Marussia MR02 launch: First pictures

2013 F1 cars

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The Marussia MR02 has been revealed by the team at the dawn of the first day of testing for the 2013 season.

It marks a step forward from last year when they failed to complete their car in time for it to run during pre-season testing.

This is the fourth car produced by the team which entered F1 as Virgin in 2010 and are still seeking their first points finish.

Marussia say their new car is the first they have designed using a wind tunnel as well as CFD. It is also their first car to feature a Kinetic Energy Recovery System.

The team have adopted a Coanda exhaust design as favoured by several teams last year.

“Whilst we have experienced some changes over the winter, the one area of stability we have enjoyed is the one that is most important to our progression from here, the design of our 2013 race car, led by our technical tirector Pat Symonds,” said team principal John Booth.

“We are confident that the MR02 is the product of evolving elements of last year’s package whilst integrating the new KERS system.

“It was said many times during 2012 that, notwithstanding the impressive steps we were taking in other areas of our development, KERS – or the lack of it – was the defining factor in determining our position relative to our immediate competitors.

“KERS was however a ‘strategic omission’ from our package until now; we opted to place the emphasis on aerodynamics, so that when we were in a position to bring the system to the car, we already had the strongest possible basis and its integration would be relatively straightforward.

“Thus far, this has certainly been the case, as our trackside engineering team have spent the winter refining their tools and preparing for the addition of KERS to ensure we can hit the ground running with effect from this week and use the short period of testing we have to get the car optimised for Melbourne.”

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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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71 comments on “Marussia MR02 launch: First pictures”

  1. Oh no. Where are the sponsors?

    1. We there are a few on the front wing, but no major ones on the main body, apart from the Marussia logo

    2. Well there are some on the nose but no major sponsors on the main body apart from the Marussia logo.

    3. His name is Max Chilton… :p

    4. BradandCoffee
      5th February 2013, 8:37

      Behind the wheel.

    5. @journeyer – The team has said that more sponsor logos will be appearing on the car over the coming weeks.

      1. no doubt when they sign the contract with their second backer driver

  2. So much better. Compared this to last year, last year was basic, to me this shows they have made an effort with the design and worked the colours into it well, I just hope they do better than last year this season.

    1. they got Pat Symonds on technical side, so it would be interesting to see Marussia’s development. no Timo, sadly.

      1. They had Pat Symmonds on board long ago, since the beginning.

    2. Something about this livery feels very 90’s (or early 00’s). I can’t decide if I like it, or whether it just looks dated.

  3. That is a very low nose!! They´ll struggle with that!!

  4. I’ve gotta say, livery wise that looks fantastic!

  5. Very very sleek!

  6. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    5th February 2013, 7:33

    Reminds me of a dolphin.

  7. Very nice.

    Keith, any announcement re drivers?

    1. @tdog – They haven’t confirmed their testing roster for Thursday or Friday, so an announcement could be imminent … or they could just stick Chilton in the car for all four days.

    2. I saw some hints that Luiz Razia has confirmed he will be driving with them soon. But so far nothing official on that, so lets wait and see.

  8. I really, really like the look of that.

  9. I actually quite like it. It’s got a nice, distinct shape to it, and it looks quite refined compared to previous cars by the “new” teams. It doesn’t look like it’s going to set the world on fire, but I tihnk it’s ticked all the right boxes – it’s definately something that has been developed over a period of time, rather than thrown together at the last minute.

    1. I agree, how fast it is, I’m not that confident about, but at least there is obviously a lot of effort and work put into it, and it’s not just a copy of the top cars. That’s great to see.

  10. The engine cover looks like a Samurai sword.

  11. Those sidepods can hold two more drivers I guess ! Its huge. How come a wind tunnel model have a larger sidepods than a CFD model ?

    1. Because slim sidepods aren’t automatically the correct answer.

      The individual parts of the car aren’t developed in isolation. Designer need to take a holistic approach – these wider sidepods have no dobt been chosen because they work best with the rest of the car.

      1. But @prisoner-monkeys isn’t a larger sidepods are big hindrance to a more airflow at the rear of the car. I mean I have always known that sidepods are the real hindrance to the aerodynamic stability to the rear of the car. The smaller the sidepods,the bigger an effect to its rear aerodynamic characteristics.

      2. As @prisoner-monkeys says @ambikm, small sidepods aren’t the single path to good pace. For one, internal airflow is increasingly seen as very important too.

        Also, being reliable first might have something to it as well: early on virgin had trouble finishing races, that’s why HRT ended two years ahead of them. Since the team will need luck to get points anyway, making sure they are more reliable than Caterham almost worked last year, it might work this one.

        1. @bosyber Yes I agree but somehow I guess as because they are using KERS for the first time hence it was ended with a larger sidepods. With regard to the size of the team I mean they must be having less resources for the KERS package to work on and hence bundling those parts altogether and then framing it with a small sidepods than usual would have been an uphill task for them. But I wish they prove a point this time around atleast to that white headed oldy.

    2. Crickey, I didn’t notice until you said – they’re massive. I hope they do actually have KERS, has this been confirmed by anyone?

