Breaking news
Formula 1 Malaysian GP
Merhi keeps Manor seat for Malaysia
Roberto Merhi will make his grand prix debut in Malaysia after being retained by the Manor Formula One team for this weekend's race.
Pablo Elizalde
Edited: Mar 23, 2015, 12:42 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Spaniard completed Manor's line-up alongside Will Stevens ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but he admitted he was unsure how many races he would do with the team, as he has no financial backing.
Manor did not turn a wheel in Melbourne, and so Merhi did not have the chance to drive the car for the first time.
But the team confirmed on Monday he will be in action this weekend at Sepang.
"I'm very excited about the prospect of making my F1 debut in Malaysia," Merhi said.
"Obviously Sepang is a challenging environment, so I have been doing all I can on my side to prepare for that to be able to manage the heat and humidity.
"The last race weekend was disappointing for everyone in the team, but I know how much work has gone into getting us fully operational again and it will be great for everyone to finally see wheels turning."
Team in a different position
Team boss John Booth insists Manor is a very different situation compared to Australia, and he is convinced the cars will be running from the start of the weekend.
"We headed back to the UK to regroup technically and bolster the work we had completed in the field in Melbourne, and as a result we are in a different position to the one we were in two weeks ago," he said.
"Again, the rate at which we are progressing, when one takes into account our circumstances pre-season, is very impressive and everyone in the team is to be commended on a huge continued effort.
"Sepang always throws up its own unique challenges, thanks to the combination of fierce heat and a well-timed downpour, but we look forward to debuting the car and our two young drivers and to finally start getting down to business on the racetrack."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Force India says reliability push paid off
Next article Williams confident of stronger pace at Sepang
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Pablo Elizalde
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
MotoGP
MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
Formula 1
Formula 1
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
More from
Will Stevens
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
IMSA
IMSA
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
Is Cadillac walking into a trap of its own making while chasing victory at Le Mans?
WEC
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Is Cadillac walking into a trap of its own making while chasing victory at Le Mans?
The unheralded “leader” helping Jota to new heights in the WEC
WEC
WEC
Spa
The unheralded “leader” helping Jota to new heights in the WEC
More from
Manor Racing
Fred Vasseur personally contributed $1m to Esteban Ocon’s first F1 drive
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Fred Vasseur personally contributed $1m to Esteban Ocon’s first F1 drive
The final stand of F1's last true minnow team
Formula 1
Formula 1
The final stand of F1's last true minnow team
Manor's early Le Mans LMP1 troubles explained
WEC
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Manor's early Le Mans LMP1 troubles explained
Latest news
Aprilia: “Marco Bezzecchi couldn’t avoid the collision; Marc Marquez moved in on him"
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
31 min
Aprilia: “Marco Bezzecchi couldn’t avoid the collision; Marc Marquez moved in on him"
How the Racing Bulls pendulum is swinging back towards undeniable Liam Lawson
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
How the Racing Bulls pendulum is swinging back towards undeniable Liam Lawson
How Max Verstappen beat Red Bull's own simulation tools with P2 in Brazil
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
How Max Verstappen beat Red Bull's own simulation tools with P2 in Brazil
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe