Baku points "possible" for Manor in a crash-heavy race
Manor's drivers feel that, with a bit of luck, the team could score its first points of the 2016 season at the European Grand Prix on the streets of Baku.
Rio Haryanto, Manor Racing MRT05
XPB Images
The last time Manor scored points was in the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, with a ninth-place finish courtesy of the late Jules Bianchi in a crash-filled event.
And Rio Haryanto, who led the team with an 18th place in Friday's FP2 and produced a largely mistake-free run, reckons Manor could score points again if Sunday sees a similarly chaotic race.
“Yeah, I think definitely we have made a huge step, in some races we have managed to stay ahead of some other teams,” he said.
“So I think if there are many cars crashing out, then points are possible [in the race].”
When asked if he could make Q2, Haryanto commented: “I hope so, seems like our pace was quite good [on Friday], we are not far away from P16 and P17, for sure that’s what we are aiming.”
Haryanto believes the long straights will certainly play to the team's advantage because of the Mercedes powerunit, giving Manor an edge over its nearest rivals - the Renault cars and Ferrari-powered Saubers.
“We should be pretty good on the straights as you normally see and I think we have slightly an advantage to Sauber and Renault at the straights - so it is good for us.
“What we really need is to focus on getting the right mechanical balance and also the mix of the aero balance for this track."
Wehrlein more reserved
Teammate Pascal Wehrlein, who was adrift of Haryanto on Friday, said he was happy with the set-up in FP1 but a change between sessions meant he dropped behind his teammate in FP2.
The German conceded there was a chance of a points finish, but admitted that the team wouldn't be able to challenge on pure pace.
“On a street circuit probably due to circumstances we can score some points - but our own pace is not in the top 10,” he said.
The Mercedes-backed driver also warned that just qualifying ahead of Manor's main rivals or making a good start wouldn't be enough for a strong result.
“Here it’s very easy to overtake, you have few long straights and few opportunities to overtake and you need to have a good pace in the long run.
“And also of course at the start and in qualifying so you cannot just qualify in front ahead of someone and block him, because it is easy to overtake.”
Additional reporting by Valentin Khorounzhiy
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