Ocon Replaces Haryanto at Manor

    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.”

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring

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German GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Pascal Wehrlein - “It’s my home Grand Prix - the one I’ve been most looking forward to. It will also be the busiest so far for me, so maybe after that a little break will be nice. I intend to enjoy it. Of course Germany will have a special significance as the first home race of my F1 career. First of many, I hope! Knowing a race track does have its advantages but, really, we push just as hard at every track we race at.”

Rio Haryanto - N/A

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Hungarian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Rio Haryanto - “I enjoy everything about Hungary, and especially the circuit. I won here in 2011 in GP3 - with the Manor Racing GP3 team in fact! I arrived here two days ago, so I’ve had plenty of time to adjust to the high temperatures that we have here at the moment, and to explore the city a bit. I’ve been here a few times now and it seems to get better and better every year. From GP2 I know this is a really interesting and technically challenging circuit. It’s pretty relentless, in that you don’t get much time to catch your breath during the lap. It requires maximum concentration at pretty much every turn if you really want to put a good lap together, but when you do, it’s actually a lot of fun.”

Pascal Wehrlein - “These next two races are really good ones so, if anything, things will be hotting up for me, rather than calming down. The Hungarian Grand Prix is always an exciting event.”

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British GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Pascal Wehrlein - “(Another point this weekend) would be very nice but let’s be clear - this is a different race track and a different weekend. At the last Grand Prix we seemed to have improved a few things things that were holding us back. We didn’t suffer with tyre degradation as much as we have previously and our pace was strong - we were able to race for more than 40 laps on a single set of soft tyres, which is a measure of just how well we got the car working that weekend. That doesn’t automatically translate to the next circuit, or even the one after that, but if you can say you did everything right and got the maximum possible from the car we have, then that’s a good result.”

Rio Haryanto - “It will be a fantastic occasion; I can’t wait. There’s a real buzz about the team at the moment after the first point and that’s incredible to see and feel. It’s really important to me that we put on the best show possible this weekend for everybody who has worked so hard and contributed to that result in Austria.”

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European GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Rio Haryanto - “(Baku is) awesome. I don’t really know what I was expecting but it has exceeded all my expectations. The diversity of the city is really striking; the mix of old and new makes it a pretty spectacular setting for a Grand Prix. I really like it here and I’m sure the fans will too. I think it’s going to be incredible to drive. It’s certainly one of the faster tracks on the calendar and in particular Turn 15 looks really exciting. The walls are so close yet the track is really narrow and fast there. It’s a bit like Monaco in that one little mistake could be punished quite severely.”

Pascal Wehrlein - “The great thing about Baku is that it’s new for everyone - all the teams and all the drivers - so it’s a case of mastering the circuit better than your competition. It’s a high-speed circuit so, much like Canada, will be well-suited to our package. There were some positive signs in Montreal but we missed some opportunities there, so I hope we can show more of our improvement here versus Sauber in particular.”


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Monaco GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Pascal Wehrlein - “I can’t deny it - I’m super excited! It’s a race like no other and although they are all new to me in my debut season, it’s such a special feeling – and a privilege – to be competing here. I can’t describe the feeling of racing at this track but listening to others that have really gives me goose bumps. What I do know though is that it’s a race that demands every bit of focus and concentration from the driver. So although I’m itching to get in the car and go, I’m very aware that there’s a lot of preparation to be done between now and the race.”

It’s the first proper street circuit of the season and one of the most historic events on the calendar. I know I’m going to love it. It’s also going to be pretty busy off-track as we have a lot of partner guests and activities here. It will be a juggling act I think but I want to enjoy every second of my first Monaco Grand Prix.”

Rio Haryanto - “Lining up for my first Grand Prix in Melbourne was a pretty special feeling but I’m sure competing in my first Monaco Grand Prix will come very close. It’s a completely unique experience, which I know from racing here in GP2. I’ve actually been on the podium in Monaco after finishing in 3rd place in 2014 and the atmosphere and sense of occasion is incredible. Although we have slightly more realistic ambitions this weekend, everyone knows that this race creates opportunities like no other – particularly if it rains, which at the moment is the forecast for Sunday.”

(Driving at Monaco is) an incredible experience for a driver. The lap feels so quick and passes by in a flash but at the same time you’re captivated by mastering every single corner. It requires every bit of your full focus because it’s such an unforgiving track; the proximity of the barriers mean that one tiny mistake can be very costly. But it can also be very rewarding if you get it right.”

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Spanish GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Pascal Wehrlein - “It will be nice to get straight into the programme here without having to think about acclimatisation. Although I didn’t race here in my early single-seater career, it’s a track we know well from testing and its characteristics are very familiar to us, so it will be relatively easy to see how our new developments are working. It has a bit of everything for a driver, which I like. There’s a good mix of fast, medium and slow speed corners, frequent changes in direction and a nice long start-finish straight, all of which make it really interesting to drive. The track is quite abrasive so with the tyre allocation here we’ll need to focus on managing degradation. I hope we will see some good progress here this weekend.”

Rio Haryanto - “Indonesia is my real home of course and I try to go back there at every opportunity, but the reality is that it’s a long way when we’re racing in Europe, so I have a base here in Barcelona for the next few months. I really like it here; the weather is good and it’s a really cool city with plenty of interesting places for me to train. My trainer is Spanish so he knows all the best places and I know the area like the back of my hand now.

