Pascal Wehrlein says the progress Manor showed during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend has left him excited by the team’s potential.
Manor endured a difficult first race of the season in Australia which saw it comfortably off the pace of the midfield teams, with Wehrlein last of the runners to finish the race. In Bahrain, however, Manor delivered a clear step forward as it improved on tyre degradation issues and Wehrlein says the difference between the two races was huge.
“It was a great race for me,” Wehrlein said. “I can’t even compare it to the one in Melbourne because it felt like a completely different race. The car was better, the way we could manage the tyres was better - everything was just a big improvement.
“It was quite chaotic to begin with but that happens in the midfield so I’m not going to complain. My start was good and I managed to avoid any contact, then the rest of the first stint was really good fun. It was nice to be so competitive. I was 7th at one point and I really enjoyed getting past the Force Indias. It would have been good to take the second Sauber at the end but I had started to lose the tyres by then.”
And Wehrlein agrees with racing director Dave Ryan that there are still plenty of areas where Manor can improve in the coming races.
“We still experienced some tyre degradation, which is why we switched to a three-stop strategy, but it was much better than the last race and another good sign for us. I want to thank the whole team. I had a great car and it’s exciting to see how much more potential we have. I can’t wait for China now.”
Scene at the Bahrain Grand Prix
Bahrain Grand Prix - Quotes of the weekend
DRIVER RATINGS: Bahrain Grand Prix
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