Manor (formerly Marussia)

Virgin

FIA Entry: Marussia Virgin Racing
Car 24: Timo Glock
Car 25: Jerome d’Ambrosio
Engine: Cosworth V8
Team Principal: John Booth
Technical Director: Nick Wirth
Race Engineer Car 24: Mark Hutchison
Race Engineer Car 25: Dave Greenwood

Stats as of end 2010

First Entered 2010
Races Entered 19
Race Wins 0
Pole Positions 0
Fastest Laps 0
Driver World Championships 0
Constructor World Championships 0

Manor Motorsport

When F3 team Manor Motorsport were given a place on the F1 grid in 2010 they commissioned Wirth Research to build them a car. Brawn sponsor Virgin became title sponsor and Virgin Racing was born

Virgin Racing

With Cosworth engines, Xtrac gearboxes and drivers Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi Virgin Racing embarked on their first F1 season. The VR01 chassis was the first ever F1 designed entirely using CFD, with designer Nick Wirth believing computer simulations were sufficient to not need expensive wind tunnel testing.

Inevitably the team had reliability issues early on and they also discovered the fuel tank on the car wasn't sufficiently large enough to allow the team to complete full race distance. Wirth Research got a dispensation from the FIA to homologate a new chassis and by Spain both cars finished the race.

The team regularly finished races but barely troubled the mid-field. By seasons end the team were placed 12th and last in the Constructors Championship based on a count back of minor placing’s having managed a highest finish of 14th.

2011

Russian carmaker Marussia have taken a controlling interest in the team for 2011 and Belgian Jerome d’Ambrosio replaces Lucas di Grassi. With the VR02 chassis Virgin will be hoping to move further up the grid in 2011.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I hate to say I told you so but.

I TOLD YOU SO...

 

[cider_and_toast]

For want of a nose

A time to sleep perchance to dream

 

[Westy]

The team just changed their profile picture on Facebook to a message reading "GET READY"

So you're telling me there's a chance?

 

[RasputinLives]

Is that Marussia's twitter page or Manor F1's new page?

I have my fingers crossed for them.

 

[RasputinLives]

http://m.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117683

So it seems the saga continues as the FIA are delaying the entry list in order to give Manor a chance to get themselves ready with suggestion now that they might even have an 'interim' 2015 car ready for Australia.

If Manor make the first GP and Force India don't it would be quite funny (I'd rather they were both there though).

 

[cider_and_toast]

I wish they'd sort this mess out. Its playing merry hell with my Fantasy Team choices. Do I wait for Manor to be available or not? Who knows?

 

[teabagyokel]

cider_and_toast - On the basis they'll be shite, I wouldn't.

 

[cider_and_toast]

You never know

 

[Mephistopheles]

Surely if a team like McLaren can unwittingly build a really shit car two years on the bounce then it should be possible for a team like Manor to accidentally build an exceptional car without knowing how they did it...

 

[siffert_fan]

If they are using the 2014 chassis, does that mean they will be using the 2014 power units as well?

 

[teabagyokel]

Mephistopheles - Aye, it is theoretically plausible, but without the money they'd get passed by teams with R&D budgets very quickly.

Brawn were a team with the excellent and clever engineers currently dominating F1. They had two well-regarded development drivers. They knew exactly how they'd dominated.

Without the R&D budget, with all else in place, their hegemony lasted four months.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

I still see it written that the Brawn car was the most expensive in F1 development history, but they had to deal with the hiccup of fitting the engine not originally intended. It's not necessarily the perfect example of an austerity car but I'm glad it happened, even if their domainaion got a little tiresome in that one season (Red Bulls and McLarens not withstanding towards the end).

 

[siffert_fan]

In all honesty, I can't envision them being anything other than the dregs this season, assuming they even make it to the grid. I also really don't understand how the FIA could let them use the 2014 chassis, when most of the chassis changes for 2015 were done for safety reasons. Have they forgotten about Bianchi already?

 

[Mephistopheles]

I can't see any of the changes made to the 2015 cars making one Iota of difference as to what happened to Bianchi

 

[teabagyokel]

It's not necessarily the perfect example of an austerity car

Yeah, but it is the perfect example of an austerity team running an expensively developed, dominant car.

 

[Bill Boddy]

It was also the perfect example of how to hang on to your lead when in a car which is fourth fastest at best.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Looks like Doctor Frankenstein maybe about to revive the creature as Manor GP exit administration having their CVA approved by all parties.

http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/191733.html

 

[RasputinLives]

Lets remember the FIA has already accepted their entry fee too!

 

[siffert_fan]

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/322149/ferrari-agrees-to-supply-manor-with-engines/

So they will be using last years power units! They are guaranteed to be dead last this year. No surprise.

 

[Titch]

What a waste of money. Why do they want to race with last years car and engines, it doesn't make any sense. They might as well fly to each race and sit by the track and burn money.