News: Marussia F1 cars up for sale

Formula One cars developed by the team that can trace its roots back to Rotherham are being put up for sale.

Four cars are being made available for sale by a private collector. The grid cars are from the Virgin Marussia Formula Team and form part of a collection spanning the 2010 to 2013 F1 Grand Prix seasons.

The Marussia F1 team began life as Manor Grand Prix in Dinnington, Rotherham. Having secured financial backing from LDC, it became Virgin Racing when they announced a link up with Richard Branson in December 2009. Russian company, Marussia Motors acquired a significant shareholding in 2010 and the team became Marussia Virgin Racing. For the 2012 season, the team became Marussia F1 and operations moved from Rotherham to Banbury in Oxfordshire to be closer to McLaren, their technical partners for the 2012 season.

FRP Advisory LLP were appointed joint administrators to Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as the Marussia F1 Team. Without financial backing the company ceased trading in 2014 resulting in 200 redundancies.

Then in 2015, formal agreement was reached with Manor's creditors through a CVA in order to allow the team to come out of administration, following new investment from businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick. Manor F1 took their place on the grid for the 2015 season.

The cars available for sale include the 2010 VR-01 from Virgin Racing, the 2011 MVR-02 from Marussia Virgin Racing and the 2012 MR01 and 2013 MR02 from the Marussia F1 Team. The MR02 was designed under the leadership of Marussia's technical director Pat Symonds. It was driven by tragic star driver Jules Bianchi.

The vehicles are the latest models on the open market to feature the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) introduced in 2009 and the drag resistance system (DRS) introduced in 2011. The cars are available for sale by private negotiation as a collection of four or as individual assets.

The brochure states: "John Pye Luxury Assets are proud to present a unique opportunity to acquire a quartet of Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix Grid competition cars, upon instruction from a private collector and now available for sale by private treaty.

"All with F1 competition provenance from the Virgin Marussia Formula 1 teams, these four cars form part of an impressive collection spanning the 2010 to 2013 F1 Grand Prix seasons."

Rotherham-born John Booth, a former butcher and single-seater champion, has been team principal since the inception of the team. The Rotherham connection has all but ended with the team confirming in November that Booth would leave the team at the end of last season. Booth said that he was "bidding the F1 paddock farewell for now."

Booth's Manor Motorsport is one of the most respected names in national and international motor racing. His Dinnington operation achieved great success in Formula 3 and Formula Renault and played a major role in the development of several of today's greatest motor racing talents. Formula 1 world champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton both graduated from the John Booth school of excellence.

Manor F1 team website
John Pye website

Images: John Pye

Read more...

News: Investors confirmed as Manor heads to first race

Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as the Marussia F1 Team, has exited administration and is gearing up to take its place on the grid for the first race of the Formula 1 season in Melbourne later this month.

FRP Advisory LLP were appointed joint administrators at the end of October to the F1 team that began life as Manor Grand Prix in Dinnington, Rotherham, after it was unable to bring new investment to secure its long term future.

Formal agreement was reached with Manor's creditors through a CVA in order to allow the team to come out of administration, following new investment from businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick.

Belfast-born Fitzpatrick established Ovo Energy in 2009 with the mission is to become the UK's most trusted energy supplier by 2020. Taking on the so-called "big six" energy firms is a challenge matched only by Manor taking on Mercedes, Ferrari and McClaren.

Manor's president and sporting director will be Graeme Lowdon, who was sporting director at Marussia F1, with former Sainsbury's CEO Justin King taking over as the team's interim chairman.

Advertisement
Rotherham-born John Booth (pictured), a former butcher and single-seater champion, has remained as the team principal throughout. The team was established in 2009 to compete in Formula 1 when the FIA, the sport's governing body, decided to address the current levels of spend and introduced cost-cutting measures.

Since the new investment was mooted, the team has been back at its original Dinnington HQ, having given up its Banbury base on entering administration. The team has been preparing the cars with which it will begin the 2015 season and which comply fully with the 2015 regulations. Later in the season it will introduce a new 2015 specification car as per the designs initiated last year.

Will Stevens will be an official 2015 Manor race driver with the second seat still to be announced.

Graeme Lowdon, president and sporting director at Manor Marussia F1, said: "I want to thank all of the teams, the FIA, Formula One Management, our suppliers and staff and of course all of the fans for the support we've received over the past six months. It has been a challenging period for all of us but we've come through it and now we just want to go racing again.

