Caterham to also sign van der Garde, Chilton to Marussia
02/01/13 This van der Garde portion of this rumor is also 'fact' today. According to AR1.com sources Van der Garde has signed with Caterham. We await the formal announcement.
12/18/12 The Chilton to Marussia portion of this rumor is now 'fact' with today's announcement. Ride-buyer Chilton's father Grahame reportedly has a personal fortune in the region of $150 million. He will be Timo Glock's fourth different rookie teammate since 2010.
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| Max Chilton |
12/17/12 (GMM) Marussia team owner Nikolai Fomenko has confirmed speculation British rookie Max Chilton will make his formula one debut in 2013.
Fomenko, the head of Russian supercar Marussia who bought into the then Virgin team at the end of 2010, was asked by Russian journalists the identity of the driver replacing Caterham-bound Frenchman Charles Pic.
International reports, including RMC (France), Speed Week (Switzerland) and MTV3 (Finland) say Fomenko answered Chilton's name, the GP2 driver whose wealthy father Grahame is the chairman of the Aon company.
The reports said Chilton comes with a financial contribution of EUR 11.5 million.
Meanwhile, Fomenko dismissed reports Marussia is weighed down with US $125 million in debt.
"We have debts, but not $125m, as I read recently," he insisted.
11/23/12 It is rumored the sponsored Dutchman Giedo van der Garde will be Charles Pic's teammate next year Caterham.
It is further strongly rumored that Marussia will replace Pic with Briton Max Chilton in 2013, whose father is the multi-millionaire Grahame, the owner of the Carlin GP2 team he drove for in 2012.