Timo Glock on the way out at Marussia
Timo Glock told the German newspaper Sport Bild that he and Marussia were parting ways on good terms after three years of collaboration. Eager for new challenges, the German thus leaves a seat available within a team that, with KERS, should take a step forward in 2013.
After promising beginnings in Formula 1 with Toyota, Timo Glock found refuge with Virgin Racing in 2010, before gradually falling into anonymity due to a car unable to aim for more than occasional performances just outside the points.
After three years of good and loyal service, Timo Glock and Marussia – formerly Virgin – have nevertheless decided to go their separate ways in 2013, even though the German extended his contract in 2011 until 2014: « I had three very good years with Marussia. We part on good terms, » the German tells Sport Bild.
Recently, the native of Lindenfels was confident about the future of Marussia, especially since its technical partnership with McLaren, which makes its wind tunnel available to the Banbury team: “I think the wind tunnel work has paid off since we went to McLaren and it looks very positive for the future,” he told Sporting Life. “2012 was a difficult year with a very complicated start, arriving in Australia without any testing. But I think since then we have greatly improved the car. I didn’t think we would close the gap again because we were one and a half seconds behind Caterham, and we then quickly reduced the gap during the second part of the season, which was great.”
If Timo Glock now claims he wants to take on new challenges and continue his journey in motorsport, Sport Bild mentions a future in DTM for the German. Former test driver at BMW Sauber, Timo Glock is said to have maintained good contacts in Munich and could possibly participate in the DTM tests taking place this week in Valencia. There, the German would cross paths with Robert Kubica, the Pole making his return to the track during tests for Mercedes.
Marussia could officially announce Timo Glock’s departure in the next few hours, thus opening up the competition for the German’s replacement alongside Max Chilton. This could certainly whet the appetite of some drivers who, until now, had almost given up hope. Among them, Luiz Razia mentioned last December that the team seemed rather open to the idea of considering him before Max Chilton’s recruitment was made official. The Brazilian, 2012 GP2 vice-champion, might therefore have a second chance following Timo Glock’s departure. It remains to be seen whether this decision is purely sports-motivated or driven by the economic difficulties of the team, which, at the end of the season, was seeking new investors.
