![]() | |
Full name | Marussia F1 Team (2012–2014) Manor Marussia F1 Team (2015) |
---|---|
Base | Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (2012–2014) Dinnington, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom (2015) |
Noted staff | John Booth Graeme Lowdon John McQuilliam Marc Hynes Pat Symonds Bob Bell Nikolai Fomenko Andrey Cheglakov Andy Webb |
Noted drivers | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Previous name | Marussia Virgin Racing |
Next name | Manor Racing |
Formula One World Championship career | |
First entry | 2012 Australian Grand Prix |
Races entered | 74 (73 starts) |
Engines | Cosworth, Ferrari |
Constructors' Championships | 0 |
Drivers' Championships | 0 |
Race victories | 0 |
Points | 2 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
Final entry | 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
The Marussia F1 Team (subsequently Manor Marussia F1 Team) was a Formula One racing team and constructor which was based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and then later Dinnington, South Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and competed with a Russian licence from 2012 to 2014 and a British licence in 2015.[1] The team was operated by Manor Motorsport (formerly Marussia Manor Racing),[2] which was previously a subsidiary of Marussia Motors, a now defunct sports car manufacturer which was based in Moscow.[3] 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 and only championship points at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, where its leading driver, Jules Bianchi, finished ninth, and in doing so Marussia became the first Russian-licensed constructor to score world championship points.[4]
Following a serious crash and injuries sustained by Bianchi at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, which resulted in his death the following year, 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.[5] The appointed administrator released an official statement on 27 October 2014[6] and the team was still included in FIA's provisional entry list for the 2015 Formula One season but as the "Manor F1 Team".[7] On 7 November 2014, however, the administrator announced that the team had ceased trading.[8]
On 19 January 2015, the administrators of Marussia announced that the auction of its cars and assets had been cancelled so as to allow a possible buy-out to take place. The team collapsed owing around £60m, two of the companies out of pocket being Marussia's former competitors McLaren and Ferrari. The team exited administration on 19 February 2015, and was re-established as the Manor Marussia F1 Team after a CVA had been signed and new investment was secured to rescue the team. Former Sainsbury's CEO Justin King was reportedly the team's main backer.[9] The team retained Marussia as its constructor name throughout the 2015 season, also adopting British nationality. In 2016, the team announced a name change to "Manor Racing". Manor lasted the 2016 season and used Mercedes-Benz power units.