London, England - Every race this season has been tough for struggling Manor Marussia but Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix will be the hardest yet as memories of the team's greatest moment mingle with the saddest.
French driver Jules Bianchi has been in the thoughts of all Formula One since his horrific accident at Suzuka last October but his absence will be felt all the more at a home race where he stood out a year ago.
The 25-year-old has been in hospital in his nearby home city of Nice since November, when he was flown back from Japan, and remains in a coma.
Manor Marussia team principal John Booth, who has kept in close touch with the family, said: “It's going to be difficult. It's going to be tough for everybody. He'll be in the next town
“It will be very mixed feelings, it really will. We’re carrying JB17 on the car for the whole year. One thing that really pushed us to keep going over the winter was to not waste that effort of his.”
It is because of what Bianchi achieved in Monaco last year that the team, paddock paupers against a backdrop of conspicuous wealth, are still on the starting grid.
Bianchi's outstanding ninth place handed Marussia their only points to date, a highlight that also secured the team ninth place overall in the championship and some $50 million (R593 million) in revenue payments this year.
Without that, the team would never have come out of administration at the 11th hour after making their employees redundant and missing the final three races of 2014.
The team, with two rookie drivers and an undeveloped car that would be off the pace even in the GP2 support series, cannot expect any points this time.
Even finishing will be a challenge, with few spares for a race whose metal barriers and tight and twisty streets are unforgiving.
FULL STRENGTH
After failing to race in Australia, Manor only got back up to full staffing strength at this month's Spanish Grand Prix and did not take part in last week's test in Barcelona because there was no point.
All efforts are directed to the new car, but there are no guarantees that it will see the light of day before the end of the European season.
“We are still pushing to get the new car out this year,” said Booth. “We set ourselves an impossible target of August and it would be a miracle if we got it out for August.”
The team's driver pairing of Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi will continue in Monaco but there is no certainty about their future either.
“It is a little bit fluid,” Booth said, after a long pause. “In an ideal world, I'd love to have them both in for the season.”
Manor is based in northern England but a move back to Banbury, near Silverstone, is on the cards although the old Marussia factory now belongs to the US-owned Haas team, which will make its debut in 2016.
“We are hoping to relocate in August,” said Booth, who ruled out any move to the Leafield facility previously used by now-defunct rivals Caterham and up for sale.
“I've been around the place a few times, looking at equipment and it's a sprawling thing,” he said.
Manor's white trucks, first used for the Barcelona race, were the green ones Caterham used last season.
“The race team are about 85-90 percent our original group of people, which is great,” Booth said.
“A few are in different positions. And we've got some really good young engineers who've just been brought through last year and have been thrown in the deep end. The core of people back at base...is pretty much the same core we had last year.”
Reuters