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Marussia is optimistic that it will be able to deliver an immediate upturn in performance in next weekend's British Grand Prix when it introduces what it describes as its first proper upgrade package since adopting windtunnel technology.

Team boss John Booth said he was pleased both that the car was likely to get more competitive, and that Marussia was proving it could deliver substantial updates.

Last year the team split with original design partner Wirth Research and commenced a new technical collaboration with McLaren, and ended its all-CFD approach and began to use windtunnels for the first time. The upgrades will be tested in a straightline session at Duxford airfield before Silverstone.

"We have a fairly significant upgrade for this race, comprising a new rear wing, exhausts, floor and sidepods," said Booth.

"I would have to describe this as our first proper windtunnel generated upgrade of the season.

"We've had some smaller parts in Malaysia and China, and a few small iterations recently, but this is the first fully developed package that is not just a modification of existing elements.

"That is a big result in itself, aside from the performance step we hope it will bring us, as it means we have caught up with ourselves in terms of the diligent way in which we have approached and developed our technical partnership.

"We look forward to seeing what this brings, both at Silverstone and at Duxford Airfield beforehand, when we will be integrating the developments into our correlation programme."

The Duxford test will also be Marussia test driver Maria de Villota's first outing for the team.

"She has been waiting patiently all year for this date to come around, so we look forward to seeing her in the car for the first time," said Booth.