Reliability on Schedule at Manor
Once again, the two Manors demonstrated impressive reliability and managed to reach the finish. It was Roberto Merhi who got the better of his teammate.
Will Stevens started from the best position for a Manor since the beginning of the season: 15th. Indeed, the small team has shown great reliability and has therefore not faced the same penalty issues as some rivals.
If Roberto Merhi won the back-of-the-grid duel, it is because Will Stevens’ car was damaged following a contact at the first corner: “My start was really good. I managed to get ahead of Nasr at the first corner but when I came out, I was sandwiched between two cars, with no space. I got hit, which compromised the rest of my race. Even though my pace was really good, I couldn’t regain my position.”
The Spaniard from the team was therefore delighted with his trouble-free race: « It was a good race for me. I got past my teammate in the first corner and it stayed like that until the end of the race. It was a bit of a lonely race to be honest and it was mostly about managing my tires so I could push when I needed to. I think the strategy worked well to limit the blue flags. This allowed us to maintain a reasonable pace. »
From our special correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps