Pascal Wehrlein believes Manor Racing is coming together as a team, with more progress on the performance level to follow.
The minnow outfit has undoubtedly stepped up a notch this season, thanks mainly to Mercedes providing its power at the back of what appears to be a reasonably well handling MRT05 chassis.
"Fundamentally we have a good package and every race we're making progress, but it's still very early days," said Wehrlein, ahead of this weekend's Russian Grand Prix.
"There's plenty we can do in every area to improve and find more performance."
Although he has yet score any points, Wehrlein, a Mercedes supported driver, has also added his talent and potential into the mix, battling with established teams and displaying speed and consistency.
"I'm learning a huge amount with each new race and we're really starting to work well together as a team, so it's a combination of factors that will help push us forward.
"It's exciting to see how we can build from here."
The rookie German driver and former DTM champ will sample the Sochi Autodrom for the very first time on Friday.
"It's a great-looking track; I can't wait to try it out on Friday. It's essentially a street circuit and they're always fun to drive.
" This one is quite fast and having the Olympic Park in the middle of it is something a bit different.
"For us, hopefully we have been able to continue improving our set-up so we can unlock a little more of the car's potential – there's still plenty of work to do there."
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