Marussia F1

Marussia
Full name Marussia F1 Team
Base Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Noted staff John Booth
Graeme Lowdon
Nikolai Fomenko
John McQuilliam
Pat Symonds
Andrey Cheglakov
Andy Webb
Noted drivers France Jules Bianchi
United Kingdom Max Chilton
Germany Timo Glock
France Charles Pic
Previous name Marussia Virgin Racing
Next name Manor F1 Team
Formula One World Championship career
Debut 2012 Australian Grand Prix
Races competed 55
Engines Cosworth, Ferrari
Constructors'
Championships		 0
Drivers'
Championships		 0
Race victories 0
Podiums 0
Points 2
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
Final race 2014 Russian Grand Prix

The Marussia F1 Team was an Anglo-Russian Formula One racing team based in Banbury in the United Kingdom. The team was managed by Marussia Manor Racing,[1] which was a subsidiary of Marussia Motors, a now defunct sports car manufacturer which was based in Moscow.[2] The team originally started racing in 2010 under the "Virgin Racing" name; the following year Virgin adopted Marussia as a title sponsor becoming "Marussia Virgin Racing" until being fully rebranded as the "Marussia F1 Team" for 2012.

The Marussia team scored its first championship points at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, where its leading driver, Jules Bianchi, finished ninth, in doing so Marussia became the first Russian licensed constructor to score world championship points.[3]

Following a serious crash and injuries suffered by Jules Bianchi at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, the team raced for the first time with a single car at the inaugural 2014 Russian Grand Prix. On 26 October 2014, news reports emerged that the Marussia team would not participate at the 2014 United States Grand Prix due to financial reasons and that, on 7 October 2014, the team filed a notice in the London High Court intending to go into administration.[4] The appointed administrator released an official statement on 27 October 2014[5] and the team was still included in FIA's provisional entry list for the 2015 Formula One season but as the "Manor F1 Team".[6] On 7 November 2014, however, the administrator announced that the team had ceased trading.[7]

On 19 January 2015, the administrators of Marussia announced the auction of its cars and assets had been cancelled as a possible buy out takes place, after the team collapsed owing around £60m, two of the companies out of pocket include Marussia's former competitors McLaren and Ferrari. The team exited administration on 19 February 2015 after a CVA had been signed and new investment was secured to rescue the team. Former Sainsbury's CEO Justin King reportedly being the team's main backer.[8] However on 5 February 2015, a request that the team be allowed to compete in the 2015 season using 2014 chassis was vetoed by just one of the other Formula One entrants.[9]

History

Background

See also: Virgin Racing

In 2009, Manor Grand Prix were awarded an entry into Formula One for the 2010 season, as a tie-up between successful junior racing team Manor Motorsport and Wirth Research. Before the end of that year, these entities became known as Virgin Racing, after Richard Branson's Virgin Group of companies who had bought the title sponsorship rights. Marussia were one of the team's partners for its debut season, where it finished in twelfth and last place in the constructors' championship. In November 2010, Marussia Motors purchased a controlling stake in the team, and the team became known as 'Marussia Virgin Racing' for the 2011 season.[10][11] Following a disappointing start to the 2011 season, the team parted company with Wirth Research and entered a partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies ahead of the 2012 season. With this came a relocation from the original base in Dinnington, to the old Wirth premises in Banbury in Great Britain. Meanwhile, the team again finished the year bottom of the constructors' championship. In November 2011, it applied to the Formula One commission to formally change their constructor name for the 2012 season from Virgin to Marussia, to reflect their new ownership.[12] Permission was granted before being formally ratified at a meeting of the FIA World Motorsport Council.[13]

2012 season

Charles Pic driving the Marussia MR01 at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.

On 31 December 2011, Marussia Virgin Racing announced they were now called Marussia F1 Team.[14] Virgin, who had previously been the title sponsor for the team, announced that they would be staying with the team and feature its logos staying on the 2012 car.[15] The team had announced in July 2011 that Timo Glock had signed a new three-year contract with the team.[16] Glock would be joined for the 2012 season by GP2 Series graduate Charles Pic,[17] who spent two days testing with the team at the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi.

