Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsManor

Hellmund confirms interest in Manor

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American businessman Tavo Hellmund has confirmed his interest in purchasing Manor, and says he wants Dale Earnhardt Jr to drive for the team.

Hellmund has been instrumental in bringing F1 back to the United States with the race in Austin, while he also worked on the Mexican Grand Prix which returned to the calendar this year. He has now announced he is interested in team ownership as he seeks to lead a group's attempts to purchase Manor.

“It would never be our goal to compete with the manufacturer teams," Hellmund told the Austin American-Statesman. "We’re never going to spend $400 million a year like Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren. But we think you can run it respectably and not be in the red. I think you can fight for fifth.”

And one of the reasons Hellmund says his group is interested in Manor stems from its Mercedes engine deal.

“Manor Marussia cut a deal to be able to have Mercedes motors next year, which is a step forward as opposed to a year and one-half old Ferrari spec engine."

However, Hellmund warns the engine deal would need to remain in place and a full review of team finances would need to take place quickly to enable a takeover to happen by the start of next season.

“I think if we get to late January or February, it may be too late, and my partners and I would probably lose interest."

Hellmund also revealed NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Jr would be his first choice driver for the team next season, with Alexander Rossi his second - and more likely - candidate for a seat.

Manor's current bosses - John Booth and Graeme Lowdon - have tendered their resignations from the team following a disagreement with owner Stephen Fitzpatrick.

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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.