First Difficult Qualifications for Manor Rookies
In Melbourne, Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto dove into the deep end of a Qualifications session for the first time. Tomorrow, both drivers will start from the back row of the Grand Prix.
The new Qualification system clearly did not favor the underdog Manor in Australia. The trap closed on the two young drivers, who experienced the agony of elimination after only 10 minutes of running in Q1.
After his mistake in the third Free Practice session, Rio Haryanto will at least have the satisfaction of having outpaced his teammate in the timed lap exercise. But he certainly won’t have fond memories of this day: “This Qualification was very strange: we barely had time to do a flying lap,” he stated. “My lap wasn’t bad, but I could have improved further. My goal for the next qualifications will be to find the tenth that makes the difference.”
The Indonesian driver now turns to his first start, one that an entire nation eagerly awaits.
A warm welcome to our garage for the Indonesian Minister of Trade, Minister of Youth & Sport and Consulate. pic.twitter.com/0OtGYConRv
— Manor Racing (@ManorRacing) March 19, /f1/actualite/20781-australie-el-3-sur-le-sec-hamilton-emerge-de-peu-devant-rosberg-et-vettel.html
« But I was able to complete my first qualifications, learning quite a lot and also improving some of my skills. Tomorrow will be the day of my first Formula 1 race and I am very excited to be there! I am sure we will have a better day. »
However, the FP3 incident will not go without consequences: the former GP2 driver receives a three-place grid penalty, ultimately putting him behind his teammate.
Pascal Werhlein will also be thirsty for revenge tomorrow, after being beaten by his teammate. The 2015 DTM Champion will remain as the very first driver to be eliminated by this new qualifying system. He described this exercise as «difficult ». « We really only had one opportunity to set a time. The window to achieve a time was incredibly narrow: it was tricky to clear a lap with the traffic».
Patient, the young German driver believes that he must find room for improvement while admitting that he must proceed step by step. His desire to take part in his first Grand Prix is not diminished: “I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Nothing will take away the joy of lining up on the starting grid for the first time!”
Therefore, it will be necessary to keep an eye on the departure of the two representatives from the Manor team, which it must be noted is now equipped with a Mercedes engine.
