The Marussia Formula One team will race an upgraded car in China next weekend, with major revisions to come when the series arrives in Europe next month, the team said Friday.
Rivals Caterham, with Russian driver Vitaly Petrov, have also tweaked their car, with the focus on cooling to cope with the heat in Shanghai, while Sauber and Lotus have also confirmed upgrades.
“We have some aerodynamic and systems refinements for the MR01 in China, ahead of a more substantial upgrade for the start of the European season next month,” Marussia team principal John Booth said on the team’s website.
“It has been full steam ahead in terms of our development program.”
The Russian-owned team has been struggling to catch up with the competition after missing all the pre-season testing days because the car failed a mandatory crash test.
Marussia driver Timo Glock finished 14th in the first race of the season in Australia, equaling the team’s best result in its previous two seasons as Virgin Racing, with rookie teammate Charles Pic in 15th.
The second race of the season saw Marussia slip back, with Glock finishing 17th and Pic 20th.