The Marussias of Charles Pic and Timo Glock leading the HRT's of Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan during the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix.

By 29 September 2011, Marussia already had a 60% scale model of their 2012 car ready for use in the McLaren wind tunnel.[18] The team received its first parts for the car in December 2011.[19] The team also announced that the 2012 car would be the only car on the grid not to have the new-to-F1, Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS).[20] This status lasted only for one race weekend. Rival team HRT failed to qualify within the 107% time and were not allowed to race at the season opener in Australia. HRT decided that it was best to remove KERS from the car and focus on successfully qualifying.[21]

Prior to the final testing session for the 2012 season at Barcelona, on 27 February the team announced via its website that the new MR01 car had failed the last of the mandatory 18 crash tests required of each car by the FIA.[22] This meant the team would miss the final pre-season testing, instead choosing to concentrate on passing the remaining crash test in time for the first race of the year, the Australian Grand Prix.

On 5 March 2012, Marussia revealed the MR01 at Silverstone.[23] The car design was led by technical consultant Pat Symonds and the team became the penultimate team to reveal its car for the 2012 season.

On 3 July 2012, test driver Maria de Villota was testing a car at Duxford Airfield, when she crashed heavily into the lift gate of the team transporter, and sustained serious injuries.[24] She had been performing straight line aerodynamic tests in preparation for the British Grand Prix. On 4 July 2012, it was confirmed that de Villota lost her right eye as a result of the accident.[25] At Spa, the team's 50th Grand Prix as Virgin/Marussia, Charles Pic was fastest in free practice 2 with Timo Glock sixth. This became the highest ever result in an official Formula One session for the team in its history thanks, however, to the fact that only 10 drivers had set times in the session, due to heavy rain conditions. In Singapore, Timo Glock produced the then best ever race result for Marussia, finishing in 12th place; a result sufficient to elevate Marussia into 10th place in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of closest rivals, Caterham and HRT.

However, at the final race of the season in Brazil, Vitaly Petrov, racing for Caterham, finished the race in 11th place, thus reclaiming 10th place in the Constructors' Championship and the associated prize money for Caterham, demoting Marussia to 11th in the Championship.

2013 season

Max Chilton driving for Marussia during pre-season testing.
Jules Bianchi driving the Marussia MR02 at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix.

On 18 December 2012, Marussia announced that Max Chilton would make his Formula One debut in 2013 after securing the second race seat at the team, making him the fourth different driver in the history of the Marussia/Virgin team.[26] Reportedly, Timo Glock left Marussia before the 2013 season for "commercial reasons".[27] Luiz Razia also followed suit shortly after due to sponsorship difficulties, resulting in Ferrari Academy driver, Jules Bianchi, making his Formula One driver début for the 2013 season.[28] On 14 March 2013, Rodolfo González was appointed as the team's reserve driver.[29] For the first race in Australia, both cars qualified ahead of rivals Caterham, while at the Malaysian Grand Prix, Bianchi finished the race in thirteenth position.

Throughout the year, Marussia and their nearest rivals Caterham remained at the back of the grid, usually qualifying on the back two rows. They fared better in racing, however, and whilst they failed to score any points, they demonstrated good reliability throughout the season. By the end of it, Marussia finished tenth in the constructors championship, ahead of Caterham, earning them significant additional revenue for 2014. English driver Max Chilton became the first rookie driver ever to finish every race in a season.[30]

2014 season

For 2014, Marussia decided to power its MR03 car with Ferrari engines.[31] Cosworth elected not to build an engine for the new 2014 regulations.[32] The team retained both Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton as its drivers.[33][34]

At the Monaco Grand Prix, Bianchi scored his own and Marussia's first ever points by finishing ninth in an eventful race.[3]

