Wirth pays price for Virgin Racing’s slow start

In a determined bid to cut costs ahead of the debut campaign last season, Virgin employed Wirth Research, whose sole use of computers - known as CFD - to design and develop race cars raised eyebrows.

Wirth endured a troubled start as for the first few races the cars did not have a big enough fuel tank to see them through to the end, with the team finishing last in the constructors’ championship.

With hopes raised for this season, neither Timo Glock nor Jerome D’Ambrosio have qualified any higher than 20th, with their highest finishing position being the latter’s 14th in the season opener in Australia.

Explaining the position of the Dinnington-based team, CEO Andy Webb said: “The decision has been taken that the team will take greater control of its own destiny.

“Accordingly, having consulted with our existing technical partner during the course of the past few weeks, we have been obliged to terminate our relationship with them.

“I believe the steps we are taking in terms of our technical leadership and operational excellence will provide us with the robust foundation required to go on and achieve our performance objectives in the years ahead.

“These are bold but positive steps that will enable us to move forward with confidence.”

Webb has confirmed the use of wind tunnels for future testing, although CFD (computational fluid dynamics) will not be abandoned altogether.

“At this stage I would like to underline our continued commitment to a cost-efficient commercial model,” said Webb.

“We maintain our absolute belief in CFD as a technology, especially since it continues to become more cost-effective with every year.

“Naturally, we will continue to use every means at our disposal to improve the aerodynamics of our car with immediate effect.”