Stevens not surprised by early Manor struggles

Will Stevens has admitted that he expected Manor to face some teething troubles following its February exit from administration and subsequent race against time to take part in the Australian Grand Prix.

Having finally made it to Melbourne, the ex-Marussia team was forced to sit out both Friday free practice sessions after experiencing software issues with its 2014-spec Ferrari power units.

With Manor unable to attend any of the three pre-season tests, this came as little surprise to Stevens, who made his F1 debut with Caterham at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“We always knew this weekend was going to be tough,” the 23-year-old said. “Clearly, not going out today is disappointing but we’re all working together to fix the issues and hopefully progress through the weekend.

“Of course, there’s going to be gremlins along the way. Unfortunately, it’s come to that [today] and obviously the mileages result in that. But we’re pushing to solve the issues."

Despite Manor’s botched start to the season, Stevens insists the car, which is a modified 2014 machine, is race ready.

“We’ve passed scrutineering and as far as the car’s concerned, everything is completely ready to go… It’s not down to we haven’t got bits, or the car is not legal, or anything like that. That’s all completely OK.

“We’ve just got to be patient and go along with everything that we need to do.”

Click here for Friday's gallery from the Australian Grand Prix

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