Manor Marussia have a history that pre-dates their assistance in Formula One, having assisted drivers such as Lewis Hamilton to Formula 3 success. But it has recently been announced that the saviours of Manor have resigned from the racing team and will leave at the end of the year.
According to the Telegraph, Graeme Lowdon and John Booth, sporting director and team principal respectively, are no longer on friendly terms with their team’s millionaire owner, Stephen Fitzpatrick.
Manor Motorsport was founded in 1990 by Booth, who is aged 60. He brought the team to Formula One, the pinnacle of open-wheel racing, twenty years later. Manor Motorsport became Virgin Racing, then Marussia and now Manor. Booth, who’s from Yorkshire, has helped current drivers such as Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in their successful Formula 3 team.
Hamilton went on to win three World titles, compared to Raikkonen’s one.
Lowdon would go on to prevent Manor going into administration last winter when the team owner Andrei Cheglakov decided to resign.
The 50-year-old refused to speak about the incident when Telegraph Sport enquired.
Fitzpatrick saved the team from administration by buying the team, investing as much as £30 million of his own money.
Justin King, who is the former boss of Sainsbury’s, is involved within the team, but Fitzpatrick has kept Booth and Lowdon out of the business.
Manor have not had a great season, struggling to find themselves amongst the teams in front of them. The team, however, have recently signed a deal with Mercedes which will see them use their power units for 2016. Manor hopes this will make their car more competitive for the next season.
Manor still has many drivers interested in the two possible seats for Manor next season. English driver Will Stevens is in negotiations with the team for a seat next season and has said that ‘things are moving in the right direction’.
