'The MRT05 is a contender' - McQuilliam

Manor technical director John McQuilliam says the team is convinced its 2016 car "is a contender".

The MRT05 first appeared on Monday morning when it hit the track during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. With Manor having run an updated 2014 car last season, McQuilliam says the whole car is new following an extensive design period.

• GALLERY: Manor MRT05

“Well, for starters, it’s all new," McQuilliam said. "As it should be of course, but we had to ‘make do’ last year and that’s not what we’re here for. We build fast race cars for a living and it’s great to get back to doing what we love. We’re also pretty good at it, when we have the right tools for the job. So that in itself is quite special.

"Better still, the MRT05 is a contender. We really believe that. The design team have focused almost exclusively on it since the middle of last season and it’s just a whole different ball game to any of its predecessors. We haven’t left any performance on the table and right now I can say there’s not a single part of the car we’d have designed differently.”

And McQuilliam believes the Mercedes power unit allied to the Williams gearbox gives Manor a strong platform with which to start the 2016 season.

“We’ve carried over the 2015 fire extinguisher, the rest is brand new. Some 3393 different parts in fact and that’s just our in-house components. We delayed the monocoque programme to wait for the new Power Unit, which was well worth waiting for of course. The Mercedes-Benz PU106C Hybrid Power Unit is a magnificent feat of engineering and we’re proud and excited to be powered by championship-winning technology developed by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains.

"We also have a very competitive transmission package thanks to our technical partner Williams Advanced Engineering, who supply our gearbox and other rear-end components. Together with the efforts of our accomplished aero and mechanical design teams, that’s a pretty impressive package.”