Jordan King looks set to be another rookie on the 2017 grid.
The 22-year-old Briton, currently fifth in the GP2 championship, will drive the Manor car in Friday practice this weekend in Austin.
He is the son of wealthy businessman Justin King, the former boss of British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s and now Manor chairman, having been instrumental to the backmarker’s rescue from near collapse in 2015.
Now, Jordan King admits he hopes Friday’s practice outing is the key to his future on the grid.
"I’ll be giving this weekend as big a shot as I can," he said.
"As for next year, I’m undecided as yet. I’ll be aiming for a formula one team, there’s still a long way to go and there’s still a lot happening in the sport."
Indeed, vacancies at Manor could be about to open up, with current drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon linked for 2017 with Force India and Renault respectively.
King admitted: "Although I can always wait until 2018, something could still happen for 2017 — so it’s difficult to answer that question just yet."