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.

 

[teabagyokel]

What's. The. Point?

 

[FB]

Looks just like the model.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Stuck on stands and unlikely to move you mean?

 

[Titch]

So they spent all that money to take two cars to Australia for a holiday?

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Well to me it demonstrates they'd tried their best. Ecclestone doesn't seem too happy about it, so it's had some positive effects.

 

[Mephistopheles]

It doesn't take that bloody long to load software onto a computer...

 

[cider_and_toast]

It does when your cars aren't fully ready and you need to buy some time.

 

[Andyoak]

Depends if that computer is a Spectrum

 

[gethinceri]

Or full of porn like mine.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Slightly embarrassing I had to give control of my computer to a tech from virgin the other day because I couldn't get Sky F1 on Virgin anywhere to work and I noticed he had a wee peek at my internet history whilst he was at it..

 

[F1Yorkshire]

He will have seen worse no doubt!

 

[Mephistopheles]

It was like when my mum found my porn stash that wasn't mine..

 

[F1Yorkshire]

The youth of today doesn't know what it's like to have a porn stash and the lengths we had to go to to keep it out of sight.

 

[Brogan]

Ecclestone is arguing with the FIA over whether Manor fulfilled their obligations with regards to the Australian GP.

He wants them to pay for the freight costs despite the FIA decreeing that they did participate.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/16/uk-motor-racing-manor-ecclestone-idUKKBN0MC1DU20150316

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

He will have seen worse no doubt!

I hope he's seen worse.

 

[RasputinLives]

This is all a bit silly. if they'd given them special dispensation to have a few days at Silverstone to sort out all these issues then they'd probably have been running and it would not have given them the slightest bit of advantage.

F1 needs teams and it has one coming back from the brink. Just a little bit a helping hand and all this would be sorted. Doesn't appear to be the F1 way at the mo though. Everyone is too busy fighting over a bigger piece of the pie to worry about anyone else portion.

I hope they get out on track in Malaysia and I hope they survive even if they are at the back. F1 needs racing teams because when the big car making companies and fuzzy drinks giants clear off (which they all will eventually) it will be what we are left with.

 

[cider_and_toast]

It all ways seems to me that FOM, the FIA etc do just enough to achieve not quite enough.

 

[RasputinLives]

Lowden is claiming that now he's seen the 2015 field he really thinks they could have 'turned a few heads' if they'd been able to finish the 2015 car they started last year. I'm guessing he means if they had the car and the new Ferrari engine then they'd have jump Mclaren and the Renualt teams too and I'm pretty sure he's right.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/31963520

Just goes to show that if just a little bit more of the TV money had filtered down to the smaller teams that they may very well had clawed their way up to be almost competitive and at least midfield. Instead the front teams kept all the money and the little teams stay at the back with everyone saying they are a waste of grid space and why do they even bother to turn up. Lets remember Marussia were 'mis-managed' into debt but just couldn't afford to keep up with the cost of compeating.

Nurture the seedlings and they become big strong plants. Plant them in the shade of the biggest trees and they'll never grown high enough to see the light.

oooooo that sounded deep didn't it?

 

[cider_and_toast]

But the culture of F1 is to keep the big boys big and screw the rest. They don't want the little teams to catch up just in case they get overtaken by them.

It would be like the top four premier league teams insisting that the bottom third of the table take to the pitch with one less player just because they're little.

 

[siffert_fan]

C_A_T

I am tempted to give you a "like" for that, but because it is so appallingly true, that might be interpreted as saying I like the implications of it being true