On 24 July, American rookie Alexander Rossi joined the team as a test and reserve driver from Caterham. On 21 August, it was announced he would be replacing Chilton for the Belgian Grand Prix while contractual issues were resolved.[35] However, this decision was reversed the following morning during the free practice session.[36]

During the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on 5 October, Bianchi's car spun off on lap 43, colliding with a marshal's crane tractor that was attending to Adrian Sutil's Sauber car, which had also span and crashed at the Dunlop curve (Turn 7) on the previous lap. The safety car was brought out and the race was subsequently red-flagged. Bianchi was reported as being unconscious after the crash, failing to respond to a radio call from his team and marshals that had gone to his rescue. Due to the precarious weather conditions at the time, he was taken to closest hospital, the Mie University hospital, by ambulance instead of helicopter[37][38][39] On the same day, Bianchi's father reported that his son was in a critical condition with a head injury requiring brain surgery in order to reduce severe bruising to his head.[40] Soon after, the FIA released a statement that CT scans had shown Bianchi suffered a "severe head injury" in the crash, and he would be transferred to intensive care following surgery.[41][42] A family update later, aside from acknowledging the widespread support, confirmed that Bianchi had suffered a diffuse axonal injury, which is a common traumatic brain injury[43] in vehicle accidents involving high deceleration.

At the inaugural Russian Grand Prix a weekend later, in place of the hospitalized Bianchi, the team originally registered Rossi in the participant list,[44] before finally deciding to field a single car driven by Bianchi's team-mate, Max Chilton.[45][46] In addition, at the same venue, Marussia raced its MR03 car with "#JB17" livery, after Bianchi's initials and race number, to further honour and support their injured driver. Aside from providing updates on their seriously injured driver's medical condition in conjunction with the Bianchi family, a fortnight after the Suzuka accident, the Marussia team also went on public record to condemn various media reports that have been making speculative assertions about the team's direct role in that accident.[47]

On 25 October, it was announced that, along with Caterham, Marussia would be unable to compete at the United States Grand Prix due to financial reasons. As transport of Formula One team equipment between the USA and Brazil for return to Europe is coordinated together, Marussia also missed the following weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.[48] Around the same time, further media reports revealed that, Formula One teams have agreed to teams in difficulty to miss out up to two races per season and that, on 7 October 2014, Marussia Manor Racing filed a notice in the London High Court intending to assign an administrator.[49] An official statement by the appointed administrator was released on 27 October 2014.[5] In the same week, the team's main financial backer, Andrey Cheglakov, confirmed to Russian news agency ITAR-TASS that he had withdrawn from the team.[50] In addition, British media reported that British-Indian steel industry brothers Baljinder Sohi and Sonny Kaushal were potential buyers for the team.[51]

At the United States Grand Prix, although in breach of Formula One regulations by not being present at that race weekend, the FIA stewards decided to not impose any penalties, in consequence of the team's current financial circumstances, similar to those of the also missing Caterham F1 team. Instead, they referred the matter to the attention of the FIA president.[52]

On 5 November 2014, the FIA included the team in the provisional entry list for the 2015 Formula One season but as the "Manor F1 Team".[6] Two days later, however, the administrator announced that the team had ceased trading and folded, without further entry to F1[7] making 200 staff members redundant. Notwithstanding this, coinciding with the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, the former team CEO, Graeme Lowdon, remained adamant of the possibility that Marussia could return for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, with a view of also securing its entry in 2015.[53]

Despite this optimism, Marussia failed to appear at the last three races of the season, with its assets sold at auction in mid-December 2014.[54] With the aim of facilitating the entry of his F1 team in 2016, it is reported that Gene Haas purchased Marussia's Banbury base as well as data and designs for the 2015 car, which was already well developed with a scale wind-tunnel model.[55]

On 5 February 2015, a request by the team that it should be allowed to compete in the 2015 season using 2014 specification chassis (as Manor F1 Team) was declined by the other Formula One entrants after just one team voted against the proposal.[9]

