Tony Fernandes sells controlling stake in Caterham

Omnisports Pulse

July 2, 2014 3:12 AM

Tony Fernandes has sold his controlling stake in Formula One team Caterham to a consortium headed by former driver Christijan Albers.

Fernandes " who owns airline Air Asia and Premier League football club QPR " hinted on Twitter last week that he was set to walk away from the sport.

The Malaysian businessman has since closed his account on the social media website.

And he also ended his involvement in Caterham when it was officially announced on Wednesday that he had sold his stake in the team to a group of investors from Switzerland and the Middle East.

Fernandes " who originally saw his team race in 2010 as Lotus Racing and then Team Lotus the following year " bought Caterham Cars in 2011 and successfully applied for a change in his licence.

But since Caterham entered F1 in 2012, they have failed to win a point in any race as the likes of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari have dominated the sport.

A statement read: "Caterham F1 Team is pleased to confirm that Tony Fernandes and his partners have sold the team to a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors, advised by former F1 team principal Colin Kolles.

"Under the terms of the sale, the team will continue to race as Caterham F1 Team and will remain based at Leafield for the foreseeable future.

"The new ownership takes charge with immediate effect.

"Former Dutch F1 driver, Christijan Albers, assisted by Manfredi Ravetto, will take over the day-to-day running of the team, reporting directly to the board and replacing Cyril Abiteboul who will leave the team to pursue new challenges."

Albers added: "We are aware of the huge challenge ahead of us given the fight at the bottom end of the championship and our target now is to aim for tenth place in the 2014 championship.

"We are very committed to the future of the team and we will ensure that the team has the necessary resources to develop and grow and achieve everything it is capable of."

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