Beyond the Flag
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Rio Haryanto Will Stay At Manor As Reserve Driver

By David Barclay

Oct 25, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; McLaren driver Jenson Button (22) of Great Britain leads Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson (9) of Sweden during the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; McLaren driver Jenson Button (22) of Great Britain leads Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson (9) of Sweden during the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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After being dropped from his race seat, it was announced Thursday that Rio Haryanto will stay with Manor as a reserve driver.

“Rio will be available to deputize should either race driver be unable to take part in an event,” the team said in a press release. “He will also be immersed in engineering meetings and PR activities as the team continues its support for his racing ambitions.”

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The announcement came just one day after Haryanto was relegated in favor of Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who will assume the role in this month’s Belgian Grand Prix in part due to contractual matters.

Haryanto, who is backed by Indonesian state oil company Pertamina, needed to raise substantially more funds to retain his seat, the team said. When he was unable to do so he was offered the reserve role and accepted.

“Manor has taken the decision to terminate Rio Haryanto’s race contract after he was unable to meet his contractual obligations,” Manor said in its statement.

Haryanto became Indonesia’s first Formula One product when he made his debut at this year’s Australian Grand Prix. He’s started in 12 grands prix this season and has failed to register a point in the standings.

His racing contract was heavily contingent on the ability to raise sponsorship dollars but the spigot stopped flowing, resulting in the relegation, racing director Dave Ryan said in Manor’s release.

“Some time ago his management indicated that they were experiencing difficulties honoring the obligations of that contract beyond July’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

“Rio’s team have worked tirelessly to try to resolve that situation with his Indonesian backers and we have supported those efforts as much as possible, including allowing Rio to race in Germany.

“Unfortunately we reached a point where, in the best interests of the team, we were forced to explore other options for the remainder of the season.”

Manor are the smallest of the 11 F1 teams in current existence, however, they have managed to attract reasonable racing talent. Andretti Autosport IndyCar driver and 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi signed with the team in March as its official reserve driver.

Rossi turned down an offer from the team in August to become its full-time driver because of his IndyCar commitments.

Ocon is backed by both Mercedes and Renault, where he served in a reserve driver capacity, and will hit the circuit alongside teammate Pascal Wehrlein in the Mercedes-powered Manor Racing machine.

A highly-touted youngster, Ocon has been racing for Mercedes in the German Touring Car Series while at the same time handling his responsibilities as a reserve driver for Renault’s F1 team.

He won the FIA F3 championship in 2014 and the GP3 series last year.

The 19-year-old shared a sentiment of jubilance for the opportunity to make his debut at Spa, one of F1’s crown jewel racing circuits. Ocon has already paid a visit to the team headquarters in Oxfordshire for his seat fitting, and is making preparations to storm out of the gate when the summer break concludes.

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