Team principal and president believed to have become estranged from new owner
Monday 2 November 2015 11:11, UK
Sky Sports understands that Manor Marussia team principal John Booth and president Graeme Lowdon have resigned and will leave at the end of the season.
Reports surfaced on Friday that Booth and Lowdon, who helped found the team as Virgin Racing in 2010, will depart after becoming estranged from Stephen Fitzpatrick, who bought the outfit after they went into administration late last year.
The team have yet to comment.
Fitzpatrick, the chief executive of Ovo Energy, is believed to have invested up £30m of his personal fortune in the team, which was on the verge of closing after the previous owner, Marussia's Andrei Cheglakov, pulled the plug in October 2014.
Manor have also been entitled to an equivalent sum of prize money this season by virtue of the points scored for them by the late Jules Bianchi in last year's Monaco GP.
Lowdon and Booth refused to throw in the towel last winter, even though it appeared as though the team might follow Caterham and leave the sport.
Fitzpatrick came to the rescue after talks with other prospective backers fell through, although it's believed that he has had differences of opinion with Booth - who founded Manor Motorsport in 1990 - and Lowdon about the team's level of backing and future direction.
Just this month, what appears a major step forward was announced with the news that Manor will be powered by Mercedes in 2016. They have used year-old Ferrari engines this year and been well off the pace.
Manor have yet to announce their 2016 line-up, with a number of drivers - Mercedes protégés Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon, plus Kevin Magnussen, GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne and Indonesian Rio Haryanto - linked.
Current drivers Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi also remain hopeful. "We are in a good position, we are talking to them at the minute and everything is moving in the right direction," Stevens said recently.
