American driver Rossi named Manor's reserve driver for 2016

BANBURY, England (AP) American IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi has been named Manor Racing's reserve driver for the upcoming Formula One season.

Rossi will attend 11 of the 21 Grand Prix races this year, starting at the Russian GP on May 1, the Manor team said Wednesday in a statement, adding that it is counting on Rossi to ''work with the engineers and drivers to help develop the MRT05'' car.

Rossi will perform two driving roles this season as he will also race in the IndyCar Series with Andretti Autosport.

Rossi, who missed out on a permanent F1 seat when Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto was selected ahead of him, says ''this is my way of staying sharp and prepared'' for F1.