I was really rooting for this team. Even if they’d been slow and failed to make 107%, they would have been the honourable plucky underdogs who loved their racing so much they went from the jaws of bankruptcy to the F1 grid.
But not only did they not take part in any session, they never fired up an engine or turned a wheel. Even the much mocked HRT, Andrea Moda and Life managed better – and they were all new teams.
Minardi in 2001 turned up with a new owner, a year old car, a four-year-old engine and a 19-year-old driver and performed miracles. Super Aguri showed up with a four-year-old Arrows and also showed respectably.
Did Manor, an existing team with a ready and proven car, ever intend to take part? Is it all about that £35m? Will they keep using new excuses every race? To say I’m disappointed is an understatement … especially as a 12th/13th place finish was potentially awaiting them in Oz.