11/08/2016
NEWS STORY
Manor has officially confirmed that Rio Haryanto will remain its reserve driver for 2016.
"Manor Racing is pleased to announce that Rio Haryanto will remain with the team for the rest of the season, having accepted its offer of a Reserve Driver role," said the Banbury based outfit in a brief press release issued early today.
"Rio will be available to deputise should either race driver be unable to take part in an event," it continued. "He will also be immersed in engineering meetings and PR activities, as the team continues its support for his racing ambitions."
The press release came several hours after the Indonesian, who for the most part has given a good account of himself in his twelve appearances for the team, issued his own sad footnote to his F1 career.
"So I'm no longer a race driver in 2016 due to lack of funds," he tweeted late on Wednesday night. "Thank you all for your kind messages. Looking forward for the next challenge."
Fact is, Manor - and Mercedes - will want Esteban Ocon in the car as much as possible getting every last little bit of experience in preparation for the next move up the ladder, while Haryanto will don the team overalls almost purely for "PR activities".
The harsh reality of F1 2016... it's no game.