21st January 2013.
When I first heard last night the rumblings of a big story about to happen I hoped it would be one of those false alarms. Alas, this morning it was confirmed that Timo Glock and Marussia have parted company.
The move paves the way for a driver with some deep pockets to come in and help fund the team.
Timo was in the middle of a multi-year contract but as soon as his 2012 teammate got overtaken by fierce rival Vitaly Petrov in the last race of last season, the team must have known that they would be looking at a tough 2013.
It is estimated that Marussia lost out on £10m by losing 10th spot in the constructors’ championship – budgets were tight before that and Marussia have done amazing things with the limited funding they have.
Brit Max Chilton coming to the team brought them a fair amount of finance with his father’s AON money, but it seems economic times now mean Max’s cash isn’t enough and poor Timo it seems, has had to leave the team to save the team going out of business.
Timo has been in F1 since 2004 when he was signed by Jordan. In his first race he inherited 7th following the disqualification of the Williams and Toyota cars and thus scored two points on his debut. He finished the season with Jordan, taking over from Giorgio Pantano for the last three races.
In 2008 after several years out of F1 Timo came back to the sport with Toyota but when they left the sport at the end of 2009 he had to choose between a seat with Renault or the newly formed Virgin Racing (now Marussia).
There are still seats available at both Caterham and Force India so we will have to wait and see if Timo will be back in the F1 paddock this season.
As for the now vacant seat at Marussia, the press release below makes it clear that the team now need someone with money. That points in the direction of Vitaly Petrov, who is still trying to secure a seat for this season. He is Russian, the team is Russian backed and with a Russian GP penciled in for next year it would all make sense. It just depends how much backing the Caterham driver has.
Other names in the hat would be Bruno Senna, still without a seat but with plenty of money and a big name to bring to the team and Guido Van de Garde is very keen to take what he sees as his last chance to get into F1 before the opportunity passes him by.
An announcement will be made shortly but I can’t help but feel these are sad times for Formula One when a team is forced into getting rid of an experienced driver, who they all get on with well, to make way for a driver with more money.
Here is the official press release from Timo and the team:
MARUSSIA F1 TEAM RACING COMMUNICATIONS
A JOINT STATEMENT from the Marussia F1 Team and Timo Glock
Banbury, UK Monday 21 January 2013, 09.30hrs GMT
The Marussia F1 Team and its race driver Timo Glock have, by mutual consent, agreed to part company with immediate effect.
The 30 year old German has been with the Team since its inception in 2009, completing three full seasons of competition and playing a significant role in its development.
John Booth, Team Principal of the Marussia F1 Team, commented:
“Timo has made a very significant contribution to our Team over the past three seasons, helping us to develop our package to the point where, for a large proportion of the 2012 season, we were holding 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship. Timo is a fantastic driver and he has been a very popular member of the Team.
“Our Team was founded on the principle of benefiting from proven experience whilst also providing opportunities for young emerging talent to progress to the pinnacle of motorsport. Thus far, this philosophy has also been reflected in our commercial model. The ongoing challenges facing the industry mean that we have had to take steps to secure our long-term future. Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone, Formula 1 teams included. We would like to thank Timo for working with us to reach this decision, especially as he had a valid contract, and also for the contribution he has made to our Team. We wish him all the best for his future and I would like to congratulate the next team acquiring the services of such a competitive, professional and experienced racer.
“We will provide an update regarding the completion of our driver line-up in due course.”
Timo Glock added:
“I have had three excellent years with the Marussia F1 Team, during which I had the chance to actively participate in building and developing the Team in its endeavours to succeed within the Formula 1 World Championship. I would like to wish the Team good luck in navigating this next period and thank everyone for the great times we shared and the support I have received. Although it is not the path I expected to be taking, I am in fact very excited about what the future holds in terms of my own career and I hope to comment on that very soon.”