and is considering acquiring the team,” said administrator and interim principal Finbarr O’Connell in a statement ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
“This new interest is wholly due to this campaign.”
Indebted Caterham, a tail-end team who have never scored a point since their debut in 2010, went into administration last month and missed the US Grand Prix and yesterday’s race in Brazil.
They are seeking 2.35 million pounds through a crowd funding initiative to get them back on the grid for the season-ender in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 23.
The website showed a total of 1,060,599 pounds had been pledged by 3pm, yesterday.
The campaign has drawn scorn from some in Formula One, a sport with annual revenues of around $1.7 billion, with commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone saying on Saturday at the Brazilian Grand Prix it was a ‘disaster’ and teams should not go around with ‘begging bowls’.