Overview

http://www.marussiaf1team.com/

The Marussia F1 Team is a Russian Formula 1 team, originating from the Virgin Racing team of 2010 and 2011.

When Virgin Racing debuted in 2010 they were effectively the Manor Grand Prix Limited with a sponsor name. The Rotherham based team debuted at the Australian Grand Prix 2010 with the VR-01 car. The car was the first one in history designed using CFD computer simulation technology.  With Manor GP being the original name, Virgin purchased 80% of the team which meant they entered the 2010 season as Virgin Racing.

They had some disastrous races at the beginning of 2010 after it was found the car's fuel tank was too small to make a full race distance. This meant they did not finish any of the first 2 races before their 2^nd driver, Di Grassi, finished 14^th at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The next round in China saw Timo Glock, their 1^st driver, not start and a retirement from Di Grassi meant they still were underperforming. The next round on Spain saw their first double finish with 18^th and 19^th, their earlier fuel tank problems being resolved. They recorded 4 double finishes after that, but a fair few retirements as well.

The mid-season saw them consistently at the back of the pack, even behind Hispania. Glock finished 14^th in Korea, a joint best result for the team, with the end of the year being on a tie-breaker for 10^th place. The two 14^th positions could not better Lotus Racing and Hispania F1's season results so they were placed 12^thin the constructors, with 0 points.

2011 saw them retain Timo Glock as their lead driver, and replace Di Grassi with Belgian driver Jerome D'Ambrosio. The team also had the Russian car manufacturer Marussia buy a significant stake in the team. 2011 was another disappointing year for the backmarkers; they experienced less dramatic problems like the 2010 fuel tank saga, but still finished the year 12^th in the constructors due to two 14^th places compared to HRT and Team Lotus's 13^th positions. The team did get 10 double finishes, their best double finish being in Canada with D'Ambrosio finishing 14^th and Glock finishing 15^th. Timo did not start the Turkish GP due to a mechanical problem before the race.

The team had a tendency for pit lane errors, on more than a few occasions leading to a tyre falling off the car. D'Ambrosio also had an embarrassing moment in Hungary when he spun in the pit lane. Luckily no one was hurt and the car carried on.

For 2012 the team will be renamed the Marussia F1 Team with drivers Timo Glock and Charles Pic at the wheel.