Marussia planning to run new F1 car in second test at Barcelona

With Symonds having taken over the technical direction of the outfit following the departure of Nick Wirth, the team has been making the most of a tie-up with McLaren to produce a car that will deliver a good step forward.

In an exclusive interview with AUTOSPORT, Symonds says that the outfit will use its old car at the first test in Jerez - to give rookie Charles Pic some valuable mileage - before unveiling its 2012 challenger at Barcelona.

"We are aiming for the second [test]," explained Symonds. "We are going to be at the first test anyway because I think it's important for Charles [Pic] to get some miles under his belt and it shakes some of the cobwebs off of the team."

Speaking about the design evolution of the car, Symonds said that there was very little carry over from the Virgin Racing car that raced last season.

"You always carry over something, but I think we have probably carried over less than normal," he said. "The whole of the suspension design is different, even the pedal assemblies are different. There is probably a smaller amount of carry over on this car than almost any car I have worked on."

However, despite the all-new design, Symonds says that the team is not being radical with its design.

"I don't think it is the time for us to be innovative," he said. "When you are that far off the front it's the time to really just do your job properly and to make sure that what you are doing you are doing well. So no real innovation, it's much more about looking at each area and trying to improve each one."

* For the full interview with Symonds, where he talks about his role with the team, the new Marussia car, the future of FOTA and his strong views on the Resource Restriction Agreement, click here