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Caterham staff locked out of factory

LONDON, England - Caterham's crisis went from bad to worse on Thursday (Oct 23 2014) as team staff found themselves locked out of the Leafield factory.

Finbarr O'Connell, the administrator now in charge of the facility on behalf a creditor, a Malaysian bank, told Reuters: "They can't get into the factory today (Thursday). They (the team) is using my facilities and haven't paid me."

Inside the locked factory are the green Caterham cars that will not make the weekend deadline to be shipped to Texas for the Austin F1 GP unless an urgent deal is struck.

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Earlier, team boss Manfredi Ravetto confirmed he was no longer running Caterham, given a statement that said former owner Tony Fernandes was in fact responsible once again.

Fernandes, who sold the team to a group of investors earlier in 2014, called Caterham's explosive statement "rubbish".

O'Connell, meanwhile, suggested that while talks on Wednesday with the team's existing management had failed, he also could not rule out another party stepping in.

O'Çonnell said: "It's just a case of who has got the money to make it work."

Quotes attributed to F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone earlier suggested F1 would be "better" without Caterham, but he told the BBC on Thursday he is trying to help.

Ecclestone said: "We're trying to help in any way we can, which we do with anybody that has run into a bit of difficult.

"All I know is what I've been told. Not too sure it's all true. I'd rather not lose the teams."

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 F1 season – fresh reports every day.
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