Timo Glock has confirmed his retirement from points-paying places in Formula One, after announcing that he has signed a new three-year deal with the Virgin Racing squad that will keep him with the backmarkers until the end of 2014.
Glock has driven for Virgin for their first two seasons in the sport, but has appeared to become increasingly frustrated with the team's lack of pace.But with the team pushing to improve their fortunes, having confirmed the end of their CFD-only approach to car design and set up a new technical partnership with McLaren, Glock has opted to stay with the team.
The German joined the team after losing his drive with the Toyota squad, who withdrew from the sport at the end of the 2009 season.
"I am very happy to confirm that Marussia Virgin Racing will be my home for the next few years of my F1 career," Glock gushed after the announcement.
"I'm especially pleased to be able to announce this news ahead of my home grand prix in Germany today, where my career began."
He added: "The past 18 months of racing have been quite tough, although this was always to be expected. As a driver I knew I would have to go back a few steps in order to move forward."
Glock added that he was sure that the "good times" were coming for the team, saying that the new technical deals showed the team's intentions.
"Now we have tasted the difficult times together I can't wait to be with the team when we start to enjoy the good times," he smiled, "And I know they are coming.
"I've seen tremendous belief from Marussia and hard work and commitment across the whole team."
He went on: "With the additional steps we have taken - the technical partnership with McLaren and bringing the whole team together - I believe we can achieve our goals together.
"This year we've demonstrated that we know how to build a reliable car, and with the resources we now have we should be able to add to that a high-performing car. After that it's all about gradual but significant steps forward."
Virgin Racing CEO Andy Webb added that the team were "delighted" with the new deal for Glock, saying that the team was not looking forward to the future.
"We are delighted to have agreed a new long-term contract with Timo, which represents another significant step in our plans for Marussia Virgin Racing," he rambled.
"Timo's contribution to the team over the past 18 months has been immeasurable and he has certainly lived up to his commitment to help build a team from within.
"It has been a tough climb at times, and for a driver of his unquestionable record it must have proved frustrating at times."
He added: "Both he and the team are fortunate to be faced with the opportunities we have now created for ourselves when we are still very much in our infancy.
"Timo is vastly experienced whilst still bringing youth and great spirit to the team. We are looking forward to seeing what we can do together to extract the maximum from our resources, particularly the promising technical partnership with McLaren."
Glock's team mate for 2012 is yet to be confirmed, but current driver Jerome d'Ambrosio has been the subject of recent specultion suggesting that he would be replaced.
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