As Colin Kolles’ right hand man, Manfredi Ravetto has worked at many of the backmarker teams, including Spyker/MF1, HRT and now at Caterham F1. Ravetto became deputy team principal when the 2014 takeover occurred, and when Christijan Albers stepped down as team principal after just a couple of months in the job, it was up to Ravetto to take control of the team. Caterham went into administration before the end of the year, though, handing control to the accountants.

Biography

As son of Clemente Ravetto – entrepreneur and race driver, magistrate and Knight of the Order in Malta – Manfredi had quite a lot to live up to. He got his doctorate and followed in his father’s footsteps into motorsport, although behind the scenes rather than behind the wheel. He set up a consultancy company in Italy, and began managing drivers as well as getting involved in the general running of motorsport teams.

Ravetto has previously worked with Colin Kolles at Spyker and MF1, as well as HRT, providing support in his role as general manager. He followed Kolles out the door of HRT when the team brought Luis Pérez-Sala in as team principal. Kolles became an adviser for the Caterham team after they were sold by Tony Fernandes to a consortium of unidentified investors. With Kolles on board, Ravetto was brought in as deputy team principal and general manager, working under Christijan Albers.

Albers announced his decision to leave for personal reasons after just two months in the job, and Ravetto stepped up to cover the team principal role after his immediate departure. It was to be a short-lived role, as the team went into administration before the end of the season and he was left without a squad to lead. He tweeted: "Proud having led such an extraordinary group of people although for just a few weeks!"