Official: Esteban Ocon replaces Rio Haryanto at Manor

The rumor had been growing increasingly insistent over the past few days, and it’s now official: the Formula 1 starting grids will feature a second French driver in the person of Esteban Ocon, who joins the ranks of Manor.

The British team has therefore decided to replace Rio Haryanto, who lacks the funding to finish the season, with the young French hopeful, a Mercedes protégé, which supplies the team with its power units.

Dave Ryan, sporting director of the Manor team, thanks Haryanto for the work done since the beginning of the season and confirms that he will now have a role as a reserve driver: « Rio has been a very important member of the team since January when we signed a contract with him for the season. Some time ago, his management informed us that they would have difficulties honoring the contract conditions from the evening of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Rio’s supporters have worked hard to try to resolve the situation, and we have supported them as much as possible, as evidenced by his participation in the German Grand Prix. Unfortunately, we reached a point where we needed to evaluate other opportunities for the good of the team. But we are pleased to continue our collaboration with Rio by offering him a role as a reserve driver until the end of the season. »

Ryan also highlights the favorable qualities of his replacement: « Esteban Ocon is clearly a rising star in Formula 1. We are confident that with Esteban’s debut in Belgium, we will have a lineup that will allow us to be immediately competitive for the rest of the season. »

The French driver has already participated in a few free practice sessions this season with Renault and in private tests with Mercedes during the year. At the same time, he participated in the early season of the DTM championship, scoring 2 points for the Mercedes team. In 2014 and 2015, he won the championship titles in F3 and GP3 respectively.