Marussia unveils MR01 at Silverstone

Marussia has unveiled its new Cosworth-powered racer during a promotional event at Silverstone.

The Anglo-Russian team is running the MR01 for the first time at the venue of the British Grand Prix after the car had failed the mandatory crash tests outlined by the FIA and was therefore unable to join its rivals in the final pre-season test at Barcelona.

“We are very pleased to be running the new MR01 for the first time this morning (March 5th),” said team principal John Booth. “It has been a long and frustrating wait for everyone in the team but we can now get back on track – literally – and start working towards the first race of the season in Australia next weekend.

“Today is the first of two promotional events, so while the drivers will be able to get a feel for the car, they won’t be able to draw any real conclusions until we start running in anger in Melbourne. Nevertheless, this is an important day for us and we’ll enjoy every minute on track with the new car.”

The team said the MR01 is the result of a ground-up re-evaluation of the way it designs its racing cars after having used only CFD technology for its previous challengers.

The design team for the MR01 was led by Marussia’s technical consultant Pat Symonds. Marussia said the technical partnership agreed with McLaren Applied Technologies last year has been a big influential in the design process.

Timo Glock and Charles Pic will form Marussia’s driver line-up this season but both will face a steep learning curve in the opening few races due to the late showing of the MR01.

But at least the car looks elegant and has gone against the steeped nose compared to its rivals. Let see if the new car is competitive.