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Rio Haryanto may not return to F1 this year
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Young Indonesian racer Rio Haryanto. Rio's mother, Indah Pennywati, said that he won't give up even though Pertamina had decided to step down as his sponsor. (ANTARA FOTO/Yudhi Mahatma)
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ndonesian racer Rio Haryanto may not be able to return to the Formula One grid in 2017 after his sponsor, state-owned energy firm Pertamina, decided to step down.
Pertamina's vice president of corporate communications, Wianda Pusponegoro told tempo.co that the reason behind their decision was that they could not fulfill the deadline that had been set by one of the F1 teams.
“We've done research with one of the F1 teams in the past several months, but we could not reach an agreement before the deadline,” Wianda said, adding that a sponsorship deal needs to pass through several steps, from a review, checking legal and administrative requirements, to management approval.
“Our internal process takes time and we could not meet the time limit,” she explained.
Despite the disappointment, Rio’s mother Indah Pennywati still believes that her son will get another opportunity to compete in the F1.
“All racers must have a dream of participating in the F1, including Rio,” she told Tribunnews.com, adding that Rio himself did not seem to be down. “Of course it’s unfortunate that he cannot compete in the F1 next season, but he won’t give up.”
(Read also: View point: Funding for Rio: is it necessary?)
“Being unable to take part in the 2017 F1 doesn’t mean that he will stop racing. If there’s a chance next year, he will take it,” Indah stated. Until then, Rio will reportedly work at his family’s company, which specializes in stationery.
A similar message of support came from Youth and Sports Affairs Ministry official Gatot S. Dewa Broto. “We hope Rio’s career doesn’t stop due to funding issues, although we admit that is the main factor,” he said to Tribunnews.com, adding that the ministry had been informed by Pertamina regarding the matter.
According to ESPN, Pertamina had backed Rio with around £4.23 million ($5.18 million) to ensure his position in the Manor Racing team last year. However, the racing team ended their contract with Rio in August because he “could not fulfill his contractual obligations”. (asw)
