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Marussia will survive - Symonds

Marussia is currently 10th in the constructors' standings © Sutton Images

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Marussia technical director Pat Symonds is confident his team can weather the financial difficulties it is set to face, even if it finishes 11th in the constructors' championship this year and fails to qualify for prize money.

Bernie Ecclestone revealed this week that commercial agreements - signed with all the teams bar Marussia in lieu of a Concorde Agreement - have done away with FOM prize money for teams outside the top ten. But Symonds believes his team will find a way to continue to operate within in the sport no matter what the future holds.

"The people here are racers," he told Sky Sports. "[Team Principal] John [Booth] and [President] Graeme [Lowdon] particularly, they're in the Frank Williams mould. They're not going to let this team go.

"So we will survive and the great thing about us is that we're small, so if things get tough one day we can pull our horns in a little bit. And if we get more money we'll use it wisely, because we're used to not having much money."

Marussia has finished outside the top ten every year since it came into the sport in 2010 and Symonds admitted that failing to qualify for prize money this year would hurt.

"The difference between the haves and the have-nots [in F1] is just immense - and it's not getting any better. Under the last Concorde [Agreement] the new teams including Marussia did get some payout from FOM; it wasn't a lot of money but it was a significant part of our budget, because our budget was so small. And when you take away things like that, it really hurts."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.