REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BEIJING -- Indonesian Formula One (F1) driver Rio Haryanto is currently in Shanghai, China, for the third race of the 2016 F1 season, which will take place on April 15-17.
Following his arrival on Tuesday, Rio was greeted by Arif Gunawan of the Indonesian Consulate General and the Indonesian community in Shanghai.
The Shanghai International Circuit is not new to Rio as he had raced on the track during his days with Formula Asia in 2008.
The Shanghai Grand Prix qualifying race will take place on April 16 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time, while the race on the 5.451-kilometer-long circuit will start on April 17 at 2 p.m. local time.
Born in Solo, Central Java, on January 22, 1993, Rio is Indonesia's first F1 driver in history. His father Sinyo Haryanto was also a racing driver.
On February 18, 2016, Rio was confirmed as a driver for the Manor Racing team for the 2016 F1 season.
Rio made his debut at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix on March 18, 2016.
He finished at the 21st position in the qualifying session ahead of the F1 race at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne.
However, he could not finish the race on his debut in Australia as his MRT05 car had encountered a mechanical problem a third of the way into the proceedings.
In the second race of the Grand Prix season at Sakhir in Bahrain, Rio managed to record his first finish and came 17th, clocking a time of 1:35.448.
Haryanto expressed happiness on recording his first F1 career finish despite having started the race at the rear of the grid in Bahrain.
"It was great to see the chequered flag," he stated after becoming the first Indonesian driver to have achieved the feat.
"It feels good to have a race finish under my belt, which offers a vital experience for me and the team as it gives us more data to analyze and develop the car further," he stated.
He claimed to be gaining greater confidence after having learnt and adapted to the technology used in his F1 car.
"Adapting to this new technology takes time. For instance, there were only four buttons in GP2, while there are at least 30 of them in F1. I feel more confident with my car after adapting to its technology," Rio stated in Jakarta, recently.
The biggest challenge in every F1 race is managing the fuel consumption as the 2016 season's regulation does not allow refueling during the race, he added.
"I do not want to be either too slow or too fast. I must take it into consideration," the 23-year-old racer remarked.
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika