Manor F1 team says its season starts properly at Spanish Grand Prix

After a fraught winter trying to resurrect the Marussia outfit, Booth's squad has been focused on pure survival for the past few months.

But having got both cars to the finish in China and Bahrain and then had proper time back at base in the UK, Manor chiefs hope things will now step up as F1 returns to Europe.

"The first two months of the year and six weeks leading up to Melbourne, nothing else came on the radar apart from getting onto the grid," said Booth.

"The team were all working hard back at the factory and there was no room for anything else.

"Once we got back from Bahrain, we could take stock of where we are and start operating properly.

"We moved into a new office [at Silverstone] while we've been away, so we've been able to get all people together in one building. That's a step forward."

Manor has been using a modified 2014 car, with last year's Ferrari engines, so far this season because it was unable to ready a fully-fledged '15 contender in time.

It admitted in Bahrain that its new design is unlikely to appear before the summer break.