The team traced its roots to Manor Motorsport, a successful British junior racing outfit, which partnered with aerodynamics consultancy Wirth Research to secure an FIA entry for the 2010 season. Before racing began, Richard Branson's Virgin Group bought the title sponsorship rights and the team became Virgin Racing. It debuted in 2010, finishing twelfth and last in the Constructors' Championship. Marussia Motors — a Russian sports car company — was among the team's partners from the debut season, and in November 2010 purchased a controlling stake, leading to the rebranding as Marussia Virgin Racing for 2011.
Following a difficult 2011 campaign, the team parted ways with Wirth Research and entered a partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies for technical support. The team relocated from its original base in Dinnington to the former Wirth premises in Banbury ahead of 2012. In November 2011, the FIA approved a formal constructor name change to Marussia F1 Team, reflecting the new ownership. The team competed as Marussia through the 2014 season before collapsing mid-year and entering administration in October 2014.
A rescue deal was assembled in early 2015, allowing the team to exit administration in February of that year and return to the grid. To preserve constructor status and with it the right to 2014 prize money, the team retained the Marussia constructor name throughout 2015 while operating as Manor Marussia F1 Team under new ownership by Stephen Fitzpatrick. The team ran an outdated 2014-specification chassis and power unit for the full 2015 season. In January 2016, the team announced it would rename itself Manor Racing MRT, with MRT standing for Manor Racing Team.
In May 2015, Luca Furbatto joined as Chief Designer, and Bob Bell came aboard as a consultant. For 2016, Dave Ryan was appointed Team Principal, former Ferrari chief designer Nikolas Tombazis joined as chief aerodynamicist, and Pat Fry — another former Ferrari engineer — became an engineering consultant. The team signed a deal for Mercedes engines for the 2016 season, and confirmed Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto as race drivers.
Manor's 2016 campaign proved to be the team's competitive high point. At the Austrian Grand Prix, Wehrlein qualified twelfth — the team's highest qualifying position ever — and finished tenth to score the team's first ever World Championship point. The team's reserve driver, Alexander Rossi, won the Indianapolis 500 during that same season.
Mid-season, Rio Haryanto was demoted to reserve driver after his backers failed to fulfill financial commitments. Esteban Ocon replaced him for the remaining nine races, demonstrating strong pace that would attract interest from larger teams. At the Brazilian Grand Prix — held in adverse conditions — Sauber gained two points to move ahead of Manor in the standings, a shift that cost the team an estimated £30 million in constructor prize money.
Before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Fitzpatrick confirmed the team was in advanced talks with a new investor. In early January 2017, those talks failed and the team's parent company was placed into administration. Although Manor paid its 2017 entry fee, it was unable to mount a campaign and the FIA returned the fee at the end of that year. The team officially closed in March 2017.
Over seven seasons of competition under various names, Manor Racing and its predecessors never genuinely threatened the midfield of Formula One. The team's persistent survival through multiple ownership changes, administration proceedings, and rebranding cycles made it an object lesson in the structural challenges facing small constructors. Its single championship point, scored by Pascal Wehrlein in Austria in 2016, came as close as the team ever did to leaving a mark on the championship table. Esteban Ocon's impressive performances in the final nine races of 2016 provided a final footnote: a team at the back of the grid serving as a launchpad for a driver who would go on to greater things in the sport.