The Virgin MVR-02 was not so bad according to Pat Symonds

After indicating to Autosprint that the future Marussia would only see the light of day during the Barcelona tests, Pat Symonds, consultant of the team via his company Neutrino Dynamics – and unofficially considered as the technical director of the Russian team – reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of the MVR-02 which did not allow the Marussia team – formerly Virgin – to make the long-awaited step forward in 2011, after a 2010 season of discovering F1: « I think it would be fair to say that we analyze the competition a lot as well as where we stand, and I believe that, mechanically, the car was worth much more than the back of the pack. »

According to the British technician, unfortunately made famous during the Singapore crashgate, the 2011 car was mainly penalized by its aerodynamics: « The performance in slow corners was much closer to the norm than in fast corners. The car responded quite well to changes, it used the tires relatively well, it wasn’t a difficult car to drive, so I think our low-speed performance was reasonably good. [On the other hand] the high-speed performance wasn’t good, and so, of course, you look at the aerodynamic side. […] The majority of a car’s performance today depends on aerodynamics, this was the area we were lacking, and that’s what relegated us to the back. »

Outpaced by Team Lotus – now Caterham – and challenged by HRT, Marussia must make progress in 2012, and Pat Symonds believes that the presence of Timo Glock, for the third consecutive year, provides the necessary stability for the team’s smooth operation, while its main rival – HRT – is expected to once again shuffle its drivers: « Timo is good. He is very communicative and doesn’t give up. He’s a good reference for the team. I am very, very happy to have him with us. I think that when you try to develop a car and a team, if you don’t have a reference driver, some continuity, it can become very difficult. »