The Marussia Formula One team has confirmed that it has parted ways with the car company after which it is named and is now owned by a company called Marussia Communications Ltd.

At the end of the 2010 season at a press conference in the Yas Marina hotel in Abu Dhabi the team announced Russian car manufacturer Marussia would step up its involvement of the team, taking on naming rights from Virgin.

However, according to RAI Novoski, Marussia Motors has now ceased operations with staff transferring to a government-run technical centre.

The team reacted by releasing a statement which claimed the collapse of the car company, while sad, had no impact on its Formula One operations and that the two had not had any financial or technical link for some time. Instead it claims to have been independently operated for some time, which supports the belief that ownership of team has been passed, or sold, to its board of directors.

It now appears the team is owned by its board of directors through a company called Marussia Communications Limited (MCL). Though it has no entry with Companies House details seen by Pitpass show MCL as a shareholder of Manor Holdco.

Founded in October 2009 and based at the Marussia Formula One team factory in Banbury, John Booth, Graeme Lowdon (pictured) and Andrey Cheglakov (a founding partner of the Marussia Motors car company), among others, are listed as directors.

Indeed the company is listed as having £835,000 in cash, assets worth £140million and almost £72million worth of liabilities. Manor Holco is in turn owned by Marussia Lux S.A.

It therefore appears that Marussia's new owners are the same as its old ones, the team having simply shed itself of the Marussia car company before the Russian manufacturer closed its doors.

Mat Coch