I feel good about the season so far. I’ve had a bit of bad luck but generally the first few races have been positive for me. I feel quite happy with the way I’m learning and developing with each new race, particularly in terms of my pace. You learn to put the disappointments to one side and use it as extra determination for the next event. So I’m ready to get stuck into the weekend here. It’s a track I know really well so we should be up to speed quite quickly and able to get a good impression of how our package works here.”

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Russian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Pascal Wehrlein - “Sochi Autodrom is a great-looking track; I can’t wait to try it out on Friday. It’s essentially a street circuit and they’re always fun to drive. This one is quite fast and having the Olympic Park in the middle of it is something a bit different. For us, hopefully we have been able to continue improving our set-up so we can unlock a little more of the car’s potential. There’s still plenty of work to do there. Fundamentally we have a good package and every race we’re making progress, but it’s still very early days. There’s plenty we can do in every area to improve and find more performance. I’m learning a huge amount with each new race and we’re really starting to work well together as a team, so it’s a combination of factors that will help push us forward. It’s exciting to see how we can build from here.”

Rio Haryanto - (Quote about almost winning in Sochi in GP2 last year) - “Yes, it would have been my fourth win of the season. I took the lead on the final lap but in the end I had to settle for second after I was judged to have overtaken under the Safety Car. It would have put me in contention for the title too. Still, it was a good race for me. I’m looking forward to getting a feel for the track in an F1 car.”

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Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Pascal Wehrlein - “It’s great fun getting to grips with a new circuit and once you’ve done a few laps, it’s not such a big issue, as long as the weather is on your side so you can build momentum. I walked the track last year with Mercedes and obviously I’ve prepared on the simulator, so I just want to get stuck into FP1 now and see how our package performs here.”

It was funny to hear about those (rocket) comments from Kev (Kevin Magnussen) during the race (in Bahrain). It was true though; the car was really quick on the straights and there are a couple of good ones here at Shanghai. What we know from Bahrain though is that there’s some more work to do to get the best from the car throughout the lap. There is still a lot we can do to continue improving the set-up and here we need a good compromise from straights to turns. It’s quite a challenging track so I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Rio Haryanto - “Shanghai is a track I know really well from my Asian Formula Renault Challenge and Formula BMW Pacific days. It’s fun and challenging to drive so it will be nice to come back here and see how it feels in a Formula 1 car! There was a lot to take away and think about after Bahrain and I’m sure we’ll see more from the car and myself in China. Hopefully we will have made some further improvements with the set-up and I can feel a little more confident with the car.”

Anywhere that has Asian food is okay with me. Plus, I head back to Indonesia after every race, so what is a long haul for the team is actually a short haul for me. In the absence of an Indonesian Grand Prix – yet! – the Asian races are home turf for me, so it’s nice that there are so many of them.”

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Pascal Wehrlein - "Melbourne was amazing. Nothing can prepare you for the feeling of lining up on the grid for the first time and taking the chequered flag at the end of your first Grand Prix. They are special memories for sure. As a team we learned a lot in Melbourne. Qualifying didn't work out well for us and as we have the same format here in Bahrain we need to put those lessons into practice. We still have a way to go with optimising the set-up to counter the tyre degradation problems we experienced in the second half of the race. It was a good start, but there's a lot of room for improvement in every area, including me. My first F1 night race will be fun and it's really cool to have that experience so early in my F1 career. I'm sure the circuit will feel spectacular to drive under the lights. I can't wait."

Rio Haryanto - "My debut was an incredible experience and one I'd waited a long time for, so I tried not to dwell too heavily on retiring. There were too many positives to take away from the weekend so that's what I did. On a personal level I was quite happy with my pace and how I translated everything I'd learned at the tests into a race weekend context. I know the team were disappointed with the problem that ended my race but it's all about looking forward and there's so much more to come. My first night race will be pretty special! Generally though, I think the weekend here will be a lot smoother and I've got some really good experience to draw on in every area. Most of all, I can't wait to see the chequered flag!"

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Manor Launch 2016 Car

Manor Racing’s new MRT05 is a dream racer, according to technical director John McQuilliam.

Whilst, from the outside, the car may look similar to that of 2015, it is definitely an all new car. And one which might prove to be more competitive than many people may expect, especially with the Mercedes built power unit beneath the chassis.

“The overall package is a very significant step forward,” said McQuilliam. “Not just from last year, but from any of the cars from our stable. So yes, we have a long way to go from here in terms of developing the MRT05, but it’s already a dream package for the 154 Manor Racing people who’ve worked so hard to design and build it. In a small team like ours, every individual has played their part.”

Manor believe the new car will be a contender this year, compared to last year’s car, where the team was making do with what they could get. The team has been working on the new car since the middle of last season.

As well as featuring the Mercedes power unit, the MRT05 will feature a transmission package and gear box from Williams Advanced Engineering.

The car isn’t the only thing that’s new though, with Manor also bringing two new drivers to the grid: Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto.

“Pascal and Rio are a great addition to our team,” said racing director, Dave Ryan. “They are young and hungry but, crucially, experienced racers with a lot of talent and a great deal of potential. We’re very proud that they’re making their F1 debut with Manor Racing.”

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring

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