Manor Racing today announced that it has taken the decision to terminate Rio Haryanto’s Race Driver contract, after he was unable to meet his contractual obligations.
In a bid to keep his Formula 1 dream alive, the team has offered Rio a Reserve Driver role for the remaining nine rounds of the 2016 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Dave Ryan, Racing Director: “Rio has been a much-valued member of our team since January, when we signed a contract with him for this season. Some time ago, his management indicated that they were experiencing difficulties honouring the obligations of that contract beyond the Hungarian Grand Prix. Rio’s team have worked tirelessly to try to resolve that situation with his Indonesian backers and we have supported those efforts as much as possible, including allowing Rio to race in Germany. Unfortunately we reached a point where, in the best interests of the team, we were forced to explore other options for the remainder of the season.
“We are very pleased to continue our support for Rio’s Formula 1 ambitions, by offering him a Reserve Driver role for the rest of the current season. We very much hope that he will accept that offer.â€
We will shortly be announcing a new teammate for Pascal Wehrlein.
