Marussia are set to join Caterham in missing the United States Grand Prix according to F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
Caterham has been given special permission to miss the next two races amid an ongoing battle between administrators and management, with the former taking control of the team until it finds a buyer.
Marussia has also been battling financial problems and raced with just one car in Russia last time out following Jules Bianchi’s Japanese GP crash.
Speaking to Reuters, Ecclestone confirmed that neither outfit would travel to Austin for the race next weekend.
“Neither of those two teams are going to go to America,” he said.
Formula One Management is due to ship cars to the circuit today and it’s believed Marussia, as well as Caterham, are absent from the shipping list.
It will mean that, for the first time since the 2005 Monaco GP, that the grid will feature just 18 cars.
It’s not clear whether Marussia have permission to miss the event. If they don’t, they would break their contractual obligations with FOM, resulting in the loss of any prize money due this season which could cost the team upwards of £30 million if they finish higher than tenth.
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