The UK’s Caterham F1 racing team launched a campaign last Friday on Crowdcube to raise £2,350,000 so that their F1 team can participate in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 23, 2014. With only a few days left, they have raised ~53% of the funds they need so far.
Due to financial difficulties, the team has already missed the US Grand Prix and will also be missing the Brazilian Grand Prix this year. With an impressive start to their Crowdcube campaign – raising over £1 million in 48 hours – and the announcement of a potential new buyer, the team feels as though they are on track to reach their goal.
“[A] new financially-sound interested party has entered the arena and is considering acquiring the team. This new interest is wholly due to this campaign,” Finbarr O’Connell (Caterham Sports Limited administrator and current F1 Team Principal) said, in a post on BBC News.
Still, the team has faced some criticism from people in the industry who claim that the company is basically begging for financing. The Caterham team see it instead as a creative way of coming back; they’re taking a different route than Marussia, another F1 team that was having financial troubles and recently disbanded.
A post by The Guardian stated that one of these critics was Formula One’s Bernie Ecclestone. “I think it’s a disaster,” Ecclestone said. “We don’t want begging bowls. If people can’t afford to be in Formula One, they have to find something else to do.”
O’Connell responded to the claims by saying that they did not plan on running the team through a crowdfunding campaign, but instead it seemed like an innovative way to attract sponsors and interact with new and old fans:
“In order to make this happen, we’ve teamed-up with Crowdcube, the world’s leading crowdfunding platform, which has raised £45m for more than 150 organizations since 2011. If we don’t hit the target by next Friday, obviously the pledged funds will be returned, but right now we are hopeful for the future of the team and we are confident that the team showing the world that it can race again will lead to a bright future under a new owner on a proper financial footing.” – f1technical.
On their Crowdcube page Caterham is offering many once in a lifetime rewards to backers who support this effort. For £5 pledges fans get a #RefuelCaterhamF1 Badge and many other pledge levels offer a ton of exclusive merchandise – including used race car parts! For a pledge of £550 backers get dinner with one of the drivers and for £1,000 backers can get their name on a race car (with a professional photo with the names displayed).