"With formidable new business leadership in Stephen Fitzpatrick and the board presence of Justin King we are now in a great place ahead of the new season. This is a fantastic and very rewarding moment for all those involved with the team."

Justin King, interim chairman, added: "It's a real pleasure for me to be involved in Manor. I know from the years I spent at Sainsbury's that with the right people, the right values, and sheer hard work, you can turn any business around. In Graeme and team principal John Booth we have all three and I'm fully confident that we can help Manor be competitive at the highest level of racing."

Stephen Fitzpatrick, added: "We've all worked incredibly hard to get the car ready for Melbourne and the season ahead. Our fans have given the team amazing support for many years and we want to restore Manor to the very best of racing in the future. I have a lifelong passion for Formula One and can't wait for the season ahead, with Manor and the team."

Booth's Manor Motorsport is one of the most respected names in national and international motor racing. His Dinnington operation achieved great success in Formula 3 and Formula Renault and played a major role in the development of several of today's greatest motor racing talents. Formula 1 world champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton both graduated from the John Booth school of excellence.

Manor F1 website

Images: Manor Marussia

Read more...

News: CVA agreed at Manor F1

Creditors of the Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as the Marussia F1 Team, have agreed to enter into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) that would enable the company to exit administration and secure investment.

FRP Advisory LLP were appointed joint administrators at the end of October to the F1 team that began life as Manor Grand Prix in Dinnington, Rotherham, after it was unable to bring new investment to secure its long term future.

Advertisement
Without further financial backing from Marussia's owner, the company ceased trading in October, resulting in 200 redundancies. The remnants of the team have been working hard to get the team going again, having secured a spot on the provisional entry list for the 2015 championship and still harbouring the potential £30m in prize money due to its progress on the track last season.

The main creditors of Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited are Lloyd's, who invested in the fledgling team, and Ferrari, the team's supplier in 2014.

Geoff Rowley, joint administrator and partner at FRP Advisory, said: "We are pleased that the financial restructuring of the Company has been progressed after creditor approval of the CVA.

"With new investment and a continuity of the respected management, the business has the ideal platform from which it can accelerate the operational rebuilding already underway to get a team back racing.

"It has been a long process and we would like to thank everyone involved to reach this milestone.

"We shall complete our statutory duties as administrators with the necessary filings needed in order to formally exit the Company from administration over the next few days."

Pre-season testing means that plenty of rumours and reports are flying around the F1 paddock. This includes reports that former Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King is set to invest in the team. King's son, Jordan recently secured a seat in GP2 with Spanish team Racing Engineering.

Other reports are that Ferrari, owed £13m from the collapse of the previous team, have verbally agreed to supply engines for the new incarnation. Other rumours include Manor becoming a "second" team to one of the sport's big boys and it is also being reported that teams are supportive of Manor F1 returning to the sport. Positive comments have come from the likes of Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull, but Force India's Bob Fernley was reportedly critical of the team's attempts to make the grid.

Manor F1 Team website

Images: Manor F1 Team

Read more...

News: Manor F1 Team: "We just want to go racing"

The F1 team that began life as Manor Grand Prix in Dinnington, Rotherham, is pushing hard to make it onto the grid in 2015, despite being in administration, for now.


FRP Advisory LLP were appointed joint administrators at the end of October to Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as the Marussia F1 Team, who were unable to bring new investment to the team to secure its long term future.

An unlikely name in the Formula One World Championship, Manor Grand Prix secured financial backing from LDC and became Virgin Racing when they announced a link up with Richard Branson in December 2009. Russian company, Marussia Motors acquired a significant shareholding in 2010 and the team became Marussia Virgin Racing. For the 2012 season, the team became Marussia F1 and operations moved from Rotherham to Banbury in Oxfordshire to be closer to McLaren, its technical partners for the 2012 season.

Advertisement
Without further financial backing from Marussia's owner, the company ceased trading in October, resulting in 200 redundancies. The remnants of the team have been working hard to get the team going again, having secured a spot on the provisional entry list for the 2015 championship and still harbouring the potential £30m in prize money due to its progress on the track last season.

After earlier investment deals fell through, the administrators recently initiated a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) process which could see the company exit administration next week. A CVA is often used by insolvent companies to negotiate new payment terms or periods with its creditors. The main creditors of Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited are Lloyd's, who invested in the fledgling team, and Ferrari, the team's supplier in 2014.

