Unlike its predecessors, the Virgin VR-01 and Virgin MVR-02, the Marussia MR01 was not designed exclusively with computational fluid dynamics (CFD); instead, the design team employed a combination of wind tunnel testing and CFD modelling in its design. Due to development delays, the team planned to launch the MR01 at the third and final pre-season test session at the Circuit de Catalunya on 1 March 2012, but as the car was unable to pass its mandatory crash tests prior to the final test session the team was not permitted to take part. According to technical advisor Pat Symonds, the car failed its crash tests because one part of the car was performing "inconsistently". The car was later launched on 5 March, following a shakedown at Silverstone Circuit, before passing its final mandatory crash test on 6 March.

The MR01 is the only car to compete initially in the 2012 season without a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), regenerative braking device, though HRT later admitted that their car did not feature KERS. The MR01 was one of only three cars (the others being the McLaren MP4-27 and the HRT F112) not to feature the stepped nose common to most 2012 season designs.

Initially, the MR01 featured a plain nose cone which ran by the conventions of the other teams (flat noses). By the 2012 British Grand Prix, the MR01 sported bigger nose, making it similar to the solutions used by Force India in 2010 and 2011.

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