Fernandes: Caterham F1 buyers to blame

Tony Fernandes says Caterham F1 Team's buyers - Engavest SA - have failed to comply with conditions agreed when he sold the team in June.

Engavest claimed on Thursday that it had paid for the team's shares but was yet to receive them from Fernandes and was stepping back from the team, leaving Fernandes "fully responsible" for its future. However, Fernandes has hit back in his own statement, saying Engavest has not paid off the debts it had agreed to when acquiring Caterham F1.

"In June 2014, I decided, together with my co-shareholders, to sell my stake in the Caterham F1 team," Fernandes said in a statement.

"We agreed in good faith to sell the shares to a Swiss company named 'Engavest' on the basis that Engavest undertook to pay all of the existing and future creditors, including the staff.

"The continued payment of staff and creditors was so important to me that I ensured that the shares would not be transferred to the new buyers unless they complied with this condition.

"Sadly, Engavest has failed to comply with any of the conditions in the agreement and Caterham Sports Ltd (the UK operating company of the F1 team) has had to be put into administration by the bank, with large sums owing to numerous creditors.

"Our agreement with Engavest was very clear: there was no legal obligation to transfer the shares to them unless certain conditions - which included paying creditors - were met.

"Those conditions have not been met. Our lawyers have asked Engavest several times to comply with these conditions but they have failed to engage.

"If you agree to buy a business, you must pay its bills. They have breached that promise and now, sadly, it is others such as the employees and the fans of the Caterham F1 team that will suffer if the team ceases to race. I sincerely hope that this will not be the case and that a solution can be found."