Manor are debating when to launch their new 2015 car which is nearing completion at their base in Dinnington.
The revived outfit was forced into using a revised version of last year’s car to ensure the team could be on the grid in time for the opening race of the season in Australia.
However it has always had plans to introduce a newly-developed chassis running the improved 2015 Ferrari engine at some point this year, but exactly when is still up for discussion according to team principal Graeme Lowdon.
“There’s quite a lot parameters [in our decision] including the mid-season break because we can’t do anything!” He told F1i.com, referencing the summer shutdown.
“That’s exactly the kind of discussion that we’ve had. There are so many parameters, when would the ideal time be?”
Lowdon says the current discussion over increasing the power unit restriction from four to five units this season has thrown another parameter into the decision making process.
“It’s not clear yet what is the optimum,” he added. “There was even talk this weekend [in malaysia] of a change in the number of engines this year so that changes our thinking again.
“So there’s a lot of work being done on it at the moment so we’ll see, but what is clear is that there are quite clearly some performance rewards down that avenue. So it gives us something to evaluate.”
