Nick Wirth IS returning to F1 (no joke)!!!

[pher38]

As the 2010 entry list was released today the name of Manor Motorsport was included on the entry list, who it turns out are also in collaboration with Wirth Research Technology!

In last week's Autosport issue it was announced that With Research was working with an "as yet undisclosed team" and the organisation was "well funded". It has to be assumed the team have some wealthy backers considering they fought off both Lola and Prodrive for a successful application.

Simtek had potential as an F1 team, but not the luck so I was delighted to hear today Nick Wirth and Wirth Research are returning to F1! It was strange that both he and Manor were so quiet about their application for a slot on the 2010 grid. We seemed to have a press release every week from Litespeed/Lotus.

I am sure Wirth's connections with Max Mosley and the FIA's road safety campaign also helped in securing Manor's successful application! Do not forget Mosley used to be a shareholder in Simtek. If these applications also managed to defeat such well run and credible applicants such as Prodrive and Lola surely the quality of entrants is more than good enough to encourage a fight for qualifying where 30 cars compete for 26 places on the grid? That would surely add an extra exciting element to Formula 1?

So, as it was announced on the F1 Rejects podcast last month, does the campaign to bring the Simtek name back to F1 start here? Litespeed quickly ditched their name for Lotus as did Formtech GmbH for Brabham so it is highly likely another name will be considered for the F1 team.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsp ... 097574.stm

The official press release from the companies website.

http://217.33.58.6/wirthres/news/new-cl ... ch268.html

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=38165

[Alianora La Canta]

Better still, Manor Motorsport is three train stations from my house. Maybe I could go and work there, if I ever picked up a skillset they'd be interested in (I suspect the £40m doesn't leave much spare cash to set up a company library...)

[Captain Hammer]

I am sure Wirth's connections with Max Mosley and the FIA's road safety campaign also helped in securing Manor's successful application! Do not forget Mosley used to be a shareholder in Simtek. If these applications also managed to defeat such well run and credible applicants such as Prodrive and Lola surely the quality of entrants is more than good enough to encourage a fight for qualifying where 30 cars compete for 26 places on the grid? That would surely add an extra exciting element to Formula 1?

Actually, since Mosley was NOT the only person to review the entires, Wirth's history developing LMS cars was probably a much bigger factor. That, combined with Manor's history and success in the lower categories, was probably a deciding factor.

Actually, if you ask me, Manor was the smartest applicant of the lot. As was stated, Litespeed-Lotus were issuing press releases every other day, Superfund and Prodrive were super-confident and so on; Manor kept to themselves and surprised everyone. And if they hadn't have made it, they wouldn't have been publicly disappointed.