Geoff Rowley, joint administrator and partner at FRP Advisory, said: "Since the appointment of administrators, negotiations have taken place with a number of parties to try and secure a long-term solution for the team.

"We can confirm that negotiations continue towards a longer term viable solution for the business and participation of a team in the 2015 season.

"It is envisaged that, prior to the commencement of the first race of the 2015 season [in March], investment into the business will be made upon the company exiting from administration via a Company Voluntary Arrangement, which is planned for 19 February 2015."

The investors remain confidential but have either met with or spoken to the key F1 bodies.

With money ready to be invested in the operation, one thing that could throw a spanner in the works is the politics of the sport. The Manor F1 team now has to gain the unanimous consent from all teams that it can race a 2014 car in the 2015 championship.

The team has been busy preparing its 2014 cars such that they comply with the stipulations of the sport's influential Strategy Group and at the same time it is pressing on with the development of its 2015 car to ensure it can supersede the 2014 car as soon as possible.

Graeme Lowdon, former sporting director at Marussia F1 and a representative of the Manor F1 team, said: "It has been a very good step to finally get the CVA process underway this week. This is the first external sign that we have been able to make of all the hard work that has taken place privately over the past four months to get us to our current position.

"We are proceeding with our clear process regarding compliance and building our operation. We are doing everything possible to adhere to the process set out for us to return to the 2015 grid. This is a fantastic good news story for the whole sport and we just want to go racing."

Rotherham-born John Booth (pictured), a former butcher and single-seater champion, has remained as the team principal throughout. The team was established to compete in Formula 1 when the FIA, the sport's governing body, decided to address the current levels of spend and introduced cost-cutting measures.

Booth's Manor Motorsport is one of the most respected names in national and international motor racing. His Dinnington operation achieved great success in Formula 3 and Formula Renault and played a major role in the development of several of today's greatest motor racing talents. Former Formula 1 champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton both graduated from the John Booth school of excellence.

The administrators stated that the operations at Banbury were to be discontinued and the site was due to be vacated in January. Could a revived Manor F1 Team be based back in Rotherham where Manor's Todwick Road site remains mothballed?

Manor F1 website

Images: Marussia

Read more...

News: End of the road for Marussia

The Marussia F1 team that began life as Manor Grand Prix in Dinnington, Rotherham, has ceased trading after going into administration.

FRP Advisory LLP were appointed joint administrators at the end of October to Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as the Marussia F1 Team, who were unable to bring new investment to the team to secure its long term future.

Manor Grand Prix secured financial backing from LDC and became Virgin Racing when they announced a link up with Richard Branson in December 2009. Russian company, Marussia Motors acquired a significant shareholding in 2010 and the team became Marussia Virgin Racing. For the 2012 season, the team became Marussia F1 and operations moved from Rotherham to Banbury in Oxfordshire to be closer to McLaren, their technical partners for the 2012 season. Marussia Motors closed its doors in April this year.

Without financial backing the company has ceased trading resulting in 200 redundancies.

Advertisement
Geoff Rowley and Geoff Carton-Kelly, partners of FRP Advisory LLP, said: "It goes without saying that it is deeply regrettable that a business with such a great following in British and world motorsport has had to cease trading and close its doors.

"Whilst the team made significant progress during its relatively short period of operation, operating a F1 team requires significant ongoing investment. The Group was put into administration last month following a shortfall in on-going funding and the administration process provided a moratorium to allow for attempts to secure a long term viable solution for the Company within in a very limited time-frame.

"As joint administrators our immediate focus will be to assist staff who have lost their jobs and provide them with the necessary support to submit timely claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.

"The team will not be participating in the two further rounds of the 2014 championship remaining, in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi. The joint administrators will continue with their statutory duties to realise the assets of the business in the best interests of all the creditors."

Rotherham-born John Booth, a former butcher and single-seater champion, has remained as the team principal throughout. The team was established to compete in Formula 1 when the FIA, the sport's governing body, decided to address the current levels of spend and introduced cost-cutting measures. However, plans for a proposed budget cap set for 2015 don't look like being implemented.

As the search for funding went on, Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited was named on the provisional entry list for next year's F1 World Championship. The team were due around £30m in prize money due to its progress on the track this season.

Marussia F1 website

Images: Marussia F1 / Facebook

Read more...

News: Marussia F1 off the grid

The Marussia F1 Team, which shocked the motorsport world when it gained entry into the 2010 F1 season from its base at Dinnington in Rotherham, has called in the administrators.

