Team Preview: Manor

2015 Drivers:

28: Will Stevens (2014 finish 23rd 0 points)

98: Roberto Merhi (2014 finish N/A)

2014 Constructors' Championship 9th (2 points)

2015 chassis: TBA

Manor had an interesting offseason as what was formerly known as Marussia went into administration and then came back to life towards the end of the winter. Now that the team is back and ready to race, they are quickly scrambling for finances and putting its car together to prepare for the opening Australian Grand Prix. Just getting to Melbourne is already an accomplishment for the team as they will now try to qualify.

Manor first confirmed Will Stevens as a driver. Stevens was a reserve driver for the team last year and also raced for Caterham at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year. Stevens has driven in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series the last three seasons in which he finished 12th, 4th, and 6th in the final standings and also picked up two wins which both came last year. Stevens will have a difficult job with such late notice and having no testing in the car as he prepares for the 2015 season. Any results that Stevens can put together will be great for the team.

Manor also confirmed that Spanish driver Roberto Merhi will drive for the team in the Australian Grand Prix. Merhi finished third in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series last year and was also a reserve driver for the Caterham team in which he participated in three Friday morning practice sessions doing a respectable job. Like Stevens, Merhi is on very late notice and has not had any testing in the car so it will be difficult for him to achieve any significant results. Merhi also has to deal with the pressure of not knowing how long the drive will be his.

Since Manor has not had any testing they will have to learn as much about the car as possible during practice for the Australian Grand Prix. The team was one of the slowest last year and not testing does not give them much of a chance to improve. If the team just qualifies for the first race they should be very happy.

Prediction: It is difficult to expect Manor to be anywhere except the last two cars on the grid and having difficult to qualify for races especially early on. Expect to see Manor go through the year without scoring any points unless there is a race of high attrition.

How do you think Manor will perform over the course of the 2015 season? Do you think they will be able to qualify for races or will they struggle to make the grid? Also, do you expect the team to last for the entire season? Please share any thoughts in the comments section below.