Manor racing director Dave Ryan has claimed the team wants to remain a small team to alleviate pressure and avoid setting unrealistic targets.
Ryan returned to the sport after he left McLaren after 34 years with the team following his suspension by the team after the fiasco caused when he was accused of deliberately misleading race stewards after the 2009 Australian Grand Prix in which Lewis Hamilton was disqualified.
“I’ve a fairly clear brief to do whatever I want,” Ryan said when questioned by AUTOSPORT about Manor’s hopes.
“We want to be a genuine, solid team, and that’s what we are building.
“We’d like to think we can become a good midfield team, and beyond that a really strong midfield team, a really strong independent team.
“We’ll always be independent, so to think we can compete with the Mercedes of this world is a bit unreal, but we can certainly aim to be the best independent team.
“We’re the smallest team by a big margin. We do a lot ourselves, and obviously we get things made for us.
“We’re never going to be a big team, we don’t want to be a big team – we’ll say that now.
“We’ll stay a small team, but we want to be efficient and to get good value out of what we have. That’s our goal.”
Since Manor formed six years ago the team has only managed to finish once in the points, something the team is clearly hoping to prove on.
With the addition of the Mercedes power unit and the Williams transmission coupled with the hiring of various experienced people in key positions such as Ryan’s appointment alongside Nikolas Tombazis, who is the new chief aerodynamicist and Pat Fry recruited as an engineering consultant.
The new structure and technical directive in place on points towards a change in regime which is all part of owner Stephen Fitzpatrick’s future plans for the team.
“We’ve got what many people consider to be the best engine on the grid, the same spec as the works team,” said Ryan.
“We’ve a great rear-end package, so that side of it is all sorted for us, and we’ve just got to do the rest.
“Our expectations are certainly to be competitive and score points, as simple as that really.”
