Dave Ryan insists his Manor Racing MRT team will not give up despite seeing their grip on tenth place in the Constructors’ Championship due to the Sauber F1 Team scoring two points for ninth place in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Esteban Ocon and Pascal Wehrlein both showed good pace during the race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, and were at one point were both running inside the points and on course to maintain their position, only to drop back as several runners out of position fought back through the field.
Racing Director Ryan praised both drivers, particularly Ocon, for their performance during the tricky conditions in Brazil, but despite seeing Sauber jump them in the standings, he believes there is still potential for a fight-back in Abu Dhabi later this month.
“We were pretty apprehensive in Austin and Mexico, with Sauber hovering on the cusp of a point in both races, but we knew coming into this race that Interlagos carried a much greater risk,” said Ryan.
“With conditions like we’ve seen today, it was always going to come down to luck. At one point things had fallen in our favour and we were looking at our first double points finish. Nasr was still ahead on track but we could have achieved more points if things had continued like that.
“But the race was evolving with every lap, every safety car and both red flags and in the end, things went Sauber’s way, not ours. Esteban put up a great fight to try to pull things back and actually both of our drivers did an incredible job in conditions that really tested even seasoned world champions.
“We’re down, but not defeated. The whole team is disappointed to say the least, but there is one race remaining and we have to keep pushing all the way to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.”
