Will Stevens believes the Singapore Grand Prix will offer Manor its best chance of a shock result this season.
Manor has been comfortably off the pace as it runs a modified version of last year's car as well as the 2014 Ferrari power unit, while the demise of Caterham means it has been racing alone at the back of the field. However, Manor has been able to record seven two-car finishes from the ten races both have started this season.
With the Singapore street circuit a big test of both a driver's concentration and a car's reliability, when asked by F1i if Manor's consistency provides it with its best chance of securing a surprise result, Stevens replied: "Yeah, exactly.
"I believe where we've got the car to at the moment is actually at a good place. OK we're not going to go and be quicker than the McLarens, I know that for sure, but I'd like to think if qualifying happens to end like Monza then we can actually have a race with some people.
"You never know until you get there and get on track. Obviously I've never been there before so hopefully I get to grips with the track quickly and have a good weekend."
And Stevens says the lower emphasis on engine performance is one of the reasons for his optimism.
"Everyone knows the situation we're in with last year's car and engine, so overall I think Singapore we can be quite optimistic for. Obviously engine is not so important there and the actual car balance we've got is pretty good now. We'll see, I'm looking forward to it. Everyone tells me it's a mega race and I always enjoy the night races so I'm really looking forward to it."
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