Who for the second seat at Manor?
Even though the presence of Manor Marussia is not yet guaranteed for the first race of the season in less than two weeks in Australia, many names are circulating for the second seat.
A few days ago, Manor announced its intention to participate and announced the name of its first driver, Will Stevens. The Briton made his debut in the top tier of motorsport at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the wheel of a Caterham.
The first names that circulated for this second seat are Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne. However, Eric Boullier quickly denied the Belgian, who needs to focus on winning the title in the GP2 Series with ART Grand Prix. As for Magnussen, he can benefit from the technical partnership between Manor and McLaren.
“I can’t rule that out, but that’s not the goal,” explained Magnussen in Barcelona after taking the wheel of the McLaren MP4-30. “Of course, my goal is to race again, but I want to seize the best opportunity. My future will be written with McLaren.”
If he does not sign with Manor, Magnussen has expressed his desire to race at Le Mans with his father driving a Corvette.
The other possible candidates are Giedo Van der Garde and Roberto Merhi. After a year as the third driver at Sauber, the Dutchman would be trying to give a new boost to his Formula 1 career, while Roberto Merhi would benefit from the support of Russian sponsors, the same ones who had supported him to revive his single-seater career last year.
