The clue was in the FIA's entry list published on Friday, where Max Chilton was shown as Marussia’s second driver, albeit with his race number yet to be assigned. Today the Russian-owned team announced that it is to retain its 2013 line-up, confirming that Chilton will indeed partner Jules Bianchi who was confirmed back in October.

"I am really happy to be continuing with Marussia into a second season," said Chilton, who finished every race in 2013, his rookie season. "Continuity is important for the team but also for me as a driver.

"You learn such a lot in your debut season," he continued, "but the second year is when you can really pull all of those new experiences together and show your true potential. That has always been the case for me in the junior categories and I'll be aiming for a similar step in my second year of F1 competition.

"I would like to thank Marussia for their continued faith and support. They are a great bunch of people who are extremely hard-working and ambitious and I can't wait to embark on our 2014 season challenge together."

"We are pleased to confirm that Max will continue with the team into 2014," said John Booth, Team Principal. "In view of next year's regulation changes, continuity is key, so it is highly beneficial to our technical team that we retain the same driver line-up moving forward.

"Max had an impressive debut season last year and, of course, achieved a new rookie record for finishing all 19 races. He can be justifiably proud of the progress he made through the course of 2013.

"With our race driver line-up complete we can now focus all of our attentions on our 2014 car and moving the team to the next level. After our success in achieving 10th place in the Constructors' Championship, we have set our sights on a bigger and better 2014 campaign."

"It was great to see Max and Jules developing during their debut season last year," added Graeme Lowdon, the team's President & Sporting Director, "rewarding our confidence in such a young but obviously talented line-up. I'm sure the fans are as excited as we are to see what our drivers can go on to achieve in their second season with us."