Rio Haryanto’s future in Formula One has been in question for the second half of the season, as his financial backers have failed to fund the entire amount agreed to in his contract. Manor Racing has confirmed who will be in the car at the German Grand Prix.
Haryanto, largely backed by the Indonesian government, was signed to the team at the start of the season as a full-time driver, contingent upon his financial backers paying funds to Manor. He was signed to the team shortly before the first pre-season test in Barcelona and became the first Formula One driver from Indonesia in the sport’s history.
His racing contract was only for the first half of the season because that’s all that his financial backers have paid for. However, Manor has confirmed that Haryanto will be behind the wheel of the car for this weekend’s German Grand Prix.
“The team have been very supportive and also the fans, so I’m really happy that I will be racing here,” said Rio Haryanto. “It’s a big weekend for the sport, returning to Germany – the home race of our powertrain partner – and also the final race before the summer break, so I intend to put all the speculation regarding my future to one side and concentrate on the racing here in Hockenheim. We’re working as hard as possible on the future behind the scenes, but that’s where I want to keep that side of things for this weekend.”
Allowing Haryanto to race was the only logical decision for the team, as the cost to get a replacement driver at such a short notice would be too large. However, the Indonesian’s future is unknown beyond the F1 summer break.
Stoffel Vandoorne, the McLaren reserve driver, and Alexander Rossi, Manor’s reserve driver, are among the drivers that have been linked to the Manor seat. Vandoorne is the most likely candidate, given that he could have a strong financial backing by McLaren and given that Alexander Rossi is in the middle of a successful IndyCar career.
