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.
 
What I feel that we need is a complete revamp of the system.

1. Engine manufacturers should be totally separate from the competing teams and should have to supply any team who wants to use their units with identical items.

2. Redistribution of the money should be on a much more favourable terms to the teams lower down the grid.

3. All teams who participate in two thirds or more of the races should get a share of the money according to how many races in which they participate. Hopefully this should not be necessary but see below.

4. It should be made simpler for new teams to join. The current system is a farce, no entry fees would help prospective teams and a more sensible method of selection should as well. However that might well leave the door open for Dave Richards so certain teams might object.

5. In the event of there being too many teams pre-qualifying could be re-introduced.

6. All events to be streamed on the internet with a reasonable charge for use.

It would be nice if manufacturers were to leave but we can't get everything.
 
Don't know if Liberty Media would do anything to help make F1 more even or the new owner being an American..if you are going to advertise F1 to the states then the racing has to be more even to get viewers to follow

But when you have a system where the governing body, the promoters and the competitors must all agree on the share of the spoils no one is going to budge an inch if it meant they will lose out like Ferrari getting $50m a year royalty payments for being part of F1 history

It is sad that Manor have ended up here given it looked like the team was making directions upwards and challenging Sauber

I can't see this changing any sooner . Future independent teams will only survive if they are run as a B team for manufacturers which is what Toro Rosso, Haas and some aspects Force India are
 
...Or f1 keeps going at this rate where spending increases more & more at ever more unsustainable rate, ...

Spending in F1 really has not increased that much since the early 2000s. (Which on its own is astonishing since up to that point spending had been increasing in an exponential rate doubling every four years or so.) What I think has increased over the last couple of years is the minimum one needs to spend to stay competitive.
 
What I feel that we need is a complete revamp of the system.
2. Redistribution of the money should be on a much more favourable terms to the teams lower down the grid.

Even ignoring the ridiculous historical payments and bonuses to the top three (oh and McLaren, oh hang on and Williams too), this alone would make a huge difference, and requires no mechanism other than agreement.

The $60M approx difference between the top and bottom finishers in the WCC could be reduced to say $20M. Instant relief.
 
Also been given permission to run 2016 car......so they'll just go bust at end of 2017 instead.

Remember when teams didn't have to have a brand new car every season and could just keep modifying the one they had until it got it perfect? Must have been a lot cheaper. I guess the regs would have to stay still for more than 5 mins at a time for that to come back though.
 
Run the 2016 car?

When the 2017 cars are expected to be multiple seconds quicker than 2016 what on earth would be the point in that? Plus, the car would need to be modified in some ways to accomodate the new tyres.

If they can't run for 2017 they'd be better off finding a new investor, taking 2017 off and re-entering in 2018 with a years prep on the car. That way they may stand a slight chance of being able to post competitive times.

No investor in their right minds would want to fund a team so off the pace should they run the 2016 car this season (or even run it for a proportion of the year).
 
I agree but they're not allowed to take 2017 off. They have to run or they'd lose their place on the grid and have to apply again. This would cost then a shite load and also lose them any previous earnings and payments. Their place on the grid is currently the only thing making them an appealing prospect for any investor.

Basically it's back to 2015 for Manor.

Of course this all stems back to the end of 2014. If they'd had their payout for being 9th early they'd have been able to complete their 2015 car which was shaping up quite well (and would have had that latest Ferrari engine). They'd have earned more money not trundling around at the back and would have probably been set up better to weather any storm this year.

F1 though has no interest in caring for its back of the field teams and helping them grow into something competitive.
 
Maybe if F1 get rid of Bernie finally there will be some who want operate such megalomaniac approach to making money but why would the bigger teams want to give up their earnings to help small team staff afloat?
 
It is funny how Brabham were allowed to take a year off when Bernie couldn't find a suitable engine at the end of the Turbo era.

Also, I'm sure Manor could negotiate with the powers that be for a year out.
 
Greenlantern101 I didn't say he was irreplaceable. I'm saying he does a job that needs doing and whoever takes over doing it has got to be prepared to be as hated as him.

Max Mosley was hated too (and rightly sometimes I Don't like him as a person) but since he was ousted (by the teams I may add for trying to do something most people agreed with) F1 has suffered from not having a replacement that is prepared to play the role he played. Same thing will happen when Bernie goes if someone doesn't step up.
 
Bernie does not help either but there has always been big team vs small team rows over money and it usually centres around those aligned with manufacturers who have plenty of resources and those who are struggling privateers
 
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