Chilton returns to Marussia cockpit
Marussia have confirmed that Max Chilton will be racing in this weekend' Belgian Grand Prix, despite announcing yesterday that he would be replaced by Alexander Rossi for the entire weekend.
On Thursday evening, the team said that Rossi was replacing Chilton while the team was sorting contractual issues. It is understood that there was a conflict between Chilton's sponsors and the team, possibly due to late payment of agreed sponsorship money.
Chilton soon said he voluntarily vacated his seat to allow his team to sell the seat as "it would welcome a possible financial boost".
However, it appears that a deal has been agreed overnight, enabling Chilton to return to the cockpit as of second practice. Alexander Rossi completed FP1 for the team but will have to look from the sidelines on how regular race driver Chilton will complete the remainder of the weekend alongside Jules Bianchi.
Marussia's Graeme Lowdon commented: "Sometimes we reach a stage where for contractual reasons it’s not appropriate for a driver to be in the car".
