Less than one week after Alexander Rossi revealed he turned down a drive at Manor Racing, the Oxfordshire-based team found a driver to fill the seat.
Manor announced Tuesday that Renault reserve driver Esteban Ocon will replace Rio Haryanto for the remainder of the 2016 Formula One season, Motorsport.com reports.
“We are very pleased to welcome Esteban to Manor Racing for the remainder of the season,” Manor team principal Dave Ryan said, via Motorsport.com. “Our team has made significant strides in 2016, including finishing in the points for the first time in Austria last month. We need to maintain our pace of development in order to achieve our ambitions, not only for this season but also for the longer-term, so the caliber of a replacement is key.”
Like his new teammate Pascal Wehrlein, Ocon is part of Mercedes’ driver development program. Ironically, Ocon started this season racing for Mercedes in DTM, where he replaced Wehrlein, who left DTM for F1 after winning the series in 2015.
“I’m thrilled that I’ll be making my Grand Prix debut with Manor Racing later this month, and at Spa, of all circuits, which is the next best thing to my home race,” Ocon said, via Motorsport.com.
Ocon, who is a former European Formula Three and GP3 champion, will make his F1 debut in Belgium on Aug. 28.
For more automotive lifestyle news, check out NESNFuel.com
Thumbnail photo via Mercedes-AMG Petronas
