Sporting director and team principal to depart after Abu Dhabi GP
Friday 13 November 2015 21:22, UK
Manor president and sporting director Graeme Lowdon has confirmed both he and team principal John Booth will leave the outfit after the Abu Dhabi GP.
Rumour spread through the paddock in Mexico that both Booth and Lowdon had tendered their resignations, although at the time they refused to comment on the speculation.
Lowdon and Booth helped guide the career paths of many F1 drivers, including Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen, through the junior formulae with Manor Competition. They expanded into Formula 1 under the Virgin Racing banner in 2010.
"I am here for the Brazilian GP and I will be at the Abu Dhabi GP and that will be my last race with the team and I'll move onto something else," Lowdon told Sky Sports F1.
"Abu Dhabi will be John's last race as well. We've worked together for a long time, we've had some quite difficult challenges and it has been an incredible time for us both and we wouldn't have missed it for the world."
Lowdon and Booth were instrumental in keeping the squad alive after they entered administration in 2014, missing the final three races of the season. They returned to the grid this year with new investment from energy tycoon Stephen Fitzpatrick, but their relationship with the new owner has reportedly been the reason for Booth and Lowdon's departure.
"I think the reasons are best kept within the team," the departing president said.
"The most important thing is that the team is here, it has got a future, this time last year we weren't here in Brazil and we weren't in Abu Dhabi and things looked very, very difficult business-wise.
"Obviously that was all secondary to what was happening with Jules [Bianchi], but things were very difficult business-wise. November, December, January were incredibly difficult and we were working flat out to make sure that the team could continue racing. We had a lot of help from a lot of people, from Bernie [Ecclestone], Jean Todt and Ferrari in particular.
"That was the time when it was important to have maximum belief in the team and I personally had a lot of support from the fans who were fabulous and it opened my eyes to how they can help keep your support going.
"The most important thing really was just making sure that the team was still here. It has a great future."
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