Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsManor

Change of management won't affect Stevens' future

Will Stevens says a change of management at Manor will not have an impact on his chances of staying with the team.

With Manor exiting administration ahead of the start of this season in order to return to the grid, Stevens was the first driver brought in for 2015 and has competed at every race. With team principal John Booth and CEO Graeme Lowdon moving on after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following a disagreement with team owner Stephen Fitzpatrick, Stevens says the developments do not affect his plans to remain with the team.

"No, in terms of my personal plans it doesn't really change anything if I'm honest," Stevens told F1i. "Obviously all of my deals we deal directly with the team owners and that has been going on for a while.

"Everything is moving in the right direction and we have got some really positive talks going on at the moment and we are getting closer and closer. Hopefully in a few weeks we will have some good news."

Asked if a deal could be completed before the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, Stevens replied: "Honestly we are pushing hard to get it done as quickly as possible.

"If we are in a position to sign and get the deal done before Abu Dhabi then I will be the first one to make sure that happens. We want to get it done as quickly as possible, whether it be before or after, so be it.

"The main thing is we get the drive for next year and we have confidence in that. I have got a lot of people working behind me and I know they are working extremely hard for me so we are confident and working hard."

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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.