      1. It has been confirmed by the team. They announced it several months ago.

      2. Yes they are defiantly using KERS in 2013 @dphect.

  12. Nasty! In a good way! Me like!

  13. The airbox looks really fun. It looks like someone has cut the extra part of it.

  14. I agree @rob-wilson, the livery, especially on the front half, makes it look very sleek and aggressive. And the white arrow like bit at the back of the engine cover is a nice touch.

  15. Livery is sharp and sleek, only hope is that the car does the same too! :D

  16. The said pods look really strange. But the car isnot banal. Looks like super hero’s car from 80′

    1. @boris84 the front half actually reminds me of the new IndyCar, which is also very sleek looking like that. I guess they don’t have the underbody tunnel though!

      1. That was my thought as well. It also reminds me of a nice GP2 car. Either way, I’d drive it to the shops for a coffee…but I’d have to go to something other than “slightly salmon red.”

  17. This team deserves more praise than Red Bull and the other big teams. Despite having the smallest budget on the grid, they have managed to improve their car, incorporate KERS and get everything ready for the first test.

    1. Well said.

    2. And they have even improved their livery too!

  18. Looking good! But to me it looks like a car which design isn’t pushed to the extreme as much as other teams did. The sidepods and enginecover look huge, the car seem very long, and no small wings or other interesting stuff to be found. I guess they simply don’t have the resources, time and engineers to put it all into a smaller package. It does look like they’ve copied the exhaust layout of last year’s Redbull, so if they get it working should give a significant performance boost at the rear end of the car.

  19. Very nice looking car. I hope they can also get some speed out of it, because if it’s slow, that detracts from the looks of the car.

  20. I have to say, IMO Marrusia have the best looking livery and colour scheme of any car on the current grid. That’s half the reason to why I like them.

  21. Marussia. You’re doing it wrong.

    That’s an F3 car. Pillocks.

    1. @nemo87 – No, this is a Formula 3 car.

      1. You are an odd man, PM.

        1. It’s all part of my charm.

  22. I’m genuinely excited for Marussia this year. They made real, tangible progress late in 2012, and this car looks like it could be the natural extension of it. Everywhere I look, the MR02 is getting a remarkably positive reception. The team will be running KERS for the first time, and while the loss of Timo Glock will come as a blow to their fortunes, I think Max Chilton could surprise; he might be paying for his seat, but his excellent turn about in form in the GP2 Series between 2011 and 2012 suggests to me that he could deliver results that surprise.

    1. Its nice to compare them to Caterham. Marussia have been a miss in their first year, the second year brought them to do away with the complete CFD approach and seek the partnership with McLaren. Last years car brought at least reliability and a solid base to build on. This years car looks like a step towards racing. Lets hope it works.
      Caterham compared stole a march on their rivals in the first year (fuelled by putting in far more money), made progress the second year, even at times challenged the midfield and was close to getting into the top 10 at times, but for this year their car (and line-up) looks like they are saving money on the season ahead to invest for 2014 (I hope).

  23. Nice looking car. Looks like Indy car a bit. Doesn’t it?

  24. Look at the tyres. P-Zero (points-zero?) on top!

    1. I was just about to say the livery might help in making the car look like an Indycar.

      I think that might be the largest/bulkiest air-intake and engine cover I’ve seen in a while. Love the livery, but regardless of aerodynamics, it looks a bit huge.

  25. Wow, it’s their fourth try already, and their third looked closer to a modern F1 car.

    At this point, it’s no wonder they can’t get sponsorships.

  26. i hope the car is atleast half as quick as it looks

  27. The design of the car makes it look much longer than the other team’s cars! For sure it is not, but it really looks huge!

  28. Agree with the Indy car comments.

  29. I really really really hope this beats caterham. I just like this team for some reason, although Glock is out :(. And I also think this is the best looking car of them all right now.

  30. wow, that Marussia looks great! I wish they do well this year.

  31. looking good marussia!

  32. I like it. Hope Caterham and Marussia stay in F1 and get faster.

  33. The car looks nice, a bit more mature, but still not particularly “smart”. It looks as if they have gone for all the best possible basic solutions, without pushing the limit anywhere.
    What worries me about this is that such a design concept might bring them closer to the midfield, but not on par with them, and certainly not better.
    While this is a play-it-safe way of working, I wish they were a bit more ambitious in their approach, as I know they must be in their hearts.
    Of course they are bound by budgets and deadlines, but this team are going to have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to improve their ranking in the field, and they are never going to find a bit of magic with a straightforward car.

  34. No Virgin sponsorship on the car?

    1. They still had them last year, but Marussia took completely ownership of the team so it was expected that Virgin to “abandon” the team completely

  35. Have to say, something about the nose reminds me of the last-generation Indycar.

  36. Reminds me of an indycar

  37. very surprised to see no aon stickers, liking the livery though

  38. Well I see they’re already running flo-vis paint… To me it looks alright in the mock up photos that most teams do, but on track it looks weird to me, kinda of too long like a high speed bullet train.

  39. Reminds me of a Midland ….

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