After paying off Timo Glock to leave the team and make room for a paying driver, Marussia may be having trouble getting money from their recently announced replacement driver, Luiz Razia. According to BBC’s Andrew Benson, Razia could be out of Marussia before he makes his debut due to financial disputes with the team. It seems that it has to do with money that Razia was supposed to bring with him as he explained earlier this week.
Benson says that the names being thrown about as possible replacements are Heikki Kovalainen, Jules Bianchi and even Timo Glock. Glock has signed to drive DTM touring cars so that seems unlikely but Bianchi could be a good option. If you read my post here about Marussia needing an engine supply for 2014, then you’ll know that I suggested Marussia offer Ferrari development driver Jules Bianchi a ride in exchange for engines in 2014. This could be a win-win for both teams.
It seems to me that there is another option as well… Russian Vitaly Petrov. If the young man has some sponsor cash, it would be good to have a Russian driver in a Russian-backed team for the first Russian Grand Prix in 2014 in Sochi.