Caterham team principal Christijan Albers has resigned after just two months in charge of the ailing Formula 1 team, citing “private reasons” for his departure.
The Dutchman took over as CEO and then team principal of the team following its purchase by a consortium made up of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors, brokered by his former boss, Colin Kolles.
Since then, Caterham has undergone a number of changes, including the dismissal of a number of team members who are now seeking legal action against the team.
On track, it has also seen some changes, with Kamui Kobayashi being benched in favor of Andre Lotterer in Belgium. It is expected that he will be asked to step aside once again for the Singapore Grand Prix to allow Roberto Merhi to make his F1 debut.
In a statement issued after the Italian Grand Prix, Albers confirmed that he would be handing his duties over to Manfredi Ravetto with immediate effect.
“Over the past months I have dedicated all my energy to ensure the takeover of the team would go as smoothly as possible and to achieve the best possible result for our investors, sponsors and all the people involved with Caterham F1 Team,” Albers said. “As such I worked tirelessly to reconstruct the team while, at the same time, making technical updates on the car.
“In doing this we created both a better foundation for the team’s future and achieved significant improvements on the speed of the car.
“Due to private reasons and in order to be able to spend more time with my family, I will resign from my position as CEO of Caterham F1 Team. I wish the team all the best in the future.”
Ravetto thanked Albers for his efforts with the team, saying: “Christijan has been an asset to the team since the moment he joined. It’s been a challenging last few months, but we have moved forward together and we want to thank him for his hard work and commitment to the team. We wish him the best for the future.”
Following a very uncertain period, this news will only add to the concerns about Caterham’s future, and paddock consensus suggests that the team will not be featuring on the grid for the 2015 season.
