Manor’s Rio Haryanto came home in a lonely 15th place in his first Monaco Grand Prix, last of all the remaining runners and behind his teammate Pascal Wehrlein, despite outqualifying the German who had two 10 second time penalties during the race.
That being said the former GP2 race winner felt that he was going strongly until the second half of the race where, despite starting on full wet tyres, the entire field switched onto slicks with the Indonesian opting for the ultrasofts for his final stint. However, Haryanto hardly felt the benefit of the softer rubber, as blue flags made him slow down and subsequently lose tyre temperature on a compound that was notoriously difficult to switch on in the principality.
“A difficult race today. Obviously, the first part was quite tricky for everyone with the wet conditions but actually when the race got underway I was able to keep pace; the first two stints were okay for me. Then, towards the end, there was a lot of traffic and under the blue flags I was struggling to keep temperature in the tyres, so I was losing lap time.”
After the race, the 23-year-old brushed off the disappointment, admitting it was an experience he enjoyed whilst switching his attentions to the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time, whose long straights and slow chicanes should play into the strengths of the Mercedes-powered Manor.
“Although it’s been a tough day, it has also been a real privilege to race in my first Monaco Grand Prix. Now we look forward to Canada, which is a track that should suit us better.”