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Points WCC
2012 MR01 Cosworth CA2012 2.4 V8 P AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON CAN EUR GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN KOR IND ABU USA BRA 0 11th
Germany Timo Glock 14 17 19 19 18 14 Ret DNS 18 22 21 15 17 12 16 18 20 14 19 16
France Charles Pic 15† 20 20 Ret Ret Ret 20 15 19 20 20 16 16 16 Ret 19 19 Ret 20 12
2013 MR02 Cosworth CA2013 2.4 V8 P AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON CAN GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN KOR JPN IND ABU USA BRA 0 10th
France Jules Bianchi 15 13 15 19 18 Ret 17 16 Ret 16 18 19 18 16 Ret 18 20 18 17
United Kingdom Max Chilton 17 16 17 20 19 14 19 17 19 17 19 20 17 17 19 17 21 21 19
2014 MR03 Ferrari 059/3 1.6 V6 t P AUS MAL BHR CHN ESP MON CAN AUT GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN RUS USA BRA ABU 2 9th
United Kingdom Max Chilton 13 15 13 19 19 14 Ret 17 16 17 16 16 Ret 17 18 Ret
France Jules Bianchi NC Ret 16 17 18 9 Ret 15 14 15 15 18† 18 16 20†

† Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed greater than 90% of the race winner's distance.

