By alley - Jul 15, 2015, 11:16 AM ET

F1: U.S. investors eyeing Manor?

Rumors have linked a group of U.S.-based investors led by Tavo Hellmund, the original developer of the Circuit of The Americas grand prix circuit, and financier James Carney with an attempt to purchase the Manor Formula 1 team.

Manor, which re-emerged from bankruptcy as Marrussia after

Irish businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick purchased a controlling interest in the team

back in March, faces the prospect of competition for its position in the lucrative top 10 of F1 teams for the first time next year, when Charlotte-based Haas F1 is set to join the grid. While that could increase pressure on Manor to seek new funding in order to improve its competitive position, Lotus could also be an attractive option for outside investors, given its own recent financial issues.

Veteran journalist F1 Joe Saward suggested ulterior motives could lie behind the rumor in his blog post today:

"I cannot say that I’ve heard anything about Stephen Fitzpatrick wanting to sell the team, indeed my experience thus far has been that he is keen to invest and understands that success in F1 takes time," Saward wrote. "His ambition is to build a great team.

"One needs to be a little careful of any stories floating around about Manor, as it is not flavor of the month in the land of Bernie Ecclestone, for reasons that are not entirely clear. At the same time, the F1 magnate is supposed to have bounced young Hellmund on his knee when the kid was growing up and so one tends to see any Hellmund-related stories being things that BE wants to see out there..."

Click here to read Saward's full post on the subject.