Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsManor

Rossi thanks Manor after missing out on F1 seat

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Alexander Rossi has thanked Manor for his opportunities in 2015 despite being overlooked for a race seat this season.

Having been competing in GP2, Rossi was signed by Manor to take part in five of the final seven races last year, missing rounds in Russia and Abu Dhabi to complete his GP2 season. The American driver impressed, getting the better of team-mate Will Stevens over the five races despite limited experience in the car.

While Rossi had said only last week the situation was "looking positive" regarding a race seat with the team this season, Manor today announced Rio Haryanto as its second driver alongside Pascal Wehrlein.

Following confirmation of Haryanto's drive, Rossi took to Twitter to express his gratitude to Manor for handing him his first F1 start.

Haryanto's arrival means Manor will run a completely new driver line-up in 2016 having fielded Stevens, Rossi and Roberto Merhi throughout last season.

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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.