References

  1. ↑ "Terms and Conditions". Marussia F1 Team. Manor Grand Prix Racing. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  2. ↑ Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, InsideView, Retrieved 2012-01-29
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cooper, Adam (25 May 2014). "Bianchi gives Marussia first-ever points". Foxsports.com (Fox Sports; Fox Entertainment Group). Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Allen, James (26 October 2014). "Was Marussia’s predicament preordained?". RichlandF1.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Price, Trent (27 October 2014). "Administrators confirm no Marussia F1 team in Austin – new buyer in the wings?". James Allen on F1.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Manor F1 Team on provisional 2015 entry list". ESPN Sport UK. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Marussia F1 team fold after crisis talks". BBC Sport. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Marussia may return to F1 in 2015 as Manor after agreeing debt deal". BBC Sport. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Marussia comeback blocked by Force India no vote". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  10. ↑ Noble, Jonathan (11 November 2010). "Russian car maker takes stake in Virgin". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  11. ↑ Holt, Sarah (11 November 2010). "Russian supercar firm Marussia takes over Virgin Racing". BBC Sport (Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi: BBC). Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  12. ↑ Noble, Jonathan (1 November 2011). "Virgin applies for name change to become Marussia". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  13. ↑ Cooper, Adam (3 November 2011). "Caterham, Lotus and Marussia name changes approved". Adam Cooper's F1 Blog (WordPress). Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  14. ↑ "11:56 PM, 31 December 2011". Twitter. Twitter, Inc. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "Virgin staying with team after 2012 name change". Motorsport.com (Motorsport.com, Inc.). Global Motorsport Media. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  16. ↑ Strang, Simon (24 July 2011). "Timo Glock has re-signed with Virgin on a new three-year deal". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  17. ↑ "Marussia Virgin Racing Completes 2012 Race Driver Line-up". Marussia Virgin Racing (Virgin Racing). 27 November 2011. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  18. ↑ "No Formula 1 KERS kit or big jump for Marussia Virgin in 2012". F1SA (Formula One Supporters Association). 29 September 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  19. ↑ Noble, Jonathan (6 December 2011). "Virgin Racing team principal John Booth is upbeat about the progress his outfit can make in 2012". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  20. ↑ Dodgins, Tony (1 January 2012). "Marussia Virgin Racing". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc. Retrieved 3 January 2012. In 2012, however, Virgin will be the only team on the grid without a KERS system, with HRT having extended its Williams gearbox/hydraulics agreement to include the power-boosting device.
  21. ↑ "KERS unlikely for HRT in 2012".
  22. ↑ "The MR01: Rollout and Testing Update". Marussia F1 Team. Marussia F1 Team. 27 February 2012. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  23. ↑ "Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website - Headlines - Marussia unveil 2012 challenger at Silverstone". 5 March 2012.
  24. ↑ "F1 test driver De Villota loses eye after accident". Yahoo Eurosport UK. 4 July 2012.
  25. ↑ "Maria de Villota: Driver loses right eye after crash". BBC News (BBC). 4 July 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "Max Chilton seals 2013 Marussia Formula 1 drive". Autosport. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  27. ↑ Benson, Andrew (21 January 2013). "Timo Glock agrees to leave Marussia for 'commercial' reasons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  28. ↑ "Marussia F1 Team". Archived from the original on 20 October 2014.
  29. ↑ "In Reserve". marussiaf1team.com (Marussia F1). 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  30. ↑ "Rookie record for Chilton". Sky Sports. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  31. ↑ "Marussia gets Ferrari engines for 2014". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). 16 July 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  32. ↑ "Marussia consider 2014 Mercedes or Ferrari Formula 1 engine supply option". F1sa.com. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  33. ↑ "Jules Bianchi will remain with the Marussia Formula 1 team for 2014". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). 3 October 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  34. ↑ Tremayne, Sam; Straw, Edd (11 January 2014). "Max Chilton retains Marussia seat for 2014 Formula 1 season". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved 22 January 2014. Max Chilton will line up alongside Jules Bianchi again in 2014, after Marussia confirmed it will retain the Briton for a second year, making the announcement at AUTOSPORT International
  35. ↑ "Rossi to race in Spa". Marussia. 21 August 2014. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  36. ↑ "Chilton to race as Marussia make Belgian U-turn". Formula 1. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  37. ↑ "AUTOSPORT Live: Sunday - Japanese Grand Prix - F1 2014 Japanese Grand Prix". Autosport. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  38. ↑ "Formula 1 - Bianchi 'undergoing surgery' after Suzuka crash". Yahoo Eurosport UK. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  39. ↑ Smith, Luke (5 October 2014). "Bianchi suffers severe head injuries at Suzuka, requiring surgery". NBC Sports Network (NBC Sports). Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  40. ↑ "Bianchi operato per grave ematoma (update)" [Bianchi operated for severe hematoma (update)] (in Italian). Autosprint. 5 October 2014.
  41. ↑ McCourt, Ian (5 October 2014). "F1 driver Jules Bianchi injured after crash in Japan – reaction as it happened". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  42. ↑ "Bianchi undergoes surgery after Suzuka crash". Formula 1. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  43. ↑ "Jules Bianchi: Family confirms Formula One driver sustained traumatic brain injury in Japanese GP crash". ABC News Online (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 8 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  44. ↑ "2014 RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  45. ↑ "Chilton to be Marussia's sole entrant in Russia". formula1.com. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  46. ↑ Benson, Andrew (10 October 2014). "Marussia to run one car in Russia after Jules Bianchi crash". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  47. ↑ "Jules Bianchi: Marussia 'angered' by speed media reports". BBC. 15 October 2014.
  48. ↑ "Marussia and Caterham to miss US Grand Prix - Bernie Ecclestone". BBC. 25 October 2014.
  49. ↑ Price, Trent (26 October 2014). "Was Marussia's predicament preordained?". RichlandF1.
  50. ↑ Price, Trent (28 October 2014). "Hard month for collapsing backmarker Marussia". Grandprix.com.
  51. ↑ Price, Trent (27 October 2014). "Brothers look to save troubled Marussia?". Grandprix.com.
  52. ↑ Noble, Jonathan (30 October 2014). "US GP: Stewards refer Caterham, Marussia F1 teams' absence to FIA". Autosport.
  53. ↑ Wise, Mike (9 November 2014). "Graeme Lowdon thinks the team formerly known as Marussia can continue in F1". Sky Sports.
  54. ↑ Cooper, Adam (1 December 2014). "Marussia F1 cars and assets to be auctioned off in December". Fox Sports.
  55. ↑ "Haas acquires Marussia assets and Banbury base". The F1 Times. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.

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