American driver Alexander Rossi struggled in his final F1 outing of the season for Manor, after losing out to his teammate Will Stevens.
Brazil was the final outing for the American driver in F1 this season as he will participate in the GP2 race in Abu Dhabi, returning to help Racing engineering in the Team’s championship. He currently sits second in the Drivers’ Championship behind McLaren star Stoffel Vandoorne.
Commenting on his performance after the race Rossi stated: “Wow, that was a tough race. My first stint wasn’t so bad, but in the second and third stints the balance was terrible and I was losing so much time with understeer. Will getting past was inevitable and I was pretty resigned to that fact. It’s a shame because the early part of the weekend was stronger for me. I would have liked my final F1 round of 2015 to have a better outcome, but I look back at the five races I’ve had since Japan and I’m pretty happy overall. It’s been a totally positive experience and I know I’ve given it everything I’ve got. So now we wait and see what the future brings, but I want to thank the team for this incredible opportunity to show what I can do and I hope I’ve done that”
Rossi made his GP debut at Singapore this season having joined Manor (then Marussia) from Caterham last season. He impressed in Singapore by beating teammate Stevens by 14 seconds despite losing radio contact with the team during the mid-point of the race.
Departing Team Principal John Booth stated: “Alex seemed to have a really difficult balance and he was battling with the car from start to finish, so I’m sure it seemed like a very long race for him. For Abu Dhabi, we have Roberto back in the car and Alex will be focusing on his GP2 team’s championship position, but I’d like to commend him on five very strong races with us and it has been a pleasure to have him around.”
Rossi will have to wait and see if his GP2 and F1 efforts have been enough to secure a full-time F1 seat next year at Manor, with a Mercedes Power Unit and a vastly upgraded car up for grabs.
