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Manor-Marussia's Will Stevens takes to the
racetrack in Sepang for Friday's FP1 session. (Image source: f1fanatic.co.uk)
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Facing a never
ending uphill battle, the team miraculously arrived Down Under in Bloody
Melbourne only to never turn a wheel; Err fire
a PU (Power Unit) in anger the entire race weekend...
Manor Marussia F1
Team
Chassis: MR03
Engine: Ferrari
2014 Constructor Ranking: 9th; 2-points
Debut Race: 2010 Bahrain GP
Drivers
(Car#/Name: R denotes rookie)
28) R-Will Stevens
98) R-Roberto Merhi
T/R) Jordan King
History
Manor, in all of its various guises made its
Formula 1 debut as one of Sir maXXum's (Max Mosley) chosen suitors, all powered
by the ubiquitous "Cossie" (Cosworth) V-8 customer 'lumps, i.e.; (Campos)
Hispania, Lotus F1 Racing, Manor and USF1 and is the only surviving entity from
these four entrants.
The team garnered much initial fanfare as
Virgin Racing due to Sir Richard Branson's sponsorship before Marussia first sponsored the team and then ultimately
bought it before filing for bankruptcy after last year's Russian Grand Prix.,
on the heels of team darling Jules Bianchi's horrendous accident at Suzuka.
Thus, having gone into Administration, with a
two-day auction set to sell off their wares, the team effectively sold its
Banbury F1 Headquarters to rival Haas F1 before cancelling said auction and is
now working out of the original Manor facilities in Dinnington.
Notes
According to Adam Cooper, who's led me on
somewhat of a wild Goose chase over what the team's name would be rebranded as
prior to season's beginning, past word proclaims that it'll always be Manor
Grand Prix Racing Ltd, but will run under the moniker of Manor Marussia F1
Team, most notably since the chassis must reflect the team's name, which the
last F1 chassis was the MR03.
Not sure why all the hubbub over Will Stevens
needing an FIA Superlicense pre Melbourne, since after all, the 23yr old Briton
needed one when making his debut for Caterham's final appearance in F1 at Abu
Dhabi. Whilst my initial guess (A few months ago, Pre Melbourne) for Stevens
team-mate was 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Front-runner Roberto Merhi,
who thought he had a drive at Caterham for the season finale last year.
As the team indeed did subsequently signed the
aspiring 23yr old Spaniard Merhi to its second seat, who'd also done testing
duty for the defunct Caterham team last year, albeit Merhi seems to be a
"Stop-gap" measure at best, since reportedly his deal is only for the
season's opening rounds.
Manor mistakes in Australia to cause team further Headaches?
As thankfully, the F1 team that's quickly
become my favourite this season managed not only to show up in 'KL, (Kuala Lumpur)
but effectively take to the track, albeit F1 Debutee' Roberto Merhi garnered
"Facetime" the wrong way by spinning off and bringing out a Red flag
during the FP2 (Free Practice) session, whilst the NBCSN Booth Boyz,
"Professor" (Steve) Matchett Me Thinks? Mused over how
barren the Manor-Marussia's flanks looked in regards to relative lack 'O sponsors; YIKES!
And adding insult to injury was the fact that
Will Stevens was unable to start in Malaysia due to an unfixable Fuel Supply
issue. As these teething issues will continue being worked out over race
weekend's due to their total lack of any Pre-season testing!
Yet on the positive side, Roberto Merhi did
make his Formula 1 race debut at the Malaysian Grand Prix, finishing 15th,
3-laps behind, albeit running at the Chequered flag and being classified ahead
of both McLaren Honda's that retired with engine problems, along with Lotus's
Pastor Maldonado and Sauber's Marcus Ericcson's retirements...
Manor runs for the first time in Malaysia
Alas, as the
headline says below, it was indeed good news for F1, and Bernie to have
Manor-Marussia on the grid,, as the sport needs A-L-L the competitors it can
get right now...
as hopefully Third
time out will be a Charm! With both drivers qualifying in earnest, beating the 107% Qualifying Rule
along with both cars making it to the Chequered flag...
Welcome Back Manor Marussia and Good Luck in China and Beyond