Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsManor

Rossi confident in hopes for 2016 Manor seat

Alexander Rossi says he is in a good position to secure a full-time seat with Manor in 2016.

The American driver is set to take part in his home race for the first time this weekend as he races for Manor having agreed a deal to drive for the team in five of the final seven rounds. While completing his GP2 season this year - a move which will see him miss the final F1 race in Abu Dhabi - Rossi is confident he can continue to build on his first two performances as he hopes to earn a drive for next season.

"With the current situation with the performance difference in the cars I think it’s very clear that the objective just needs to be continuing what we’ve done in the first two," Rossi said. "Both of those weekends there was quite a disrupted Friday for the whole team, so I think if we have a strong Friday the Sunday result can be even more positive.

"In terms of next year, I’m obviously quite keen to be in a full-time seat next year, which is apparent. The position that I’m in with the team at the moment is good and we're looking to put that all together for next year."

And Rossi says he has been pleased with the response to his F1 exploits so far, building on the added exposure to bring an extra sponsor to Manor this weekend.

"I think, first of all, that the reaction has been very positive, which is what we wanted to see, Of course there is pride that goes along with it, but that started in Singapore and Japan as well.

"Obviously to be here at home means a big deal, but at the same time we have a job to do and very clear objectives to meet. I’m looking forward to it; there are a lot of friends and family that will be coming this weekend. But I think once you get in the car and on track you appreciate the fact that there is a bigger picture."

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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.