Manor Marussia F1 confirm their intention to race this season

The Manor Marussia F1 Team confirmed their intention to be on the grid for next week’s season-opener in Melbourne at a press conference on Wednesday, where their new backer was formally introduced.

The team, who came close to folding during the winter only to come out of administration two weeks ago, have secured backing from Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder of energy company OVO. Meanwhile, former Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King – who has been mentioned as a successor to F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone in the past – will become the team’s interim chairman.

John Booth, founder of Manor Motorsport, will continue as team principal while Graeme Lowdon also stays on as President and Sporting Director.

The F1 Show

In a statement, Manor Marussia confirmed that they would start the season with 2014 cars modified to comply with this season’s rule changes. Although new nose designs are the most visible difference this year, the team have had to make other modifications to comply with 2015 safety regulations.

They added that the cars will undergo crash testing later this week before being freighted to Australia on Friday. 

Despite heading a list of creditors reportedly owed a total of £60-plus million, Ferrari have already said they will continue to supply the team with last year's engines, while an all-new 2015 car is scheduled to appear sometime after the start of the European season.

Lowdon 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.”

King, who will look for a full-time chairman before becoming a non-executive director said: “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.”

The team fell into administration in October after Marussia owner Andrey Cheglakov withdrew his backing. Forced to miss the United States and Brazilian GPs, they almost made a comeback in Abu Dhabi but a last-minute deal fell through.

Speaking at the press conference, Fitzpatrick said it was around the time of last season's final race that he first got in touch with administrators FRP Advisory.

"I picked up the phone to Geoff Rowley, the administrator at FRP, before the last race in Abu Dhabi and tried to get an understanding of the situation as it was at the time," he said. "The challenges the team were facing, the amount of money that was involved at that stage, the debts that were involved, it seemed fascinating but almost hopeless.

"At the time it looked as if it was too late and not a realistic possibility of reviving the team. But I couldn't give up on it."

Admitting that ownership of an F1 team had been a long-held ambition, Fitzpatrick added that he was investing in the team personally - meaning there would be no OVO branding on the cars. 

“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," he said.

“I have a lifelong passion for Formula One and can't wait for the season ahead, with Manor and the team."

Last week, the team announced Will Stevens as part of their 2015 driver line-up. There is no word yet on the British driver's team-mate, although a shortlist has been drawn up.