Symonds is pleased to witness the return of Manor Marussia
Winter almost proved fatal for Marussia, but a group of investors came to the rescue of the young team, which is working tirelessly to be on the starting grid in Melbourne.
Last week, the FIA stated that Manor had paid its entry fees for the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship season. The team took the opportunity to announce the name of its first driver, Will Stevens.
The current technical director of the Williams team, Pat Symonds, has expressed more than happiness about the potential survival of Manor Marussia, for which he had been a technical consultant in 2013.
« I am happy to see that they might be there in Melbourne, » explains Symonds. « I think we need this kind of team. »
To support these statements, the British engineer reflected on his own career in Formula 1: « In 1981, I started in a small team called Toleman. We didn’t really know what we were doing, but the team later became Benetton, then Renault, and it is currently called Lotus. »
I think it would be really damaging if the small teams were to disappear. I have worked for them and have a lot of respect for what they are trying to do. They want to race, they have no political interests. They are old-school racers. It’s really difficult to be in F1 and their success will only be greater.
Last year, Marussia scored two points, the first in its history, thanks to Jules Bianchi at the Monaco Grand Prix. It then missed the last three races of the season before being placed under administration until a solution was found.
