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Lowdon: Points a great reward

26 May 2014

Marussia sporting director Graeme Lowdon says the team's first points are “a great reward” for the hard work that has been put in.

The team joined F1 in 2010 under the name of Virgin Racing, but in the four seasons since its debut it had failed to score a point until Jules Bianchi's ninth place in the Monaco Grand Prix. Speaking after the race. Lowdon said the main benefit of the result in his eyes will be the impact it will have on the team.

“What this result basically means for us is progress,” Lowdon said. “We haven't won a race but it's progress. What's nice in a small team is every single person knows that they've contributed to that progress. There's no padding, we have departments of one person so they know that they have delivered something that contributes to the result.

“Although there's still more for us to aim for, obviously – we want to move forward as a team – but I think what's a great reward for the guys is everyone knows who has contributed, everyone, and I think that's a really great sense of achievement.”

And Lowdon admitted it had been a tortuous race from his position on the pit wall, but praised the way Marussia dealt with the situation as the opportunity to score points arose.

“It's strange. A grand prix can last for two hours and you wouldn't think that sitting down for two hours could wear you out completely! You've got remember we don't drive the cars, we're middle-aged blokes who sit and watch telly screens and yet you're mentally exhausted.

“I have to say that Dave Greenwood – our chief engineer – is world class, absolutely world class. He is orchestrating things there with everybody else, so it is the ultimate team game at the end of the day. So there's a lot of communication and a lot of pressure and a lot of stress because this is a difficult game. It's not easy.

“People say 'well why do you celebrate a top ten finish?' Well you celebrate it because it's not an easy thing, it's taken five years for one of the teams to do it ... it's just a reflection of how tough this game is.”