Luiz Razia's Formula 1 career looks to be one of the shortest on record, the funding promised from Brazil failed to materialise and he has now officially been dropped from Marussia's driver line up.
Jules Bianchi, experienced F1 tester for Ferrari and Force India, will replace him in what looks to be a fairly rushed deal. Bianchi will drive the MR02 for the team during the remaining two days of testing.
Bianchi had been in contention to drive for Force India in 2013, we only found out his fate on Wednesday when rival Adrian Sutil snapped up the seat. Vijay Mallya said it was "very close", but as one door closes another one opens.
Razia had been drafted in to replace a departing Timo Glock, due to promised investment from Brazil. However his sponsors let him down and he failed to gain enough funding to keep his seat, Marussia really do need the money and Luiz unfortunately did not bring it.
Bianchi has good backing and more testing experience when compared to Razia. It is also interesting to note Marussia's current hunt for a new engine supplier for 2014, and Bianchi's backing from Ferrari as a former member of their young driver academy.
He will join fellow rookie Max Chilton at the Banbury based squad.
Team Principal John Booth said on the quick change “We are very pleased to welcome Jules Bianchi to the Marussia F1 Team. Jules is a proven talent who is highly regarded within the Paddock. He has been on a clear trajectory towards Formula 1 and has achieved some impressive performances through the various feeder formulae, notably his 2012 season in Formula Renault 3.5 when he was also Reserve Driver for Force India. He is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and his obvious pedigree put him on the radar for a number of teams over the winter as a driver ready to step up to Formula 1.
“We have found ourselves in a situation where we have had to terminate our contract with Luiz Razia. Having made clear the basis on which we must operate in 2013, and given the steps we had taken to put that new structure in place, we had no alternative but to remain true to the principles which we had identified as being key to securing our long-term future.
“We can now focus on the remainder of the testing programme and preparing for what looks to be a promising season for our Team. Jules can now look forward to a very swift initiation into the Team over the course of the next two days here in Barcelona, when he is expected to run for one and a half days to afford both our drivers some dry running with the latest aero specification.”
Bianchi said on his new role “I am thrilled to have secured a race seat with the Marussia F1 Team. Racing in Formula 1 this season has been my goal over the winter and after evaluating a number of options I am very excited to have this opportunity to demonstrate that I am ready for this next step in my racing career. I am also very grateful to the Ferrari Driver Academy that has always supported me and has given me the possibility to mature as a racing driver enabling me to be fully prepared for this new exciting challenge. The next two weeks of preparation for the season will be incredibly busy but I am ready to get started tomorrow with my first day in the MR02.”
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| (c) Marussia F1 Team |
Bianchi had been in contention to drive for Force India in 2013, we only found out his fate on Wednesday when rival Adrian Sutil snapped up the seat. Vijay Mallya said it was "very close", but as one door closes another one opens.
Razia had been drafted in to replace a departing Timo Glock, due to promised investment from Brazil. However his sponsors let him down and he failed to gain enough funding to keep his seat, Marussia really do need the money and Luiz unfortunately did not bring it.
Bianchi has good backing and more testing experience when compared to Razia. It is also interesting to note Marussia's current hunt for a new engine supplier for 2014, and Bianchi's backing from Ferrari as a former member of their young driver academy.
He will join fellow rookie Max Chilton at the Banbury based squad.
Team Principal John Booth said on the quick change “We are very pleased to welcome Jules Bianchi to the Marussia F1 Team. Jules is a proven talent who is highly regarded within the Paddock. He has been on a clear trajectory towards Formula 1 and has achieved some impressive performances through the various feeder formulae, notably his 2012 season in Formula Renault 3.5 when he was also Reserve Driver for Force India. He is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and his obvious pedigree put him on the radar for a number of teams over the winter as a driver ready to step up to Formula 1.
“We have found ourselves in a situation where we have had to terminate our contract with Luiz Razia. Having made clear the basis on which we must operate in 2013, and given the steps we had taken to put that new structure in place, we had no alternative but to remain true to the principles which we had identified as being key to securing our long-term future.
“We can now focus on the remainder of the testing programme and preparing for what looks to be a promising season for our Team. Jules can now look forward to a very swift initiation into the Team over the course of the next two days here in Barcelona, when he is expected to run for one and a half days to afford both our drivers some dry running with the latest aero specification.”
Bianchi said on his new role “I am thrilled to have secured a race seat with the Marussia F1 Team. Racing in Formula 1 this season has been my goal over the winter and after evaluating a number of options I am very excited to have this opportunity to demonstrate that I am ready for this next step in my racing career. I am also very grateful to the Ferrari Driver Academy that has always supported me and has given me the possibility to mature as a racing driver enabling me to be fully prepared for this new exciting challenge. The next two weeks of preparation for the season will be incredibly busy but I am ready to get started tomorrow with my first day in the MR02.”
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