The Manor F1 Team secured their fourteenth two-car finish of 2015 in Abu Dhabi to conclude their season, with Will Stevens getting the better of Roberto Merhi on race day in the desert.
Stevens finished the year with an eighteenth place finish at the Yas Marina Circuit, and felt getting two cars home again was a perfect reward for the team after the efforts everyone made just to get the team onto the grid in 2015.
“I’m really pleased to end my debut season on a positive note with yet another two-car finish,” reflected Stevens. “It was also the best possible reward for the team – both here in Abu Dhabi and back at the factory – at the end of a long hard season.
“I’ve been feeling really comfortable in the car all weekend and thankfully I was able to carry that confidence through to the race today.”
Stevens admits his satisfaction to how his debut season has gone in 2015, feeling he has done everything he can to be in with a chance of being retained for 2016, with the Briton taking time to praise the efforts of his team, especially the departing John Booth and Graeme Lowdon.
“On the whole, I’m pretty satisfied with how things have gone for me in my debut season,” insisted Stevens. “I gave it everything I have and I definitely feel like I’m just getting started, so fingers crossed this is just the beginning.
“I would like to thank everyone in the team for their support, but in particular John and Graeme, who we say goodbye to here today.”
Team-mate Merhi was less happy with his afternoon’s work, after seeing it begin from the pit lane following overnight work on his car’s suspension and compromised further by flat-spotting his tyres during the first stint, ultimately finishing nineteenth and last, but the Spaniard feels the team can be proud of hteir efforts in 2015.
“A disappointing race for me today and not the finish to the season I was hoping for,” reflected Merhi.
“We started from the pit lane after a mechanical set-up change during parc ferme conditions, so that made everything much more difficult for us. Then on the first stint I flat-spotted my tyres, but we’ve struggled with the brakes all weekend here.
“Nonetheless, I have a lot of positives from my debut F1 season to reflect on, including our best race result of the season – P12 at Silverstone. I would like to thank the whole team, not only for this opportunity but for the hard work throughout the season. We’ve had some difficult times, but I am very proud of us.
“My thanks also to John and Graeme and I wish them well for the future. I am sure we have not seen the last of them!”
