The Caterham Group has reportedly been put up for sale by owner Tony Fernandes after the team has so far failed to show improvement in the opening five races of the season.
At the launch of their 2014 driver line-up of Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson, Fernandes gave the team an ultimatum.
“If we’re at the back I don’t think I’m going to carry on,” he said. “Nothing is set in stone but after five years with no points there is a limit to one’s patience, money, motivation, etc, so it’s an important year.”
Currently the team are last in the standings behind long-term rival Marussia – both of which remain somewhere between three and four seconds off the leading teams.
The Edge Malaysia reports Fernandes is looking for a buyer for the Caterham Group, which includes Caterham Cars, the F1 team and its engineering companies such as Caterham Composites.
The asking price is reportedly £350 million ($590m), though it’s uncertain whether he will sell the F1 team independently of the automotive department, with rumours that both Ford and Honda are looking at entering the sport in 2015 or 2016 by buying out a current outfit.
Honda will re-enter the sport as an engine supplier to McLaren next year, but are rumoured to be interested in running a B-team with McLaren, similar to Red Bull and Toro Rosso.
Ford meanwhile have evaluated the possibility of a return to the sport and said to be keen on the idea, but it’s not clear whether that is purely as an engine supplier or manufacturer team.
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