Pascal Wehrlein has defended the credentials of his 2016 teammate Rio Haryanto.
While the strongly Mercedes-backed and reigning DTM champion Wehrlein is highly rated, there has been scant praise in comparison for Haryanto.
The Indonesian, who is sponsored by his nation's government, has been derided by the German press, and pundit Robert Doornbos recently wondered if he will fall foul of F1's 107% qualifying requirement.
Wehrlein, to also race for Manor in 2016, says that is not fair.
"The decision about my teammate is not mine, but I also believe that Rio is being portrayed as worse than he actually is," Speed Week quotes him as saying.
"After all, he was fourth last year in GP2, he beat top drivers and won races. He did not shine in the tests and was in the gravel, but I don't think he is so bad.
"Who knows, maybe it will happen to me in the next races as well, so he is not a bad driver."
The new season gets underway with the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.
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