American finishes 14th - ahead of team-mate Will Stevens - in Singapore
Monday 21 September 2015 12:43, UK
Manor president Graeme Lowdon has heaped praise on Alexander Rossi after his F1 debut in Singapore.
The American only found out he would be racing on Tuesday and he stepped into the car for Practice One without any testing.
That session ended with the car in the barrier, but Rossi bounced back to finish ahead of team-mate Will Stevens in the race, despite his task being made even harder when he lost radio communication with the pit wall.
"It was good," Lowdon said as he critiqued his new driver for the assembled media in Singapore.
"It is a difficult sport to come into, it is not just about driving the car, but all the other factors that make Formula 1 what it is and he equipped himself really well.
"Obviously he had a slip up in FP1, but he wouldn't be the first driver to have a slip then and he won't be the last one. And then in he drove a good race considering we lost communication to him ahead of the safety car."
In the past losing the radio wouldn't have been such a major issue, but the complexity of F1's new hybrid engines mean settings need to be constantly changed throughout the race.
"These cars are incredibly complicated with a number of switch settings required to manage the power units alone is quite substantial so all of that had to be done old school via the pit-board," added Lowdon.
"But Alex is a guy who has come up through all the ranks and I'm sure he hasn't forgotten how to use a pit-board. He managed to race pretty well all things considered. Barring FP1 I think he will consider it a good job."
Rossi's debut meant Roberto Merhi was forced to watch the race from the sidelines. The Spaniard had travelled to Singapore expecting to drive, only to find out on arrival that his services wouldn't be required.
"[He handled it] really well," said Lowdon. "He wouldn't be a race driver if there wasn't an element of disappointment, but that said he is part of our team and he is doing a great job for the team and he is going to be back in the car again.
"He is part of the team, he is professional driver and he is asked to drive a Formula 1 car as and when it is needed. I think he has managed it in a really professional way, he is a really great lad and he managed the situation quite well.
"Formula 1 is more than driving the car and he has handled himself with a degree of professionalism and managed it in a dignified way as well. He is going to be back in the car again so he is still a Formula 1 driver."
Rossi will again be at the wheel of the Manor in Japan before Merhi returns in Russia while the American focuses on his GP2 title challenge.
Don't miss the F1 Midweek Report on Wednesday night at 8.30pm when John Watson and Maurice Hamilton join Anna Woolhouse to discuss the Singapore GP
