Manor won’t run in Spanish test

Editor

Manor won't be joining their rivals for the post-Barcelona test as their resources are "better spent elsewhere."

Although Manor did make it back onto the Formula 1 grid this season, the team hasn't done much from there.

Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi have spent their Saturdays qualifying at the back of the field while on Sundays they have finished a lap or more down.

The team, though, won't be taking part in next week's two-day post-Barcelona test.

Manor sporting director Graeme Lowdon explained to Autosport: "We've nothing to test, so there's not a lot of point in us doing it, with our resources better spent elsewhere at the moment.

"The guys have done a really good job in getting on top of this car quickly, so we know the car pretty well and we know what it's capable of from last year.

"This year we can already see we are getting quite a bit out of it, so there is nothing to be achieved from a technical point of view."

As for a rumour that Manor had been approached by drivers wanting to pay to drive their F1 car in the test, Lowdon said that while the money would be welcome, it's the wrong time for the team.

"There were some possibilities in that area, but it was the wrong time and focus for us," he said.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say it would be a distraction, that would be incorrect, but it's just not the optimum thing for us to be doing.

"Yes, the money would be welcome, but equally these cars are pretty expensive to run.

"At the moment we have a really clear plan we are going along with, and that's because our season is different to everybody else.

"It's just the wrong time and place to really make use of the test the way the other teams will do, so the value is not there for us to do it."