Glock signs long-term contract with Virgin

2012 F1 season

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Timo Glock, Virgin, Nurburgring, 2011

Timo Glock will continue to drive for Virgin beyond the end of this season, the team has confirmed.

The extended deal was announced on the morning of Glock’s home race.

Glock joined the team when they entered Formula 1 last year and has endured two uncompetitive seasons with the team.

Glock said: “As a driver I knew I would have to go back a few steps in order to move forward.

“Now we have tasted the difficult times together I can’t wait to be with the team when we start to enjoy the good times. And I know they are coming.

“I’ve seen tremendous belief from Marussia and hard work and commitment across the whole team. With the additional steps we have taken – the technical partnership with McLaren and bringing the whole team together – I believe we can achieve our goals together.

“This year we’ve demonstrated that we know how to build a reliable car, and with the resources we now have we should be able to add to that a high-performing car. After that it’s all about gradual but significant steps forward.”

2011 F1 season


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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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22 comments on “Glock signs long-term contract with Virgin”

  1. Poor Timo. I read nothing but self-convincing regret in those words.

    All credit to him but he made the wrong decision, if those Renault rumours were true. Fast forward to today and it’s hard to see what other choice he has.

    1. Don’t forget that Virgin have abandoned their plans with Nick Wirth and will take a more-traditional approach from 2012 on. Ans the presence of Marussia means they’ll have a bigger budget (and the company seems fixed on being in the sport when the 2014 Russian Grand Prix comes around). All they really need now is a strong second driver; Lucas di Grassi hardly set the world on fire, and Jerome d’Ambrosio isn’t much better (though they should keep him in 2012 for the sake of continuity within the team; the departure with Wirth Research is already a big change). I’m not saying that they’ll suddenly turn their whole operation around into 2012, but I think they can start on it.

      1. It will still take like until 2014 before they can do anything against the established teams.

        1. Well then, Timo Glock will be in the box seat …

      2. Interesting point you make PM. I hope their future isn’t as bleak as it looks as far as I can tell!

    2. Agree Itchyes. Even if they do improve (which I believe they can) I can only see Timo getting more and more frustrated at the back while Heikki seems to make the most of the Lotus project.

      1. Both Glock and Kovalenian deserve better drives.

        But as PM said Marussia Virgin are actually going to develop the next car with more money than whatever the 2nd driver pays and with more skill than that of a 5 year old with paint

        1. Prisoner Monkeys
          24th July 2011, 12:27

          Plus, the teams are working on bringing back in-season testing for 2012. Jean Todt’s in their corner, because he thinks the existing ban is a stupid idea. So with Glock at the helm, investment from Marussia, a more-traditional way of doing things design-wise and (potential) return of in-season testing, where is it written that Glock and Virgin (which I expect will become known as Marussia in the near future, with Virgin as title sponsor instead of the other way around) cannot succeed?

      2. I’m not a fan of Glock but he has talent if he won GP2, he has had very few opportunities to show it.

        1. He’s had some very good drives in F1 too: all those cretins who vilify him for Interlagos ’08 (few of which ever show up here) completely miss how brilliantly he drove on a wet track on dry-weather tyres. He was excellent at Malaysia in 2009 in the heavy rain, and he’s always good at Singapore – even in the Virgin last year.

          1. I think you give him too much credit. The guy was usually beaten by Trulli and Trulli hardly put the word on fire.
            His clearly a mediocre driver. If he was more than that then Trulli shouldn’t be beating him so often.

          2. Don’t Forget the Lotus is Faster than the Virgin….

  2. I’m not sure that this was a good move. Glock is a talented driver who would no doubt be on the radars of quicker teams, but fear that another 2 and a half seasons at the back of the grid could do his career irreparable harm.

    Virgin also strike me as a team that don’t quite know how to move up the grid. I do hope they prove me wrong when they start getting the benefit of some McLaren bits on the MVR-03.

  3. I like Glock, and this runs completely counter to what I’d suggested in the mid-season review.

    What PM said more or less sums up my point(s). The only other thing is that Renault do seem to be struggling for cash and perhaps long-term Glock will have been seen to make the correct decision. Indeed, expanding on that theme perhaps Glock is playing the long game and playing it with a sense of realism. He probably realises he’s not a Hamilton, Alonso or Vettel and that the number 2 seats are sewn up for a number of years. Perhaps he’s hoping that Virgin can become a force and end up with a plum drive at the end of it (like say Webber) or that he gets hired as a solid no.2 like for example Mika Salo was when Schumi broke his leg.

    1. I guess its something like that.
      Hey, but let us look on the positive side of it.
      If Virgin can get a bit of the form FI had in 2009 we might see some great drives from Timo and even getting that close to a win!

      Here is Timo telling the world about his desicion http://t.co/DdgqZM2

  4. I hope it’s not dead end…

  5. Mike the bike Schumacher (@mike-the-bike-schumacher)
    24th July 2011, 10:54

    Such a shame he’s most probably confined himself to the back of the grid until he’s 32! Clearly he had no other options,I just wish he had.

  6. Didnt he just blast the team/his engineer? on the radio to pit after his qualifying performance? Or was it practice 3…I dont remember.

    Semms funny then that he now signs a long-term deal the day after.

    1. It was after qualifying Sam but you’re right. Maybe it was because he just doesn’t have any other option.

      1. Maybe so, but if that was the case, I can’t see him signing on for three years.

  7. I doubt that is a good plan.Timo is a good & talented driver,showed us with Toyota so I think it would have been wise for him to go to a better team.Though all the big team don’t have a vacant place so on the other hand I think he made a wise decision.

  8. who will screen f1 when bbc gives it up

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