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ndonesian sensation Rio Haryanto is keeping his Formula One dream alive after two consecutive GP3 triumphs in Germany and Hungary last month, where the 18-year-old Indonesian driver finished first.

Thanks to his parents, who taught him to never give up, Rio managed to bounce back higher in the last two races of the GP3 season after struggling at the beginning of the season. Rio is gearing up for his two final GP3 showdowns in Spa, Belgium, this weekend (Aug. 26-28) and in Monza, Italy, on Sept. 9-11.

“Although I was quite disappointed with how I started this season, I won’t give up in these last two races. Hopefully, I can reach the podium again and win more points,” Rio said recently before departing for the headquarters of his British racing team, Marussia Manor Racing in the United Kingdom.

Podium finishes in the remaining GP3 races will give him enough points to graduate to the GP2 Series next year. Rio is now ranked 10th, with 19 points in the GP3 standings, where Lotus Art racer Valtteri Bottas is tops with 41 points.

In the first three GP3 races this year in Istanbul, Turkey, Circuit de Catalunya in Spain and Valencia, Spain, Rio struggled to adjust to regulation changes in his team, which cost him points.

He began regaining confidence at the Silverstone race in UK, finishing fourth. Afterwards, he was unstoppable by topping the podiums of the wet races in Nurburgring, Germany, and Budapest, Hungary. In both races, he earned himself the nickname “Rain Master”, as he skillfully tamed the rain-soaked circuits by preserving dry tires instead of making the 30-second pitstops.

Only Rio and GP3 standing leader Bottas have won more than one race this season.

With his natural risk-taking flair mixed with his perfectionism, Rio hopes to qualify better in Spa on Saturday. “Even after the two wins, everyday, I still try to figure out
the flaws I need to fix for the next races. Once I achieve something, I hope to be able to go even further,” Rio said, eyeing Saturday’s qualifying pole position.

Despite fully backing her son’s risky career on the racetrack, Rio’s mother, Indah Pennywati, could not conceal her worries for her son. “I prayed a lot for him to finish his race safely. That’s what is most important for me,” she said.

The Solo-born racer acknowledged his parents as his main source of strength during his rough start to the season.

“My family has been such great support for me. I can always talk about my failures and problems to them. My dad keeps on reminding me to never give up. So, I just keep on trying when the going gets tough,” said the youngest son of four siblings about his stationery businessman father, Sinyo Haryanto, and his mother.

It’s now Rio’s second year racing under the Marussia Manor Racing team flag, which developed former Formula One champs Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton. Last year, Rio finished 5th in the overall GP3 Series. As the team’s most successful driver, Rio got a taste of the Formula One car in an F1 test-drive with Virgin Racing.

With next year’s target of escalating to the GP2 Series, Rio, whose current main sponsors are his father’s company, Kiky Sports and state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina, will need much larger sponsorships, to gain an estimated ¤3 million (US$4.329)

Pertamina corporate secretary Hari Karyuliarto has pledged to support Rio all the way to F1. “We’re optimistic we can provide that amount for Rio’s GP2 competition. Overall, we also plan to sponsor Rio’s roadmap to F1. We hope to find co-sponsors for this plan,” Hari said recently.

Next year’s targeted GP2 Series will serve as Rio’s pathway to finally realizing his dream of becoming the first Indonesian F1 racer.

“Hopefully, one day, I can join the McLaren [Mercedes] team, because I find that I can cooperate with English teams better, as there’s no language barrier,” Rio said when asked about his F1 dream team.