Esteban Ocon has joined Manor F1 for the remainder of the season, replacing Rio Haryanto after the Indonesian was demoted to reserve driver.
Haryanto’s future in F1 was never certain, and there were rumours that the Indonesian wouldn’t be able to race past the Hungarian Grand Prix. Haryanto was able to go one race further to compete in the German Grand Prix, but that’s the Indonesian’s time up.
The team said on their Facebook page that Rio was “unable to meet his contractual obligations”.
Ocon, a Mercedes junior, has been brought in to fill the seat for the rest of the season. The nineteen year old comes with a lot more experience than Haryanto. Renault reserve driver, a strong DTM season this year, Formula 3 and GP3 champion – it all bodes well for a successful Formula One career.
Manor racing director, Dave Ryan, said:
“We are very pleased to welcome Esteban to Manor Racing for the remainder of the season. He is clearly one of the rising stars of F1, shining in his Reserve Driver role with Renault whilst also competing in the DTM with Mercedes-AMG this year.”
“I’m thrilled that I’ll be making my Grand Prix debut with Manor Racing later this month, and at Spa, of all circuits, which is the next best thing to my home race,” said Ocon. “I’m ready for this exciting step up, thanks to the experience I’ve gained as a Formula 1 Reserve Driver this season.”
Ocon thanked Renault and Manor, and is excited to build on the progress Manor have already made so far this season. As the Frenchman is a Mercedes junior, the team have been keeping a close eye on the move.
Toto Wolff said: “We are very pleased that this opportunity has opened up for Esteban, that Manor has again had the confidence to give a chance to a promising young talent… Manor is just the right environment for a young driver to get his first experience of F1: a professional, small team that is on a positive upward trend and where the driver can make a real difference. Esteban did an exceptional job in the works Mercedes at the Silverstone test and we are excited to see him take his first steps in an F1 race environment.”
----
Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
No copyright infringement intended
Follow us on Twitter @Bethonie_Boost & @F1Insider78
No comments:
Post a Comment