“What happened to them?” » – Rio Haryanto, the short-lived pilot converted into a businessman

For many, the defunct Manor team still remains today the last team which had the DNA of "David against Goliath": founded in 2010 under the name Virgin Racing, which then became Marussia and finally Manor, it aroused the sympathy of public for its combativeness despite very limited means and abysmal results (three points scored between 2010 and 2016, including two for Jules Bianchi in 2014). In true Minardi style, Manor struggled at the back of the grid and could only hope for miracles to get closer to the points.

After almost disappearing in 2015, the Banbury-based structure changed ownership in 2016 and took the name Manor. The British team, which forges close ties with Mercedes with the supply of the German engine, Pascal Wehrlein started in Formula 1.

A short adventure in F1

To support him and to replenish the coffers, Manor must choose a paying pilot: the choice then falls on Rio Haryanto. The Indonesian then comes out of four seasons in the GP2 Series and a 4th place in the championship during the 2015 season. Above all, he brings a substantial financial sum thanks to the support of the Indonesian government – ​​which then places a driver on the grid for the first time in F1 history – and the national oil company, Pertamina. Rio Haryanto then debuted during the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, where he was noted for having had an accident… in the pit lane with Romain Grojean.

© Eric Vargiolu / DPPI

His teammate Pascal Wehrlein, heralded as a raw and incubated talent in the Mercedes academy, logically took the lead during the first races. Apart from retirement, the Indonesian will be constantly beaten by the German, the latter even achieves the feat of scoring a point during the Austrian Grand Prix. Far from being ridiculous, the then 23-year-old driver really struggles to convince. At the same time, his future in Formula 1 is darkening day by day: Rio Haryanto is short of money and must find several million euros to continue his adventure with Manor.

In August, still waiting for the money promised by Rio Haryanto and its financial backers, Manor took the decision to relegate him to the rank of reserve driver and established the young Esteban Ocon, also a protégé of the Mercedes clan and a reservist with Renault F1 at the time. Despite the hope of obtaining the necessary money and finding a seat in the premier category, Rio Haryanto's career in Formula 1 ended and a few months later, the Manor team closed its doors due to means.

Since this short adventure in F1, what has become of Rio Haryanto? In 2017, the driver with 12 Grand Prix starts lost the support of the Indonesian government and Pertamina, annihilating any hope of returning to Formula 1. His year 2017 will be very inactive, and the Indonesian returns to the wheel only in October for pre-season testing in Formula E, on the Valencia circuit. A test with no future, since he will never participate in an E-Prix... He also participates in the Super Formula Rookie Test in December 2017, but again, it will not go any further.

GT… then nothing

His long way of the cross continues in 2018 where he only participates in... one race, and it's not even car. He competed in a non-championship round of the Audi R8 LMS Cup in Shanghai with the Absolute Racing team, where he finished 5th alongside Anderson Tanoto and Andrew Haryanto.

It was in 2019, three years after the end of his epic journey in Formula 1, that he returned to full-time work. After his experience in Audi R8, Rio Haryanto remains on the GT path and competes in the entire Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia and the Asian Le Mans Series on the Ferrari 488 GT3 from the T2 Motorsports team.

The Indonesian then dreams of climbing into a prototype and participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans... but this will not come to fruition. Only 11th in the Pro-Am category in GT World Challenge Asia and 9th in ALMS, although with a pole position on the Buriram circuit, he will not go any further in his adventure in GT3. At the time of writing, this remains his last full season and his last participation in a motorsport championship.

 

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Rio Haryanto, from driving to restaurants

In parallel with his pilot activity, Rio Haryanto notably becomes an ambassador for the brand Toyota in Pacific Asia at the end of the 2010s. Aware that his pilot career was at a standstill, the Indonesian then decided to turn to business and with a diploma in commerce, he managed the family business specializing in the printing company, the Solo Murni Printing Company founded by his father. The ex-Formula 1 driver also opened two restaurants in Indonesia: Grandis Barn and Teakyard.

A driver converted into a businessman, Rio Haryanto seems to have definitively given up on motorsport and is occupying his time with his hobbies, notably golf. Even more recently, in July 2024, Rio Haryanto got married to Athina Papadimitriou. We obviously wish them all the best and, who knows, perhaps we will see Rio Haryanto return to his first love in the future, in motorsport, as a gentleman driver...

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