Manor, formerly Marussia, still believes a return to the Formula 1 grid in 2015 remains possible, despite news that their comeback has been blocked by rival teams.
The outfit hopes to use its 2014 car – though modified to meet the majority of the updated technical regulations – as it strives to make a comeback thanks to fresh investment.
This request was denied by Force India during a Strategy Group meeting on Thursday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the deal is off, according to Graeme Lowdon.
“I was surprised to hear some of the comments made today, particularly regarding an application we were said to have made to yesterday’s meeting, which I can confirm was not the case.
“We did make a request on 17 December last year and we have been working since to satisfy the requirements subsequently communicated to us, specifically complying with all the regulations, aside from the exempted articles,” he said.
“The comments also mentioned that issues of compliance were raised, that it was felt that our application lacked substance and contained no supporting documentation to reinforce the case for offering special dispensation. Again, we did not make any application to yesterday’s Strategy Group meeting and nor were we asked to.
“Instead, 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.”
A team statement revealed that the team hopes to use its 2014 car for a number of races, before introducing a 2015 chassis at a later date – something they are already working on.
“The team has been busy preparing its 2014 cars such that they comply with the stipulations of the 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,” added the statement.
“The team has a significant number of staff already working on both its 2014 and 2015 cars. It also has the benefit of being able to recruit further staff very quickly from the rich pool of experienced and talented F1 personnel who were left unemployed following the closure of Marussia and Caterham and due to job cuts made by other teams in the sport.”
It added that they are unable to provide further details on who exactly is behind the renewed bid to get the team up and running again.
“As the press release from FRP Advisory of 4 February states, given the confidential nature of the negotiations underway, neither they nor the team are able to provide further details regarding the team’s new investors, however those investors have either met with or spoken to the key F1 bodies.”
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