Manor sporting director Graeme Lowdon says it is time for the team to improve after getting up and running during the opening four races.

Having exited administration in February, Manor wasn’t ready to run at all during the Australian Grand Prix weekend but the team completed its first laps of the year at the second race of the season in Malaysia. While only Roberto Merhi qualified and raced at Sepang, both cars completed the next two races in China and Bahrain as the team started to work more smoothly.

Speaking exclusively to F1i Lowdon says the team knew it would struggle in the opening four rounds.

“The first four flyaways were always going to be difficult,” Lowdon said. “I think people don’t realise that none of these cars and none of this equipment actually goes back to the UK between them.”

And asked what Manor has to do next following the achievement of completing the last two races with both cars, Lowdon replied: “Go faster!

“There’s a huge amount of effort gone in up until now. Personally I did understand why people were sceptical ahead of Australia because it was probably a surprise for some people that the team was back. But now we’re getting the race finishes and getting the team gelled really well together it’s the job of any team to go faster. So that’s our next task!

“Yes it’s difficult, but it’s nowhere near as difficult as saving the team from the direction it was heading in. Will it take some time? Yes it will, but we’re racers so we’ll always want to be going faster, quicker. We just have to make sure that we’re constantly improving and then trying to ensure that our rate of improvement speeds up because quite clearly we need to catch up. But there are plans in place and that’s really what we’ve got to do next.”

Click here for a look at the radical Honda power unit design

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

McLaren: No regrets over timing of Norris pit stop in Sao Paulo GP

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has insisted that the squad has no regrets about their…

60 mins ago

Williams' Boutsen hoists the mainsail in Adelaide

On this day in 1989, Williams' Thierry Boutsen secured his second F1 win when he…

2 hours ago

Horner: Max 'answered critics' with epic Sao Paulo GP drive

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen’s sensational Sao Paulo Grand Prix victory…

3 hours ago

Sainz left puzzled by double crash drama in rainy São Paulo

Carlos Sainz was left scratching his head after a disastrous Sunday at the Sao Paulo…

4 hours ago

Alonso pushed through agonizing pain to complete Sao Paulo GP

Fernando Alonso braved both physical agony and mechanical challenges in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix,…

6 hours ago

Alpine double-podium in Brazil could deliver $30 million windfall

Alpine’s remarkable double podium at the São Paulo Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Pierre…

20 hours ago