FormulaThoughts Mini Marussia #F1

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For 2014, Marussia decided to power its MR03 car with Ferrari engines. Cosworth elected not to build an engine for the new 2014 regulations.The team retained both Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton as its drivers.
At the Monaco Grand Prix, Bianchi scored his own and Marussia's first ever points by finishing ninth in an eventful race.
On 24 July, American rookie Alexander Rossi joined the team as a test and reserve driver from Caterham. On 21 August, it was announced he would be replacing Chilton for the Belgian Grand Prix while contractual issues were resolved. However, this decision was reversed the following morning during the free practice session.
During the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on 5 October, Bianchi's car spun off on lap 43, colliding with a marshal's crane tractor that was attending to Adrian Sutil's Sauber car, which had also span and crashed at the Dunlop curve (Turn 7) on the previous lap. The safety car was brought out and the race was subsequently red-flagged. Bianchi was reported as being unconscious after the crash, failing to respond to a radio call from his team and marshals that had gone to his rescue. Due to the precarious weather conditions at the time, he was taken to closest hospital, the Mie University hospital, by ambulance instead of helicopter. On the same day, Bianchi's father reported that his son was in a critical condition with a head injury requiring brain surgery in order to reduce severe bruising to his head. Soon after, the FIA released a statement that CT scans have shown Bianchi suffered a "severe head injury" in the crash, and he would be transferred to intensive care following surgery.A family update later, aside from acknowledging the widespread support, confirmed that Bianchi had suffered a diffuse axonal injury, which is a common traumatic brain injury in vehicle accidents involving high deceleration.
At the inaugural 2014 Russian Grand Prix a weekend later, in place of the hospitalized Bianchi, the team originally registered in the participant list the American debutant, Alexander Rossi, before finally deciding to field a single car driven by Bianchi's team-mate, Max Chilton. In addition, at the same venue, its MR03 car with "#JB17" livery, being Bianchi's initials and race number, to further honour and support their injured driver.
Aside from providing joint updates on their seriously injured driver's medical condition in conjunction with the Bianchi family, a fortnight after the Suzuka accident, the Marussia team also went on public record to condemn various media reports that have been making speculative assertions about the team's direct role in that accident.
On 25 October, it was announced that, along with Caterham, Marussia would be unable to compete at the United States Grand Prix due to financial reasons. Because transport of F1 team equipment between the USA and Brazil for return to Europe is coordinated together, Marussia are expected to also not appear at the 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix. Around the same time, further media reports revealed that, F1 teams have agreed to teams in difficulty to miss out up to 2 races per season and that, on 7 October 2014, Marussia Manor Racing filed a notice in the London High Court intending to assign an administrator. An official statement by the appointed administrator was released on 27 October 2014.
In the same week of the above announcement, the team's main financial backer, Andrey Cheglakov, confirmed to Russian news agency ITAR-TASS that he has withdrawn from the F1 team. In addition, British media reported that British-Indian steel industry brothers Baljinder Sohi and Sonny Kaushal would be potential buyers.
At the United States Grand Prix, although in breach of F1 regulations by not being present at that race weekend, the FIA stewards decided to not impose any penalties, in consequence of the team's current financial circumstances (similar to those of the also missing Caterham F1 team). Instead, they referred the matter to the attention of the FIA president.
On 5 November 2014, the FIA included the team in the provisional entry list for the 2015 Formula One season but as the "Manor F1 Team".[Two days later, however, the administrator announced that the team had ceased trading and folded, without further entry to F1making 200 staff members redundant. Notwithstanding this, coinciding with the 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, the former team CEO, Graeme Lowdon, remained adamant of the possibility that Marussia could return for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, with a view of also securing its entry in 2015.

Despite this optimism, Marussia failed to appear at the last 3 races of the 2014 Formula One season with its assets coming up for sale at auction in mid-December 2014.

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