The Indonesian government has written a letter to the Manor F1 Team, offering financial support in return for the team running Rio Haryanto, as well as branding on their 2016 car.
Although the GP2 driver finished fourth during the 2015 season with Campos Racing, his chance of jumping into a Formula 1 seat received a major boost by Indonesia’s Minister of Youth and Sport Imam Nahrawi.
The letter states that the government will pay the Manor team £10 million to run Haryanto for the entire 2016 season.
“Regarding to our discussions with Rio Haryanto and his management, we are pleased to confirm that the Ministry of Youth and Sport of The Republic of Indonesia will guarantee a payment of 15 (fifteen) Million Euro for Rio Haryanto to compete [in] the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship with the Manor Formula 1 team.
“The payments will be made via several instalments in return for the branding space on the race cars and drivers race wear plus a host of promotional activities to promote Indonesia and associated companies.”
Several drivers are hoping to secure a seat with Manor, which has yet to confirm either of its seats. They include Pascal Wehrlein, Will Stevens, Roberto Merhi and Alexander Rossi.
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