Manor F1 team collapses after failing to find buyer

The Manor F1 team is to close after administrators were unable to find a buyer for the struggling outfit.

Five days after Formula 1 came under new ownership, Just Racing Services Limited – the operating company for Manor's F1 program – has ceased trading. Staff were sent home on Friday having been informed of the development by administrator FRP Advisory, with redundancies to be made by the close of business on Tuesday. FRP Advisory had secured funding for staff until the end of January – effectively extending the deadline to find new investment by one week – but a buyer could not be found.

"It is deeply regrettable that the team has had to cease trading and close its doors," FRP administrator Geoff Rowley said. "Manor is a great name in British motorsport and the team has achieved a great deal over the past two years, invigorated under new ownership.

"Operating and running a F1 team to the high standards demanded, however, requires significant ongoing investment. Just Racing Services Limited was put into administration at the start of January shortly after attempts to sell the business fell through at the last hurdle.

"The administration process provided a moratorium to allow for attempts to secure a long-term viable solution for the team within in a very limited time frame but sadly no solution could be achieved to allow for the business to continue in its current form within what was a very tight time frame."

A statement from FRP Advisory added there was "no sustainable operational or financial structure in place to maintain the Group as a going concern."

The team had been working toward being ready to take part in pre-season testing and still harbored hopes of being able to introduce its 2017 car later in the year until Friday's announcement. While Manor Grand Prix Racing Ltd. – the sister company that holds the license to compete in F1 – is not in administration, a new team could be created from the remaining assets but to do so would make it highly unlikely that it could be ready for the new season.

Manor originally entered Formula 1 under the title of Virgin Racing back in 2010 (above), one of three new teams to join the sport at the time, while the USF1 team was also granted an entry but failed to make the grid. Entering alongside Lotus Racing and Hispania, Manor was the final surviving team of the three after HRT collapsed in 2012 and Lotus Racing – rebranded as Caterham – disappeared at the end of the 2014 season.

At the same time as Caterham originally entering administration before folding, Manor – then called Marussia – also went into administration but was saved at the 11th hour in 2015. Stephen Fitzpatrick rescued the team and ran a year-old chassis and power unit before a deal with Mercedes saw the team run much more competitively in 2016. Having scored a point in Austria, Manor was edged for 10th place in the constructors' championship by Sauber at the penultimate race and Fitzpatrick highlighted the result as the catalyst for the team's demise.

All three teams entered F1 under the promise of a £40 million ($50m) budget cap that never materialized. Liberty Media are looking into the idea of a cost cap again, with Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn telling RACER the new owners want to "seriously" discuss such restrictions.