Marussia wants to assess its progress in Spain

The entire Marussia team has worked hard over the past few weeks to build new parts to improve the MR01. These were tested during the Mugello trials last week, but the real test will be this weekend in Barcelona, on a familiar track, as John Booth explains: « The Circuit de Catalunya is a bit like an old glove because it’s a circuit we all know well and where we feel comfortable. If a car performs well there, then it’s a good barometer of the progress made, more so than Mugello, where we could see we were better but it’s a less representative circuit. »

The director of the Marussia team also knows that his team is not the only one that has been working to improve the performance of its car: Barcelona has a bit of everything when it comes to circuit characteristics, so it should allow us to measure the extent of our progress, even though we are aware that the rest of the field has not been idle in recent weeks.

Timo Glock is eager to test these improvements during a race weekend, and the German driver is confident that it will allow him to get closer to the rest of the field: « After the Mugello tests, I think we have a good base for Barcelona, and now we need to see what the new parts we’ve brought will deliver. I hope they will make a difference and that we can get closer to the guys in front. I’m looking forward to getting back into competition this weekend. »

The same optimism is shared by his teammate, Charles Pic. The young Frenchman believes that the team made progress at Mugello and hopes to confirm it this weekend in Spain: «Our goal for Spain is to take a step forward and get closer to our rivals. Given what we saw at Mugello, I think it’s possible. We have good updates, and the car seems positive, so if we manage to make everything work in Barcelona, I think we can continue to be competitive on other tracks.»

Pic also hopes to continue his progress at the Circuit de Catalunya, a track he knows well, and keep closing in on Glock: «As a team, we have goals and from a personal standpoint, I want to keep improving. I feel well settled and comfortable with the team and the car, so I want to continue my progress. The Circuit de Catalunya is a track I know well; I’ve raced there several times. I’m happy with the direction we’re taking and look forward to this weekend.»

Timo Glock, for his part, expressed his delight in returning to Europe, as it will allow the team to spend less time traveling and more time working to improve the car: I’m looking forward to the Spanish Grand Prix and the start of the European season. After racing internationally in the first few races, it’s nice to be back in Europe. The logistics are much simpler for the team, and the travel is shorter for everyone, so we can get straight to work.