Marussia’s demise has left the other small teams in Formula One furious at the
inaction of both Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA, motorsport’s governing body.
Force India, Lotus and Sauber, threatened a boycott in Austin and are now in
talks with CVC Capital Partners, the sport’s majority shareholder, over a
possible windfall of £100 million.
Marussia began as Virgin Racing in 2010 under the backing of businessman
Richard Branson. They were then bought by Russian billionaire Andrey
Cheglakov, who is said to be furious at the way his investment was spent
over several years. He pulled the plug earlier this year, and Marussia went
into administration after the Russian Grand Prix.
It is a particularly sorry turn of events given the current state of their
driver Jules Bianchi, who remains in a “critical but stable” condition in
hospital in Yokkaichi, Japan. Bianchi won Marussia’s only points in their
history with ninth place at the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year.