Rio Haryanto loses Pertamina’s support

Rio Haryanto made his debut with Manor in March 2016 thanks to the generous support of Pertamina, the national oil company of his home country, Indonesia. They contributed over five million euros, but it was not enough to gather the 15 million euros promised to Manor. He was therefore replaced after the summer by Esteban Ocon, a Mercedes protégé, the team’s engine supplier.

Nonetheless, the driver remained in the paddocks as a reserve driver, hoping to make a return in the new year of 2017 after gathering the necessary funds. But these hopes were dashed by Wianda Pusponegoro, the Vice President of Communications for the company, who told the Indonesian site Bala.com that the company would no longer support the driver in 2017: « We have already made the maximum effort but there are things beyond Pertamina’s control, such as the deadlines set by the team for contract validation and necessary funds. »

If Pertamina wishes to push its protégé at Sauber, it now seems likely that the Swiss team wants to attract the favors of Mercedes, who would place its protégé Pascal Wehrlein alongside Marcus Ericsson. The world champions have, in fact, an additional budget available since Nico Rosberg’s retirement announcement. It would thus be used to place the driver in a team with more potential than Manor.

On the other hand, the company has made no comment regarding its presence in other motorsport categories, starting with GP2 with Sean Gelael at Campos, which suggests that this program should be maintained throughout 2017…

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr