Marussia-Manor responds to Force India

Winter testing is overshadowed by Marussia-Manor's attempt to return to F1. A request for entry on the grids for the 2015 season with a car from last year adapted to the new regulations was rejected by F1 Strategy Group on the grounds that “the application lacked material”, according to the words of Robert Fernley, the Deputy Team Principal of Force India.

If the Indian team was the first to speak out against a return of the Russian team under these conditions, distribution of commercial rights could be the key factor turning against Manor-Marussia.

Graeme Lowdon, the director of Marussia-Manor, responded in a press release to ensure the viability of the project. “Coming out of guardianship was a very big step forward. This is the first visible sign of work being done behind the scenes in four months. I was surprised by some of the comments made today, particularly regarding the file presented at the meeting the day before. I can confirm that they are not fair. We applied on December 17 last year and we have worked since to satisfy the requests, particularly those regarding the settlement. »

The director of the structure now called Manor F1 Team is not stopping there. “These comments also noted a lack of documentation and that our file lacked material… On the contrary, we are doing our best to respond to requests, in order to return to the grids in 2015.”

The press release therefore confirms that Marussia-Manor has submitted a request for entry with a single-seater for the 2014 season before the F1 Strategic Group adapted to the new regulations. The lack of information pointed out by Force India, which concerns in particular theidentity of potential buyers, was voluntarily kept secret by the team believing that “the timing was not right”.