Manor making the first race in Australia is a testament to their desire to race and participate in Formula One. A rescue deal headed by businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick which was aided by the prize money won by the team in 2014, courtesy of the late Jules Bianchi’s ninth place finish in Monaco.
After ending the development of their 2015 challenger when they entered administration, Manor began the season with an updated 2014 car, still running the 2014-spec Ferrari engine. The aim for the team was to survive and rebuild after a difficult year for the team.
Manor confirmed former Caterham driver Will Stevens and Formula Renault 3.5 star Roberto Merhi as their driver combination for the season. GP2 title contender Alexander Rossi would eventually replace Merhi at the Singapore Grand Prix in September.
Both cars failed to start the season opener in Australia. The next race in Malaysia proved to be more successful for the team as both drivers completed mileage in the MR03B. However, Will Stevens was unable to start the race due to an electrical problem while Merhi finished his first Formula One race in fifteenth. The next four races saw both cars make the chequered flag, albeit running well behind the rest of the field.
Manor’s strongest race came at the British Grand Prix, as Merhi came home twelfth and Stevens thirteenth in a race of attrition. Silverstone also saw the team introduce their first upgrade package of the season. However, it was clear Manor would be unable to make any serious progress in terms of development despite stating at the start of the season that they would be introducing their 2015 car at the Belgian Grand Prix in August.
American driver Alexander Rossi replaced Merhi for five of the remaining seven races. The Californian performed strongly, often out-qualifying and out-racing teammate and more experienced Will Stevens. At his home Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, Rossi scored the teams joint-best result of the season, finishing twelfth.
Manor ended the season with another two car finish in Brazil. Reliability was a strong point for the team and with the introduction of Mercedes power in 2016, it could be the change they need to finally move into the midfield.
2015 did see the end of John Booth and Graeme Lowdon, who had run the team since its inception in 2010, as both resigned due to ‘differences’ with team owner Stephen Fitzpatrick.
Roberto Merhi – 0 points (19th in the drivers’ championship)
Despite finishing higher than teammates Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi, it was ultimately a slightly underwhelming season for the Spaniard. He was out-qualified by Stevens comprehensively but in the race, he proved to be more competitive. One thing which hampered Merhi was the fact that he was 10kg heavier than teammate Stevens which impacted his lap times severely. It is unlikely that we will see Merhi on the Formula One grid in the future.
Alexander Rossi – 0 points (20th in the drivers’ championship)
In the five races Rossi completed, he was very competitive in relation to Stevens and showed he is worthy of racing in Formula One with Manor in 2016. He finished ahead of Stevens in three of the five races and the qualifying battle was very close. A full season with Manor in 2016 will certainly show if Rossi is the real deal or not.
Will Stevens – 0 points (21st in the drivers’ championship)
Stevens participated in all 19 Grand Prix in 2015. On average, the Brit qualified 0.726 quicker than his various teammates across the season. Stevens enjoyed a solid debut season in the sport and would be deserving of a second chance in 2016, racing for Manor.
