Timo Glock agrees to 2-year deal to drive for new Formula 1 team Manor GP starting in 2010

Glock agrees to 2-year deal to drive for Manor GP

FRANKFURT — Timo Glock will drive for the new Manor GP team next season in Formula One.

The German driver agreed to a two-year contract Tuesday, with another season as an option, according to Glock’s manager, Hans-Bernd Wersauer.

Glock drove for Toyota the past two seasons but the Japanese automaker has announced it is quitting F1. Glock missed the last three races of the 2009 season following a crash in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix in which he cracked a vertebra.

“With a year left on the Toyota contract, we originally had other plans and were aiming to really compete for the world championship with the team. Now, for obvious reasons, that is not going to happen,” Glock said on his Web site. “Ahead of me now is a great challenge.”

Manor GP is one of three new teams on 2010’s racing grid after having been prominent in the junior series.

“It might seem like a brave step. But there are many good reasons to join this team,” the 27-year-old German driver said. “For me as a driver, for example, it was important that I was assured I would be involved in the development of the team and the car.”

Glock scored two points on his debut for Jordan at the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix but had to wait another four years to secure a full-time ride, when Toyota signed him following his victory in the 2007 GP2 Series.

A 32-race career with Toyota brought Glock 49 championship points and three podiums, but his 2009 season was cut short after the crash in Japan forced him out of the final three races. His best showings were two second-place finishes.