Geoff Rowley and Geoff Carton-Kelly, partners of FRP Advisory LLP, have been appointed joint administrators to Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as the Marussia F1 Team, who have been unable to bring new investment to the team to secure its long term future.

Manor Grand Prix secured financial backing from LDC and became Virgin Racing when they announced a link up with Richard Branson in December 2009. Russian company, Marussia Motors acquired a significant shareholding in 2010 and the team became Marussia Virgin Racing. For the 2012 season, the team became Marussia F1 and operations moved from Rotherham to Banbury in Oxfordshire to be closer to McLaren, their technical partners for the 2012 season. Marussia Motors closed its doors in April this year.

Rotherham-born John Booth, a former butcher and single-seater champion, has remained as the team principal throughout. The team was established to compete in Formula 1 when the FIA, the sport's governing body, decided to address the current levels of spend and introduced cost-cutting measures. However, plans for a proposed budget cap set for 2015 don't look like being implemented.

Marussia also operates a driver development programme with a team in GP3, the series that follows the Formula 1 European calendar and the emphasis is on developing driver skills.

Advertisement
Despite making progress, including picking up its first championship points in May after four seasons and six races, the team has been rocked by the death of former test driver, Maria de Villota, and the serious crash involving leading driver, Jules Bianchi, which left him critically ill in hospital.

Geoff Rowley, joint administrator, and partner at FRP Advisory, said: "Whilst the team has made significant progress during its relatively short period of operation, the highlight of which included securing two constructors championship points in the current F1 season, the position remains that operating a F1 team requires significant ongoing investment.

"With the existing shareholder unable to provide the required level of funding, the senior management team has worked tirelessly to bring new investment to the team to secure its long term future, but regrettably has been unable to do so within the time available. Therefore, they have been left with no alternative but to place the Company into administration.

"The Company will continue to operate while the joint administrators assess the longer term viability of the Company in its present form. No redundancies have been made following the Company's entering into administration and all staff have been paid in full to the end of October. The ongoing staff position will however be dependent on whether the Company can secure new investment in the limited time available.

"We remain highly focused on engaging with interested parties."

Given the current financial circumstances of the Group, which employs 200 staff, the F1 team has pulled out of the US Grand Prix in Austin this weekend. Earlier this month, the GP3 team withdrew from the race in Sochi, Russia for commercial reasons.

Booth's Manor Motorsport is one of the most respected names in national and international motor racing. His Dinnington operation achieved great success in Formula 3 and Formula Renault and played a major role in the development of several of today's greatest motor racing talents. Former Formula 1 champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton both graduated from the John Booth school of excellence.

Marussia F1 website

Images: Marussia F1 / Facebook

Read more...

News: F1 Showcars on display in Monaco

Rotherham-based, F1 Showcars has recently returned from Monaco where it turned heads at an industry conference with its F1-themed display and simulator.

The company was set up in 2009 to supply full sized Formula One simulator cars for hire at events. Enterprising owner Adam Tinsley, invested in an Arrows F1 simulator when the company went into administration, and adapted it for public use.

It is the only three-seat F1 simulator currently operating in the world. A virtual reality headset, pedals and steering wheel plus vibrating seats give drivers a chance to do laps of a Grand Prix race circuit, experiencing virtual speeds of up to 220 mph.

The company also feature a full size F1 showcar replica, a MotoGp motorbike simulator and a wheel change game, where guests can attempt to emulate the lightning fast pit stops seen in Formula One.

F1 Showcars has supplied its simulators to various high profile events including the British Grand Prix and MotoGp events at Silverstone. It has also been on hand to inspire young people to get into engineering and manufacturing at the Get Up to Speed events in Sheffield. When not in use at events, the company offers F1 simulator experiences at its Fitzwilliam Road base.

The unique display was chosen by Anixter, a leading global supplier of communications and security products, electrical and electronic wire and cable, fasteners and other small components, to give it a "wow factor" at its exhibition at the Datacentres Europe event in Monaco.

Adam Tinsley, owner of F1 Showcars, said: "We were hired by Anixter who required both our F1 display car and F1 simulator for the event. What added extra appeal for hiring the cars was that the branding of both the F1 display car and F1 simulator can be fully customised. And also, it was the Monaco Grand Prix weekend!"

