A press release issued by Virgin Marussia Racing informs us about the future plans of the team.
The Marussia Virgin Racing team has underlined the seriousness of its intent to become a real contender in Formula One with two major announcements that represent an exciting new chapter in the team’s development.
Initially the team tried to keep costs down to a minimum with its new F1 team last year. They even skipped wind-tunnel testing in favor of designing its car entirely using computers. It also retained a consulting firm rather than hire the staff usually required of an F1 team. But that approach hasn’t done very well for the team, so it’s starting over again.
Marussia Virgin Racing has concluded a long-term Technical Partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies which will see the Anglo-Russian team benefit from access to McLaren facilities, knowledge and capabilities, for example their test rigs and driver-in-the-loop simulator, supply chain experience and CFD and CAE techniques including race strategy tools. It seems that Marussia Virgin Racing’s existing agreement with its engine supplier Cosworth continues.
Pat Symonds and the consultancy position that he has occupied since February 2011, has played a major part in determining Marussia Virgin Racing’s future technical direction and he will continue in this role going forward.
Andy Webb, Chief Executive Officer of Marussia Virgin Racing, commented:
“When we undertook our detailed review of the team in the first half of 2011, it was clear that our bold ambitions for the future would need to be matched with some equally bold steps towards achieving them. I am delighted that in a relatively short space of time we are now in the fantastic position of being able to make these two very important announcements, which will enable us to make some dramatic strides forward with immediate effect.
“Our Technical Partnership with McLaren is very exciting indeed. McLaren is one of the most prestigious and successful marques in Grand Prix racing history, with an enviable record of success over many years. We can benefit enormously from McLaren’s far-reaching techniques and capabilities and I have no doubt that this Partnership will see us take the technical steps necessary to make a significant leap forwards.”
Source: Virgin
