Booth: Manor owes its survival to Bianchi
Present in the pit lane of the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, the Manor Marussia team managed to find new investors to ensure its survival after experiencing serious cash flow problems.
For John Booth, the former team principal of the Marussia team, the British team owes its survival to the two points earned by Jules Bianchi during the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix. Having delivered a magnificent race, the French driver finished in eighth place before receiving a five-second penalty.
If Jules Bianchi is largely responsible for the survival of Manor Marussia, the Frenchman is still in a coma following his accident during the Japanese Grand Prix last October.
« I think about Jules every day, » Booth states in the columns of AUTOhebdo. « He should have been with us in Melbourne to share this joy. We couldn’t take the track, but we won our battle. I hope Jules can win his. »
« Without him, without the two points he picked up in Monaco last year, we wouldn’t exist anymore. In the end, that’s what convinced the new investors of the team’s potential. I don’t know if our presence on the track will help his parents, but I hope it does, even if it remains rather insignificant. »
Today, we are the first to emerge from the worst ordeal Manor has ever experienced, and I have no doubt that Jules will also succeed. What we managed to rebuild over the winter shows that faith can move mountains and that there is always hope as long as we believe in it. Jules, your team is with you.
