Manor F1 raced for Jules Bianchi in Hungary
This race weekend was extremely difficult for all members of the Manor F1 team, a week after the passing of Jules Bianchi. The small Russian team wanted to pay tribute to its former driver.
John Booth, the director of Manor F1, obviously took part in the numerous tributes from the F1 world to Jules Bianchi this Sunday in Hungary, including a moving minute of silence that gathered the entire grid: « It’s a really difficult day, concluding a very tough week for our team and for the entire F1 world. The approach to this weekend has been incredibly emotional, but we had a job to do today to honor Jules, and that was to finish the race in the best positions possible. »
The team’s two drivers thus finished the race in 15th and 16th places, taking advantage of their reliability and the numerous incidents: “We perfectly accomplished our goal today. I am therefore proud of the whole team for their incredible courage and strength of spirit,” stated John Booth after the race.
Roberto Merhi, as in qualifying, managed to finish ahead of Will Stevens in the race. He also has a special thought for the late driver: « Today was a very tough day and it wasn’t easy to race, but it’s what Jules would have done and would have wanted us to do. The team did a great job considering the race was not the easiest. »
Although he finished last among the classified drivers, Will Stevens enjoyed his battle with his teammate. Unfortunately, he had to pit a few laps before the end of the Grand Prix: « It was quite a difficult weekend for the team. (…) Roberto and I had a good battle here, particularly with the tire changes during the race. It was disappointing to have to stop towards the end, but I felt a vibration on the front-right, and the safest option was to stop and look into this issue, given that we were still classified ».
Manor F1 could take advantage of the summer break to improve its car to some extent. According to Roberto Merhi, who seems optimistic, with the latest Ferrari engine upgrades (Manor has the 2014 engine), the British team could even compete with Sauber and McLaren.
