Manor Racing MRT are facing a race against time to save their Formula 1 future after parent company Just Racing Services Ltd, went into administration last week, when they were unable to find a buyer to resolve their financial situation.
According to motorsport.com, sources have indicated that they have just one more week to find an investor if they are to make it onto the grid in time for the start of the 2017 Formula One Season, which starts with the Australian Grand Prix, at the end of March.
The deadline they must meet is said to be January 20, after which point there will be no going back for the Banbury based team, despite the fact their 2017 car is already waiting to go into production.
That process cannot start however; as all further spending has been blocked by the administrator, in order to protect the teams creditors from going unpaid.
Manor are currently doing all they can to find a buyer, but the short timeframe may prove to be a step too far on this occasion. Recent negotiations with an Asian investment consortium initially looked positive and terms of a sale had even been agreed, but they eventually fell through before the transaction could complete, and finding other potential suitors has proven a tough ask for the squad.
Dropping to bottom place in the constructor’s standings at the penultimate round of the season in Brazil last year effectively sealed Manor’s fate, as they lost out on around £15 million in prize money and with it the ability to race in 2017.
