Manor racing director Dave Ryan says Rio Haryanto has the talent to succeed in F1 but needs time to make the step up.
Haryanto had a difficult pre-season, with his first two days in the new Manor seeing him twice go off and bring out the red flags, hitting the wall on the second occasion. While Ryan defended the Indonesian driver after the first test, he says the lack of testing time for a rookie means it will take Haryanto a while to build up to the same confidence level as team-mate Pascal Wehrlein.
"First of all he has talent, he did a pretty good job in GP2 last year," Ryan said. "He won races. He seems to have a very level head on his shoulders.
"The problem he has is that he has not had enough time in a F1 car. The way testing is restricted, it makes it very hard to prepare a driver for Formula One.
"So he has to overcome that hurdle, he is a talented driver, like Pascal he is a great kid. A bit more reserved than Pascal, but I am sure he is going to be pretty good. And he will do a really good job for us."
Asked if Haryanto has the confidence to succeed in F1, Ryan replied: "There is no problem.
"Our job is to work with him and help him do the job properly."
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