Jordan King will be retained as a development driver for Manor for the 2016 season, the team has confirmed.
22-year-old King was promoted to the role in 2015 alongside his GP2 commitments, going on to drive an F1 car for the first time during the Pirelli tyre test after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. King will now be retained as development driver behind the line-up of Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto, and he says the position allows him to build towards a race seat in future.
“Spending time trackside with the team last year was really important for me and for where I want to get to," King said. "I saw all the processes and techniques that go into running an F1 team, plus I got a good grasp of how the tyres work as well as the data.
"So when I got the chance to drive the MR03B in the Abu Dhabi test, it felt like I’d had a massive head-start and I was really confident. I racked up 300km in that test and loved every second in the car. But what I want to do now is race one and I’m flat out working to achieve that.
"Continuing in the Development Driver role with Manor Racing is key to that progression and I’m excited to be working with Dave Ryan, Pascal and Rio for the first time, as well as the guys I’m more familiar with.”
Racing director Dave Ryan says King made an impression on his first outing in the car last year.
“I was at the Abu Dhabi test where Jordan drove our car for the first time and he did an impressive job," Ryan said. "It was clear that he’d taken full advantage of the opportunity to get under the skin of the team and understand the systems, processes and people.
"Over the winter months he helped us to refine driver installation with the new chassis, pending the signing of our race drivers, so the Development Driver role really is mutually beneficial. We look forward to having him around the team and wish him a successful season in GP2.”
King will remain with Racing Engineering for a second season in GP2 this year.
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