F1: Marussia To Skip First Test In Jerez

Formula 1

F1: Marussia To Skip First Test In Jerez

Marussia will skip Jerez and run its old car at the second test in Barcelona Feb. 21-24...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted January 24, 2012 Balen (BEL)

Charles Pic will make his formal debut as a Marussia race driver in upcoming preseason testing. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The Marussia team will miss the first test of the preseason in Jerez, despite having originally planned to run the 2011 Virgin – mainly to give rookie Charles Pic more seat time.

The team has now decided to skip Jerez and run the old car at the second test in Barcelona Feb. 21-24, before bringing out the new car for the second Barcelona session March 1-4.

The new car is totally different from its predecessor, following last year's mid-season departure of former technical director Nick Wirth.

Speaking via Marussia’s Twitter feed, team principal John Booth said: “The MR01 will be almost entirely 'new,' with very little carryover.

“Unfortunately, our program has slipped and there seems little point in fielding the new car before we can optimize the run plan for it.

“We will hopefully gain more constructive track time than we might otherwise have achieved had we rushed the new car out for the second test.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.