Manor F1 on Target for Melbourne as Will Stevens signs to race

Will Stevens has signed to race with the Manor F1 squad which is on target to appear at the first round of the world championship in Melbourne in just over a fortnight.

Stevens, 23, made his F1 race debut with Caterham at last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and is well known to the Manor team from his period as test driver for the squad last year.

The then Marussia team has since gone into administration, morphed into Manor F1 and emerged from the ashes via a Company Voluntary Arrangement which will allow the team to restructure its debt and to continue as a going concern.

Manor has been beavering away on an update of its 2014 car to make it comply with the new 2015 nose regulations at its current race preparation facility in Dinnington, Yorkshire.

Despite having been blocked from running its 2014 car in Melbourne after a vote by the F1 Strategy group, Manor have worked tirelessly to upgrade their car and another piece of the jigsaw fell into place when Ferrari confirmed last week that it will supply the team with 2014 specification engines for the seasons.

The squad is working flat out towards a deadline of Friday March 6th when freight will be despatched to Australia for the season opener the following weekend

“It’s very exciting to see everything coming together at Manor after the tremendous effort that has gone into saving the team," says Stevens. "It would not have been possible without the incredible support we have received from all the suppliers and from within the sport, but most of all the fantastic team of people at Manor who are working around the clock to ensure we are ready for Melbourne.

"My thanks to the team for their confidence in me and I can’t wait to see all the hard work rewarded when we line up on the grid in two weeks’ time."