Chilton “voluntarily relinquished his seat” for the Belgian Grand Prix
Replaced by Alexander Rossi at Spa, Max Chilton's entourage explained that the Briton had intentionally given up his seat to the reserve driver in order to allow Marussia F1 to raise money.
Following the announcement of Max Chilton’s replacement by Alexander Rossi for the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, the British driver stated through a press release issued by his public relations agency that he had chosen to give up his seat to the American reserve driver in order to financially assist Marussia.
« Max Chilton has voluntarily given up his seat for this weekend’s race at Spa […] to allow the team to attract more necessary funds by selling his seat. Max will follow the race and support the team in every way, » states the press release issued online by The Sport PR Company, the firm handling public relations for the driver in car no. 4.
This replacement, as with Caterham, should not be definitive: Marussia is in negotiations with some new investors and it is expected that the situation will be resolved before the next race on the calendar at Monza.
Marussia highlighted, in its own statement, contractual issues to justify fielding Rossi in place of Chilton.