Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsManor

Manor confirms it will be in Melbourne

Manor has confirmed it will be on the grid for the Australian Grand Prix after unveiling the investors which helped it exit administration.

The team will run as Manor Marussia F1 following agreement from Manor’s creditors, with fresh investment coming from Stephen Fitzpatrick who is CEO and founder of OVO Energy. The team will continue to be run by team principal John Booth and sporting director Graeme Lowdon, while Will Stevens has already been named as one of the team's drivers.

Fitzpatrick says F1 is “a lifelong passion” of his as he prepares to help Manor return to the grid at the opening race of the season.

“We've all worked incredibly hard to get the car ready for Melbourne and the season ahead,” Fitzpatrick said. “Our fans have given the team amazing support for many years and we want to restore Manor to the very best of racing in the future. I have a lifelong passion for Formula One and can't wait for the season ahead, with Manor and the team.”

Former Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King will be the team’s interim chairman and says he is confident Manor can be transformed in to a profitable business.

“It’s a real pleasure for me to be involved in Manor,” King said. “I know from the years I spent at Sainsbury’s that with the right people, the right values, and sheer hard work, you can turn any business around. In Graeme and Team Principal John Booth we have all three and I’m fully confident that we can help Manor be competitive at the highest level of racing.”

Click here for the latest technical upgrades before Melbourne in pictures

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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.