17/09/2015
NEWS STORY
His hopes cruelly dashed, Alexander Rossi now has five races in which to prove Gunther Steiner wrong and stake his claim to a place on the 2016 grid.
Speaking earlier this month, the Hass team principal, when asked if the team would run an American in its debut season, admitted that it is highly unlikely.
"There is nobody out there at the moment," he told the official F1 website. "Yes, there are drivers in GP2 and F3, but having a rookie in a new team... that is difficult for both sides."
Currently second in the GP2 standings, admittedly over a hundred points shy of championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne, Rossi has just enjoyed back-to-back victories with a sprint race win at Spa and feature race victory at Monza.
With five races with Manor in which to prove that he does deserve a full-time drive for 2016, Rossi's task is clear. First he has to ensure he qualifies, then he has to get the car to the finish - the Manor having been one of the more reliable cars this season. Finally, he has to ensure he has the measure of Will Stevens.
Quite how the Manor drive has come about is not yet clear, but with Haas enjoying a serious collaboration with Ferrari, and Manor itself owing the Maranello manufacturer a huge debt - no pun intended - in returning to the grid after its troubles, one would surely be unlikely to be wide of the mark in thinking that the Scuderia has had some role in the move.
With a home race coming up next month, Rossi, has a chance to prove Steiner wrong, and perhaps convince Haas he is worth taking a gamble on.