Manor Marussia F1 ready to race at the Australian Grand Prix
Less than ten days before the start of the season, the Manor Marussia F1 team has indicated that it is ready to race in Australia even though some crash tests still need to be passed. The organizational structure has also been specified.
Manor Marussia F1 confirmed in a statement that its car would be ready to race for the Australian Grand Prix, which will start in nine days (from March 13 to 15).
The structure based in Dinnington, built on the ashes of the Marussia team, is said to have finalized the preparation of its interim car—a modified 2014 chassis to comply with 2015 regulations—and is reportedly ready to head to Melbourne in the coming days.
Graeme Lowdon, former director of Marussia and sporting director of Manor, stated for Autosport: « At certain moments during the last six months, it was not entirely certain that we would reach this point. I am very excited to announce that, thanks to the hard work of an incredible number of people, we are ready to race again. The last few months have been a rollercoaster, and I especially want to thank the fans. »
There are still some essential steps, like certain crash tests, to get authorization to align: « The crash tests are underway – we have made space in the laboratory to conduct the crash tests this week, so I think the preparation day is today and then the tests will start, » said Lowdon. « There are just a small number of tests to do, a push test, and an impact test. We will just have to see how these tests go. »
« The preparation time for the car was incredibly short, but there’s a bit of leeway, so let’s hope things go well this year. The car is prepared in Dinnington, […] the main freight transport is on Friday and we will send parts until the last minute. »
Manor also confirmed that Stephen Fitzpatrick, the director of the energy company Ovo Energy, was the main investor. Justin King, the former director of the British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, will serve as interim team director. The second driver of the team, alongside Briton Will Stevens, has not yet been announced.