This year's prestigious Monaco Grand Prix saw the Marussia F1 Team secure its first ever points in the sport since Manor Grand Prix was an unlikely name on the line up for the 2010 F1 season. The Rotherham team became Virgin Racing when they announced a link up with Richard Branson in December 2009. Russian company Marussia Motors acquired a significant shareholding in 2010 and the team was renamed Marussia F1 in 2012.

F1 Showcars website

Images: F1 Showcars

Read more...

News: Marussia Manor Racing reveal new GP3 driver line-up

Whilst the Banbury-based big boys began the F1 season in Australia last weekend, Marussia's GP3 team is gearing up for the start of the new season.

Rotherham's Manor Grand Prix was an unlikely name on the line up for the 2010 F1 season. The Rotherham team became Virgin Racing when they announced a link up with Richard Branson in December 2009. Russian company Marussia Motors acquired a significant shareholding in 2010 and the team became Marussia Virgin Racing. For the 2012 season, the team became Marussia F1.

The Marussia F1 team moved from Rotherham to Banbury in Oxfordshire to be closer to McLaren, their technical partners for the 2012 season. Rotherham-born John Booth remains as the team principal and the team's former headquarters at Dinnington is now home to the Marussia Manor GP3 team.

The GP3 series follows the Formula One European calendar and the emphasis is on developing driver skills, with all teams using the same chassis, engine and tyre suppliers.

The GP3 team, which is the primary vehicle for the Marussia F1 Team's Driver Development Programme, is now in its fifth season of competition. Having won races last season, the team is targeting the Championship title in 2014.

Ryan Cullen, 22 years old and from Ireland, remains with the team for a second season and will be joined by Finnish youngster, 17 year old Patrick Kujala and British ace, 23 year old Dean Stoneman.

The Marussia F1 Team will again offer the most successful Marussia Manor Racing driver of the GP3 season the opportunity to test its Formula 1 car. Tio Ellinas benefited from a day in the F1 car at last season's Young Driver Test and will again return to test in 2014 as the top placed driver in 2013.

The team has achieved great success in Formula 3 and Formula Renault. Former F1 champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton both graduated from the John Booth "school of excellence."

Pete Sliwinski, team principal at Marussia Manor Racing, said: "Once again we head into the GP3 season with great optimism. This series is the best place for a young driver to prove themselves; highly competitive, with a great car and engine package and running alongside the F1 schedule, which certainly puts their talent in the spotlight."

Marussia F1 website

Images: gp3series.com

Read more...

News: LDC commit to engineering and manufacturing sector

Mid-market private equity provider, LDC, has announced that it has increased its new investment funding commitment to specialist engineering and manufacturing businesses to £300m.

Part of the Lloyds Banking Group, the firm provides private equity to support management buy-outs, help business owners sell a percentage and release equity in their business, fund expansion or make acquisitions.

After announcing an initial commitment of £200m to the sector in October 2011, LDC has since completed eleven new investment transactions into manufacturing and specialist engineering businesses, placing total equity funding of more than £190m. Following this success, the private equity firm will now look to invest an additional £100m more than its original target.

The focus is on mid-market UK businesses in the £10m to £150m enterprise value range and, typically those with specialist manufacturing capability in niche sectors such as aerospace and power generation, which have featured strongly in the commitment to date.

Joe Farren, investment director at LDC in Yorkshire and the North East, who is leading the initiative in the region, said: "Our initial investment initiative to back high quality manufacturing and specialist engineering businesses has been incredibly successful, but we believe that there is a great deal more potential to support businesses in this sector so we have decided to uplift this funding in order that more companies can benefit.

"By increasing our commitment to invest £300m of new capital to this important industry sector, LDC is reiterating its commitment to, and on-going confidence in, UK manufacturing.

"This increase in funding will give LDC's regional teams greater scope to explore investment opportunities with fast growing manufacturing and specialist engineering businesses and we hope more management teams will consider the benefits that partnering with a private equity investor like LDC can bring."

One high profile deal saw LDC take a stake in the Rotherham-based F1 team, Virgin Racing. The team was created in 2009 when Dinnington's Manor Grand Prix teamed up with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin brand. In April 2013 LDC sold its minority shareholding in the team to Marussia, the Russian supercar manufacturer that took full control of the team after earlier investment in 2010.

LDC website

Images: Marussia F1

Read more...

News: Flying start for Marussia Manor Racing

Tio Ellinas, racing for Rotherham-based Marussia Manor Racing, leads the field after the first round of the GP3 Series.

