Mother: No 2017 return for Haryanto

Jan.4 - Rio Haryanto has dropped out of the running to return to F1 in 2017.

The Indonesian rookie's 2016 season ended prematurely with sponsor trouble, and now his main backer Pertamina has pulled out completely.

Haryanto, 23, had been in the running to return this year with either Manor or Sauber.

But his mother, Indah Pennywati, told the Asian news source Rappler that her son "Will not be in F1 this year".

"The deadline with the Sauber team is up," she added, referring the Swiss outfit that is believed to have now signed Pascal Wehrlein.

Pennywati said her son is now likely to work in 2017 with the family's popular stationary business, Kiky.

Deputy Indonesian sports minister Gatot S Dewa Broto commented: "I was of course very sorry when I heard that Rio could no longer compete in F1.

"We hope that Rio's career does not end just because of a lack of funds," he added.

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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