End of Season Review: Marussia

Marussia came into the 2014 season on a slight high – Jules Bianchi’s 13th place at Malaysia secured them a top 10 constructor’s finish for the first time in their history. 2014 saw some changes for Marussia. For the first time, both of the previous season’s drivers would be retained. Max Chilton brought cash to the team, whilst Jules Bianchi brought the second change. Following Cosworth’s withdrawal from the sport at the end of the 2013 season, Marussia moved to Ferrari engines – in part financed due to Bianchi being a member of the Ferrari Young Driver Programme.

The 2014 car appeared to be a major improvement on the 2013 model, with Chilton qualifying the MR03 in 17th place at the opening round, one ahead of his team-mate. They beat Gutierrez’s Sauber, Ericsson’s Caterham and both Lotus cars. The race proved to be troublesome for the Russian team. Max Chilton stalled on the formation lap, forcing him to start from the pits. Bianchi then stalled on the grid, forcing him to follow his team-mate there and causing an aborted start. Ultimately, Chilton finished last of the runners in 13th place, whilst Bianchi ended his race 8 laps early meaning he was not classified.

Malaysia once again saw Chilton finish last of the runners and once again Jules Bianchi retired. Accident damage caused by a scuffle with Maldonado on the opening lap forced him out. The first desert race of the year saw both Marussias occupy 2 of the last 3 places, Bianchi in 20th and Chilton last. Although the race will be remembered for its thrills up front between the Force India’s, Mercedes and Ricciardo, Chilton once again had a good drive. He came home in 13th place once again, whilst Bianchi finished a lap down in 16th place.

China and Spain brought no luck to the team either, but Monaco proved special. Despite qualifying in 19th and 20th places, Marussia had their best ever weekend in the principality. It was Chilton’s turn again to finish last of the runners, but further up field Jules Bianchi was putting in a storming drive. He overtook car after car, putting in many a brave move that were champion worthy, to come home 9th and give the team their first ever points. Not only that, the team moved up to 9th in the constructors’ championship for the first time in their history, a position they maintained after the final race of the year.

Max Chilton had never failed to finish a Grand Prix so far, until Canada when the pride of Monaco was wiped out on the opening lap. Chilton collided with Bianchi on the opening lap. forcing both out straight away and leaving the team’s faces as red as their livery. Austria was never going to be a kind track to the low powered car, with Bianchi the highest placed car on the grid in 19th. He made up four places in the race, whilst Chilton finished in 17th – behind Kamui Kobayashi and his team mate.

In Formula 1, the weather always plays a crucial part of any weekend. Wet weather can mix the field up, and Silverstone proved that once again. A wet qualifying session was rather bizarre! Ericsson and Kobayashi were eliminated in Q1, but were joined by both Ferraris and the two Williams! Both Marussias had comfortably made it into the second part of qualifying, where Bianchi and Chilton would go on to finish 12th and 13th respectively – although the Brit dropped 5 places for a gearbox change. Once again on raceday, Bianchi proved strong and managed to hold onto 14th.

Germany proved to be a reality check once again, but Hungary saw yet another surprise in qualifying. Bianchi managed to knock the works Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen out of qualifying, allowing the Marussia to qualify in the top 16 for the second time in three races. He improved to 15th in the race, followed home by Chilton as F1 headed into its summer break.

Wet weather once again played its part in the qualifying session for the Belgian GP, allowing Jules Bianchi to once again qualify in the top 16. Sadly, he retired early with gearbox problems, whilst team mate Chilton did make it to the end – coming home in Bianchi’s starting position – 16th.

The high-speed Monza circuit hosted the final European race of the year and did Marussia no favours at all, with the Ferrari power unit struggling on the long straights with the car’s low aero efficiency. Despite its differences, Singapore gave the Marussia mechanics little to cheer about either, with the high downforce needed on the track, as well as straight line speed, meaning the team finished last and second off last.

And now, we come to the tragic Japanese Grand Prix. A dry qualy session saw Bianchi line up 20th and Chilton 22nd, but the team were hoping that the soaking conditions at Suzuka for the race would allow them to etch up the field. The race was abandoned after Jules Bianchi aquaplaned on lap 44. He spun off the track and hit a recovery tractor that was attempting to clear Adrian Sutil’s Sauber. Jules was taken to hospital, unconscious, where he was put into an artificial coma on life support. The latest news is that, although he is still critical and unconscious, Jules is out of the coma and breathing on his own. He has also been moved to Nice, nearer his home.

Sadly, this is the last race I need to write about. Russia was a very sombre place just a week after Bianchi’s crash. Marussia opted to run with just 1 car, that of Max Chilton, whilst Jules’ MR03 was ready to go in the garage as a mark of respect. It was an even more miserable weekend for the team. Chilton qualified last and failed to finish.

After this race, the team, along with Caterham, were placed into administration. The administrators have announced that the team has ceased trading, and so it sadly looks as though Marussia will not be seen again on the grid.

DRIVER BY DRIVER REVIEW

Jules Bianchi 2 points/17th in Driver’s Championship

Bianchi’s impressive form from 2013 continued into this season. It was believed that this would be Bianchi’s last season at Marussia, with the Ferrari academy driver looking to move on from the team that gave him his début to pastures found higher up the grid. His ninth place finish at Monaco secured his and the team’s only points to date, ensuring that Marussia finished a team-record 9th in the Constructors’ battle too.

Max Chilton 0 points/21st in Driver’s Championship

Whilst he does bring money to the team, Chilton certainly found his way in 2014. There were big gaps between Jules and Max at times last year, but over the course of the 2014 season Max was steadily improving as the gap to Bianchi came down. He took both himself and his team-mate out at Montreal, causing his first ever DNF and sending the Marussia dreamland crashing down following the highs of Monaco in the last race. Bravely, Chilton participated in the Russian race just a week after Bianchi’s crash. His retirement added to the tough time the team would face – especially as they were not seen on the grid again.

PERFORMANCE COMPARISON

 

Overall, 2014 has proved to be the toughest season for the team. They’ve experienced the highs of point scoring at Monaco, to the deepest pits of Bianchi’s awful accident and entering administration. The team clearly improved on their previous efforts, highlighted with their 9th place finish ahead of Sauber and traditional rivals Caterham. If the team make it to the grid in 2015, they have a very good base to build from. If they don’t they have had a good season to reflect on.

 

Image copyright Marussia F1 Team