Whilst the F1 team may have moved from Rotherham to Banbury in Oxfordshire to be closer to McLaren, their technical partners, the Dinnington outfit is still playing a key role in developing F1 drivers of the future.

Rotherham-born John Booth remains as the team principal in F1 and the team's former headquarters on the site of the former Dinnington colliery is now home to the Marussia Manor GP3 team.

The GP3 series follows the F1 European calendar and the emphasis is on developing driver skills, with all teams using the same chassis, engine and tyre suppliers.

GP3 race teams and cars are equipped, based and resourced at the Rotherham facility, just as F1 teams and cars were when Manor began life as Virgin Racing.

As an integral part of the F1 setup, the intention is to use the GP3 team as part of its driver development initiative. The reward for successful drivers could be a drive with the Marussia F1 Team.

Manor's pedigree is good. Previous graduates include Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen, who both went on to win the Formula One World Championship.

Tio Ellinas started the new season last weekend, just how he ended the last, by winning. The "Flying Cypriot" picked up 31 points by wining the first race in Barcelona and followed it up with eight points in the second race of the weekend to sit top of the standings.

Tio Ellinas of Marussia Manor Racing (picture above, centre), said: "A very good day and a good start to the season. Last year was my first in GP3, so I didn't have the best start and I had problems with the yellow flags. Now I am experienced and I know the circuits as last year was my first time in Europe. Now I will try to win the championship.!"

Also lining up for Marussia Manor Racing this season are 20 year old Anglo-Italian Dino Zamparelli and 22 year old Ryan Cullen from Somerset.



Images: gp3series.com

Read more...

News: Marussia Manor Racing gears up for GP3

Rotherham is still playing a key role in developing Formula One drivers of the future as the home of Marussia Manor Racing.

The Marussia F1 team recently moved from Rotherham to Banbury in Oxfordshire to be closer to McLaren, their technical partners for the 2012 season.

Rotherham-born John Booth remains as the team principal and the team's former headquarters at Dinnington is now home to the Marussia Manor GP3 team.

The GP3 series follows the Formula One European calendar and the emphasis is on developing driver skills, with all teams using the same chassis, engine and tyre suppliers.

GP3 race teams and cars will be equipped, based and resourced at the facility on the site of the former Dinnington colliery, just as Formula One teams and cars have been for the past two years.

As an integral part of the F1 setup, Booth announced his intention to use the GP3 team as part of a new driver development initiative. The reward for successful drivers could be a drive with the Marussia F1 Team.

Manor's pedigree is good. Previous graduates include Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen, who both went on to win the Formula One World Championship.

Rio Haryanto, who drove for Manor in GP3 and has been part of Marussia F1 Team Young Driver Programme for the past two years, has recently made the step up to GP2 and secured a drive for the newly-created Marussia Carlin GP2 Team in the 2012 season.

Twelve GP2 graduates will start on the 2012 F1 grid, including Marussia's newest driver, Charles Pic.

John Booth, team principal at Marussia F1, said: "Our Young Driver Programme now comprises all the racing categories that are key stepping stones for a driver to navigate their way to the very top and I am very proud of the support we can offer to the next generation of motor racing talent.

"Our Young Driver Programme is a big part of the Marussia F1 Team philosophy, but having spent many years helping to shape the future for many young drivers, it gives me great personal pleasure that we now have a comprehensive ladder that can take drivers with the best potential all the way to the very top."

Marussia Manor's GP3 drivers for 2012 are Russian Dmtry Suranovich, Brazilian Fabiano Machado (pictured, above during testing in Estoril) and Cypriot Tio Ellinas.

Peter Sliwinski, team principal at Marussia Manor GP3, said: "It's going to be another exciting season in GP3. We have worked very hard during the winter and the year ahead looks promising for us – I'm sure we can be up there with the top teams.

"I would like to welcome Dmitry, Fabiano and Tio to the team and wish them all a successful year. It's their first complete season in GP3, but they have already shown their potential and we are ready for the challenge."

Dmitry and Tio have already taken part in winter testing for the Marussia F1 team.

Manor Grand Prix was an unlikely name on the line up for the 2010 F1 season. The Rotherham team became Virgin Racing when they announced a link up with Richard Branson in December 2009. Russian company Marussia Motors acquired a significant shareholding in 2010 and the team became Marussia Virgin Racing. For the 2012 season, the team will be known as Marussia F1.

All GP2 and GP3 races will be shown on Sky as part of their new deal to screen F1.

Marussia F1 website

Images: gp3series.com

Read more...