Razia drive at Marussia in doubt

Just as the 2013 Formula One grid had finally taken shape following the announcement of Adrian Sutil’s return at Force India, question marks are raised at Marussia.

The empty seat alongside Paul Di Resta had been the only drive available in Formula One until yesterday when it was finally confirmed that Sutil would be returning to the sport after being without a drive in 2012.

But the BBC has now reported that after less than one month with the team Brazilian Luiz Razia could be set to lose his seat before the season even begins.

Last month the Marussia Formula One team unveiled their new 2013 car and confirmed that Razia would be replacing Timo Glock.

German driver Timo Glock left the team last month despite having a contract with the team which ran for the next couple of seasons.

But with finances the way they are in Formula One, Marussia opted to move into the pay-driver market and so rookie Razia was named as their driver for 2013.

Razia is just 23-years-old and last season finished runner-up in GP2. He was set to partner Max Chilton, who himself is only 21-years-old, but now question marks have been raised over the finance that Razia can bring to the team.

Razia is said to be currently embroiled in a financial dispute with the Marussia team and reports suggest that they are now looking at replacement drivers.

Options for the team include a quick return for Timo Glock, former Caterham driver Heikki Kovalainen, or Ferrari academy and Force India test driver Jules Bianchi who missed out on the drive at Force India.

The news will be disappointing for the team who had hoped to start the 2013 Formula One season on a solid footing.

2013 promises to have the potential to be a big year for the team.

Marussia will finally be using the Kers power-boost system, which has been in Formula One since 2011. It’s worth around 0.3 seconds per lap, so that is an immediate and substantial gain for the team who will be desperate to beat Caterham after coming so close to finishing 10th in the constructors championship last season.

As well as the addition of KERS, Marussia have had time to develop this car from scratch, something that the team team were unable to do last season due to many factors including their split from designer Nick Wirth.