FIA: No penalty for Manor F1 after its withdrawal
The stewards of the Australian Grand Prix have delivered their verdict: they refuse to penalize the Manor F1 team after their absence from qualifying.
Although present in their garage in Australia, the Manor F1 team (formerly Marussia) was unable to participate in all free practice sessions and qualifying. On Saturday, the FIA summoned the team officials to explain themselves, in support of Article 13.2 of the Sporting Regulations. It specifies that « teams participating in the World Championship must clearly express intent to field the authorized number of drivers and cars at each race.
In light of the written evidence provided to the stewards, the FIA concluded that the Manor team did not violate the regulations. A decision published by the stewards states that the team participated in the Grand Prix weekend, working with all its available equipment and personnel.
Furthermore, the team led by John Booth justified themselves by stating that even the curfew time would not have been enough to present both cars on the track.
As a reminder, the team is facing major computer problems affecting the electronics of its two single-seaters. All the team’s computers had been seized and sold at the time when the team was placed under judicial administration. All the data had thus been erased, including those related to the Ferrari engine relationship. The time taken for their reinstallation is therefore one of the main reasons for their delay.
The team staff only needs to make every possible effort to be on track from the first minutes of the free practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. The team will also be heading to Kuala Lumpur as of tomorrow.
