Manor
Rio Haryanto (12th, 1:25.899, 58 laps)
“It was a pretty intense afternoon on track, which more than made up for a frustrating morning. I’m really happy we got to 58 laps. After the break we quickly established a good rhythm and together we’ve pushed our way through a really busy programme. It was a bit of a whirlwind to be honest but I feel really well prepared after the many test items we covered today. I think we’ve brought the car to a really good place since we launched it 11 days ago so I’m excited to see how we stand versus the competition. I can’t wait to be on track in Melbourne two weeks from today. My thanks to the whole team for giving me the best start to my F1 debut. We’ve had a lot of very long days and nights at the track but I’m sure it will be worth it.”
Dave Ryan, Racing Director
“We went into today with a couple of hurdles to overcome but we got on top of those as quickly as possible to ensure another very productive afternoon. Once we’d resolved the mechanical issues we cracked through much of our planned programme and 58 laps was a pretty good tally in the end. We ran through a bit of everything to close out Rio’s preparation, evaluating the car in qualifying and race trim as well as practice starts, a grid simulation and pit stops. Together we’ve brought the car on another step and Rio is now in a pretty good place heading into his debut season. Next week will be pretty busy again, as we evaluate everything we’ve learned from the car, then pack up the chassis and kit for Melbourne. Again I’d like to acknowledge the massive push by every single member of the team to get us to this point and credit also to our two new drivers, who applied themselves well and really rose to the challenge. I should point out that when I say a great effort by the team I automatically include our new colleagues at Mercedes HPP and Williams Advanced Engineering in the group. Already, after just eight days working trackside together, they have completely and totally integrated with us and at the same time demonstrated their professionalism and commitment towards our desire to improve – it’s a big thank you to all of them and just brilliant having them along for the journey.”
