Manor into Administration...again

Photo: Associated Press

It's official: Manor have entered administration (bankruptcy) for the second time in three offseasons, casting the team's future into further uncertainty.

The team's predecessor, Marussia F1 Team, also entered administration after the 2014 season before being rebranded at the eleventh hour, starting 2015 as Manor Marussia F1 Team. In 2016, the constructor became known as Manor Racing MRT.

Manor were poised to finish tenth in the Constructors' Championship this season after Pascal Wehrlein's top-ten finish in Austria. However, Felipe Nasr's ninth-place run in Brazil for Sauber bumped Manor into eleventh and cost the team millions of pounds in prize money.

At this point, I'm confident Manor can still find an investor to save their place on the grid next season. They've done it before, after all, and considering they've been working on their 2017 car since last January, it would really be a shame if they weren't a part of F1 next year.

From One Backmarker to Another

Photo: Motorsport.com

There are now only three (but really only two) available spots on the grid for 2017.

Sauber, who finished tenth in the Constructors' standings in 2016, just announced plans to sign Pascal Wehrlein to pair with Marcus Ericsson for 2017. Wehrlein moves to Sauber from Manor Racing, who finished eleventh in the Constructors' thanks to Wehrlein's solitary point scored in Austria (Felipe Nasr scored two points for Sauber in Brazil). Wehrlein was also in the running for Nico Rosberg's Mercedes seat and was actually my pick to get it.

This also should all but confirm Valtteri Bottas' move to Mercedes, which in turn would confirm Felipe Massa's return to Williams. Motorsport.com notes all three announcements may coincide with each other once terms are completed and the deals are official.

With this announcement, while Mercedes are still yet to confirm Bottas, it's looking more and more like he's the guy. So just like last year, Manor are the only team yet to confirm their driver lineup for the upcoming season. In fact, neither of those seats are filled. I'm going to refrain from giving any predictions this time. Manor probably need at least one pay driver of some sort, but given the team's history, the driver lineup probably won't be announced until February.

And no, sorry my fellow Americans. Alexander Rossi won't be one of them. He's staying in IndyCar with Andretti. That's a good move; why on earth would you drive for a backmarker and fight for P14 just to put an American on the grid when you could drive for a top IndyCar team and defend your Indianapolis 500 crown?