The Crowdfunding Worked: Caterham F1 Is Heading To Abu Dhabi

The F1 grid will be back up to 20 cars for the 2014 season finale in Abu Dhabi, with the Caterham F1 Team announcing that it will return next weekend.

The Leafield-based outfit launched a crowdfunding project last week in a bid to get to the final race of the year, after entering administration prior to the United States Grand Prix. Fans could donate money to help out and in return get rewards, from old pieces of merchandise to more exciting items like front or rear wings.

Despite still sitting 21 per cent shy of its £2,350,000 target, Caterham announced just under 10 hours before the crowdfunding deadline that it will be on the grid in Abu Dhabi thanks to the money raised.

However, the team did not announce who will be driving the two Renault-powered CT05s. Marcus Ericsson cut all ties with Caterham after terminating his contract earlier in the week, while Kamui Kobayashi does not bring much financial backing.

Joint administrator Finbarr O’Connell said:

“We set ourselves a major challenge, but it’s definitely been worth it. In only a week the fans have made the impossible, possible. We knew that the best way to keep this team alive and attract possible buyers was to show that it’s still a racing team and be in Abu Dhabi for the finale, and there aren’t enough words to say how grateful we are to all the fans that have made this possible.

“We now head to Abu Dhabi ready to show what a hard-working and positive group of people this is and to hopefully secure a future for the team. During the past few days the interest of many potential buyers has increased massively and by racing in Abu Dhabi the team will be showcasing itself as a live and functioning team that deserves to continue into 2015 and beyond.

“It has hard-working people, team spirit and experience and now it only needs a secure financial future which I’m very hopeful we can achieve. Once again, I’d like to reiterate that we are racing in Abu Dhabi thanks to all the fans out there – an achievement that will go down in F1 history and one that we can all be very proud of.”