Manor Marussia F1 Team

The **Manor Marussia F1 Team** (***MAH**-roos-yah*; the trading name of Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited) was a British Formula One team who competed in the World Championship, having first done so in 2012 under the name **Marussia F1**, having taken over from the Virgin Racing team, known in 2011 as Marussia Virgin Racing. They were owned by now-defunct Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia Motors. They are based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. Having competed under a Russian license from 2012 to 2014, they were the third Russian team in the sport, after Midland and Virgin.

They entered administration after the 2014 Russian Grand Prix, and folded on Friday 7 November 2014.

An auction of their assets was held, but a second one had been postponed indefinitely as talks regarding rescue deal are in progress. Administrators later confirmed that the team would go out of administration. However, on 5 February 2015, only one team voted against the request by Marussia to use their 2014 car. After the F1 Strategy Group chose not to let them use the chassis, Ferrari made a deal to supply Marussia with their 2014 engine.

For 2016, the Marussia name has ultimately disappeared, and the team will now be named simply Manor Racing.

## History

Marussia first entered the sport in 2011, where they became the main sponsor of Virgin Racing.

### 2012

In 2012, the team took over from Virgin. The team retained Timo Glock from 2012, and replaced Jerome D'Ambrosio with rookie Charles Pic.

 File:Marussia MR01.jpg
On 3 July 2012, test driver María de Villota suffered a heavy crash while testing for the team, and lost her right eye.

At Belgium, Charles Pic was fastest in second practice, although this was due to heavy wet conditions and that only 10 drivers set a time.

In Singapore, Timo Glock finished 12th, which pushed the team ahead of rivals Caterham. The team managed to stay ahead of Caterham until the final race in 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, where Caterham driver Vitaly Petrov overtook Charles Pic to finish 11th and overtake Marussia, it was seen as an act of deliberation, as Pic was going to join Caterham next year.

### 2013

On 18 December 2012, the team had signed Max Chilton. Timo Glock was expected to stay, but was released due to financial issues. He was replaced by Luiz Razia, who was himself released two weeks later due to a lack of sponsorship. He was replaced by Ferrari junior and Force India reserve, Jules Bianchi.

At Belgium, the team managed to get both drivers in the second round of qualifying for the first time. This was due to a well-timed strategy to go on slick tires when the track was drying.

Max Chilton set a record when he became the first driver to finish every race in his rookie season.

Despite being consideratly slower, the team managed to finish in 10th place in the constructors championship ahead of rivals Caterham, this was because of Bianchi's 13th place in Malaysia.

### 2014

For the second season in a row, Marussia's cars will be driven by Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi in 2014.

 File:Marussia MR03.jpg
In July 2013, the team announced that it will have its engines supplied by Ferrari for the 2014 season after Cosworth announced they were not supplying engines for the 2014 season.

The team scored their first ever points at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix after Jules Bianchi finished 9th. He originally finished 8th, but was given a 5-second time penalty, which dropped him down a place.

However, in the next race in Canada both drivers collided and took each other off on the first lap.

At the British Grand Prix, the team achieved their best ever qualifying result, with 12th for Bianchi, and 13th for Chilton.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, Bianchi suffered a head injury after crashing into a recovery vehicle. As a result, the team only ran Chilton for the next race in Russia. Bianchi died in hospital as a result of his injuries on 17 July 2015, becoming F1's first fatality in 21 years.

Marussia announced that they will miss the United States Grand Prix and also announced that they have entered administration in the same week as Caterham.

On the 5th November, Marussia were listed on the 2015 entry list but with Subject to confirmation. They would be entered as Manor Grand Prix, which was the team's original name before being bought by Virgin.

The team folded at 12:00 GMT on Friday 7th November 2014, with their assets being sold. The team was going to be auctioned on 21 January 2015, but the date was postponed on 19 January so to allow talks regarding a rescue package to be furthered. It was later confirmed by administrators on 4 February that Marussia will no longer be in administration on 19 February, after new investment that was secured to save the team was given, along with an agreement on a CVA with creditors. However, their request to use the MR03 for 2015 was declined by the other entrants after it was vetoed by Racing Point Force India. The F1 Strategy Group gave a negative vote to allow Marussia to use the chassis, but Maurizio Arrivabene announced on 20 February that Ferrari made a deal to let Marussia use their 2014 engine if they take part in 2015. The team's entry fee was also paid in the same month.

### 2015

 File:Alexander-Rossi-Singapore-2015.jpg
The team confirmed on 25 February 2015 that Will Stevens will drive for them in the season, and that their car will be "an advanced state of build." They later confirmed on 4 March that they will compete in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix. Roberto Merhi was later announced to drive alongside Stevens in the same Grand Prix.

Marussia later said that their new car for 2016 would be delayed until that year.

## Notes

1. ↑ Allen, James (26 October 2014). "Was Marussia’s predicament preordained?". RichlandF1. http://richlandf1.com/?p=29917. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Marussia F1 team fold after crisis talks. BBC Sport (7 November 2014). Retrieved on February 4, 2015.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Benson, Andrew (19 January 2015). Marussia F1 team 'close to rescue deal' to exit administration. BBC. Retrieved on January 19, 2015.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Marussia team could make Formula 1 return this season. BBC Sport (4 February 2015). Retrieved on February 4, 2015.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Marussia comeback blocked by Force India no vote. BBC Sport (5 February 2015). Retrieved on February 6, 2015.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ferrari would supply Manor GP old engine in 2015. *ESPN F1*. ESPN Sport UK (20 February 2015). Retrieved on February 20, 2015.
7. ↑ Price, Trent (27 October 2014). "Administrators confirm no Marussia F1 team in Austin – new buyer in the wings?". James Allen on F1. http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2014/10/administrators-confirm-no-marussia-f1-team-in-austin-new-buyer-in-the-wings/. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
8. ↑ "Manor F1 Team on provisional 2015 entry list". ESPN Sport UK. 5 November 2014. http://www.espn.co.uk/fia/motorsport/story/182485.html. Retrieved 4 Febuary 2015.
9. ↑ "Report: Manor F1 pays 2015 entry fee". *Fox Sports* (Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC). 17 February 2015. http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/report-manor-marussia-f1-2015-entry-fee-021715. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
10. ↑ Will Stevens secures Manor Formula 1 race seat. autosport.com (25 February 2015). Retrieved on February 25, 2015.
11. ↑ Benson, Andrew (25 February 2015). F1 Manor: Former Marussia team name Will Stevens as driver. *BBC Sport*. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved on March 4, 2015.
12. ↑ Marussia set to compete in Australia. *formula1.com*. Formula One Administration (4 March 2015). Retrieved on March 4, 2015.
13. ↑ Freeman, Glenn (10 March 2015). Roberto Merhi to race for Manor F1 team in Australian Grand Prix. *Autosport.com*. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved on March 10, 2015.
14. ↑ Barretto, Lawrence (11 September 2015). "Manor F1 team set to delay new car introduction to 2016". *Autosport.com* (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/120753. Retrieved 13 September 2015.