Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsManor

Rossi hoping to build on F1 exposure

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Alexander Rossi hopes his five appearances for Manor this season will help him attract new backers for 2016.

The American made his first F1 start at the Singapore Grand Prix and also raced in Japan before returning to GP2 in Russia last weekend. Rossi will also race in his home race in Austin as well as in Mexico and Brazil before sitting out the last round due to another clash with GP2.

Hoping to secure a full-time F1 seat next season, Rossi says he is focused on capitalising on the added exposure he will get when driving for Manor in order to convince new partners to back him.

“I don’t think it’s ever easy, but obviously being in the show helps a lot,” Rossi told F1i. “So I just think we need to now focus on maximising these five races as much as we can both on track and off track and see what comes of it for 2016.”

And Rossi says there are no unrealistic expectations being placed upon him ahead of his home race, with Manor last in the constructors’ championship.

"I think a lot of people understand the sport and understand that sometimes you're not in a position to be anywhere near the front. That's just the way Formula One works sometimes. I don't think anyone's expecting me to go there and be able to get on the podium or in the points or anything."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.