The latest reports from the Formula One paddock suggest that the future of Manor is in doubt once again, as the team is set to lose tenth position in the World Constructors’ Championship to Sauber. This means that the team will be missing out on at least $15 million in winnings for 2017 and potentially forcing the team to select two pay-drivers for the 2017 season.
Of course this isn’t the first case of financial uncertainty that the team has faces in the recent years, as their financial crisis collapsed the team at the end of the 2014 season and saw their assets move to auction. Fortunately for what was then Marussia, the team was purchased and rebranded Manor Marussia for 2015. The purchase was done at the last minute, which was evident when the team failed to race in Australia because the car was not prepared yet.
The 2016 season is the team’s first season fully carrying the Manor name. The driver lineup includes Pascal Wehrlein, who is backed by Mercedes, and Rio Haryanto, who was backed by the Indonesian government. Haryanto has since been replaced by Esteban Ocon, after his financial backers were unable to fulfill their end of the contract. Up until the Brazilian Grand Prix, Manor was in tenth position in the World Constructors’ Championship, with a single point scored by Wehrlein at the Austrian Grand Prix.
However, a recent ninth place finish by Sauber’s Felipe Nasr at the Brazilian Grand Prix has given the Swiss team two points and allowed them to surpass Manor in the championship battle. This drops Manor down to the bottom of the championship, a position which is not worth any winnings.
As a result of the loss, the team may have to hire pay-drivers for the 2017 season. This would make Esteban Gutierrez, Rio Haryanto and Jordan King likely candidates for the Manor seats, since they reportedly carry more funding than Wehrlein is able to get from Mercedes. If Wehrlein is bumped from the team for the 2017, this could further impact the 2017 driver lineup, as he would become a likely candidate to take over Nasr’s 2017 seat on Sauber. Sauber and Manor are the only two teams on the grid that do not yet have any drivers contract for the 2017 season.
It’s unknown when either team will confirm their lineup for 2017 and the exact financial situation at Manor is also unknown at this time.
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