PDA

View Full Version : Marussia Confirms Chilton Will Return Next Season



bigbadbrother
01-11-2014, 02:26 PM
Max Chilton will return to Marussia next season, the team confirmed Saturday at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, UK.

The 22-year-old Briton will race alongside Frenchmen Jules Bianchi once again – making Marussia only the second team to retain its same driver pairing from the 2013 season. They join Mercedes, who welcome back Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Chilton set a rookie record by finishing all 19 races last season, but was unable to score a Formula 1 point. His best finish in his rookie campaign was 14th at Monaco.

“I am really happy to be continuing with the Marussia F1 Team into a second season,” said Chilton. “Continuity is important for the team but also for me as a driver. You learn such a lot in your debut season, but the second year is when you can really pull all of those new experiences together and show your true potential.

“That has always been the case for me in the junior categories and I’ll be aiming for a similar step in my second year of Formula 1 competition. I would like to thank the Marussia F1 Team for their continued faith and support. They are a great bunch of people who are extremely hard-working and ambitious and I can’t wait to embark on our 2014 season challenge together.”

With all of the technical changes coming in 2014, it was crucial for Marussia to maintain drive lineup stability.

“In view of next year’s regulation changes, continuity is key, so it is highly beneficial to our technical team that we retain the same driver lineup moving forward,” said Team Principal John Booth. “Max had an impressive debut season last year and, of course, achieved a new rookie record for finishing all 19 races.

“He can be justifiably proud of the progress he made through the course of 2013. With our race driver lineup complete we can now focus all of our attentions on our 2014 car and moving the Marussia F1 Team to the next level. After our success in achieving 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship, we have set our sights on a bigger and better 2014 campaign.”

Chilton’s confirmation at Marussia means there are only two seats left to be filled, both at Caterham.