Invited to the traditional FIA press conference, Graeme Lowdon confirmed the rumors: *”Yes, Abu Dhabi will be my last race with the team. Rather than going into the reasons for my departure, I prefer to focus on the fact that the most important thing this year was to ensure that the team could continue racing. We had to stop before the end of last season. We weren’t here and in Abu Dhabi, and it required a tremendous amount of work and commitment.”*<\/p>\n
His position won’t remain vacant for long, as today Manor announced the creation of a new role, the director of competition, which will be filled by Dave Ryan. Ryan is a veteran of the F1 paddock, having spent 34 years of his professional life there. He left McLaren following the famous disqualification of Lewis Hamilton at the 2009 Australian Grand Prix. Since then, he has been working in the Blancpain Series with the Von Ryan Racing team.<\/p>\n
Stephen Fitzpatrick, the team owner, wants to see a sign of the continuation of his ambitions for the future of Manor: \u00ab I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dave to the newly created position of Director of Competition. He needs no introduction as he has spent 34 years in this sport, achieving an incredible number of wins and championships. With our new Mercedes Benz engine, the technical partnership with Williams, and recent appointments in the design and technical teams, Dave’s arrival is another important step towards achieving our goal of creating a competitive racing team. <\/i>\u00bb<\/p>\n