Today was day 2 of the Marussia fire sale with more parts, computers, art work and team wear being liquidated.
And while this is going on we wait for defacto Caterham Team Principal Finbarr O'Connell to produce a deal that will save the team from the same fate. O'Connell has said that negotiations are ongoing with three different perspective buyers, and that the accountant believes that the concession he got from Formula 1 allowing new team owners to run the 2014 chassis in the 2015 season will be enough to attract a buyer and return the team to the grid...
But in all honesty, what would a new owner be buying? Motorhomes, chassis, assorted parts and computers mostly I'd expect. There can't be much staff left in the organization - much of the staff was laid off in the late summer/early fall, and given the state of the team it's unlikely that there are many of the rest left at this point.
From a staffing perspective - finding drivers and marketing folks shouldn't be hard for a new owner... But how do you attract skilled technical personnel back to this team?
More than that, the team would have a car that wasn't competitive in 2014, that has had minimal if any development over most of 2014 and none into 2015? How likely is it that a car that was 4 seconds a lap off the pace at the last race of the season and had no development work done in the off season will even be able to make it out of qualifying and meet the requirements of the 107% rule in order to actually race?
Then there's Formula 1 in general. The guy who is responsible for marketing F1 and for the overall survival of the sport believes that the failure of both Marrussia and Caterham is because they both needed to spend less. That same person has also said that he's not interested in increasing the sport's presence on social media or even marketing the sport to younger fans "because they don't have any money." The sport has a financial structure that pays teams not just based on their level of success but on how long they've been in the sport and are willing to stay in the sport. So with all of that - why would anybody even want to get involved in Formula 1, let alone purchase a failed team and the prospect of running a car that even if it does qualify won't be remotely competitive?
As much as I want to see Caterham rise from the ashes, I just don't see it happening... So, prove me wrong Finbarr O'Connell... Please...