Rio Haryanto admits that not knowing whether he would compete in this weekend’s German Grand Prix with Manor until last Tuesday was “a bit uncomfortable”.
Although the Indonesian’s contract is valid for the entire 2016 Formula One campaign, his backing could only cover the first 11 races of the season, namely until Budapest. Extra funding was eventually secured so Haryanto could take part in the final event before the summer break.
“It was a little bit uncomfortable but I am very pleased to be back here at the Hockenheimring and everything is fine now to go racing,” he said during Thursday’s FIA press conference.
Haryanto is supported through a series of initiatives from the Indonesian government and state-owned oil company Pertamina. With the second half of the F1 season including several races in Asia, the former GP2 Series race winner hopes this will help secure his position at Manor.
“I am very confident because the contract has always been a one-year contract. I am confident over the summer break we have three weeks when there will be potential more sponsors coming and there are also races closer to my home country and there will be interest for potential sponsors.”
As Indonesia’s first ever F1 driver, Haryanto is a hugely popular figure in his homeland. The 23-year-old admits he has had to educate his fans about the sport and lower the early expectations by explaining that he is not racing for a championship-calibre team.
“It is a difficult one for them because they are very new to F1 and of course they expect a lot for me to do well, coming from GP2 I had been doing well and they were following that.
“I did really well and they expected the same but I also have to give them some education about F1 and they will see how different it is.”
Chris Medland's 2016 German Grand Prix preview
FEATURE: Halo: splitting opinion in F1
Scene at the 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
