Rio Haryanto had by far his most impressive performance of the season last time around the Baku Street Circuit, getting so close to making it through to the second phase of qualifying for the first time.
The Manor Racing driver was just a tenth of a second away from surprising many in Baku, and although his race was compromised early when he was hit by Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez, Haryanto is happy with the progress of both his team and of himself heading into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
“There were some really positive signs in Baku and in particular I had a very strong qualifying,” said Haryanto. “My lap was just 0.1s away from Q2 contention and 2.0s from Rosberg’s fastest Q1 lap time.
“So at a track where we are able to exploit the potential of our package, we have managed to halve last year’s delta to the frontrunners and that’s a sure sign that all the hard work is starting to pay off.
“For me too, it’s all about step by step improvement and I’m happy that this is beginning to shine through. The team are doing a great job and I’m happy with my own progress.”
