Roberto Merhi confirmed as Manor F1 driver

This morning, Roberto Merhi was confirmed as Manor’s second driver for the opening rounds of the 2015 season alongside Will Stevens.

Manor has risen from the ashes of Marussia over the winter and this weekend will complete a miraculous turnaround by competing in the Australian Grand Prix. The identity of the second driver was the final piece of the puzzle and on Tuesday the team confirmed Merhi as a race driver at the “opening rounds”, while Jordan King, son of interim chairman Justin King, was named as a development driver.

In a press statement to the media this morning, Team Principal John Booth stated the following on signing Merhi and King to the team:-

'It is fantastic to welcome Roberto and Jordan to the team. Not only are they very talented young drivers with exciting futures ahead of them, they have also been ‘graduates’ of Manor Motorsport in the junior formulae, which is obviously very rewarding for us, given that the development of young talent is an important part of our philosophy.'

It is clear from what Booth has stated to the media that he is happy with the decision to sign Merhi and King to the team this season. Booth believes that both drivers have the required talent to succeed while also having some experience with the team while they were competing in the junior formulae which could prove very helpful as both parties re-establish their working relationships with each other while also developing the drivers and their talents further.

Merhi took part in three FP1 sessions with Caterham last year and was considered for a race drive with the team as it struggled for money at the final rounds. He comes with a respectable racing CV after taking part in GP3, DTM and Formula Renault 3.5, in which he finished third in 2014.

In an interview with the media today, Merhi is clearly delighted that he will make his debut in the sport with the Manor F1 Team in Australia this weekend. Merhi stated the following:-
'I am incredibly excited to be making my Formula One debut with Manor Marussia F1 Team in Melbourne this weekend. It is a big responsibility but I feel ready to make this step in my career and to show that I can make an important contribution to developing a team.'

Of course there is no question that Merhi is delighted to be making his F1 debut this weekend for Manor F1, is looking forward to the challenge ahead and understands the responsibility he will have with the team while also showing what he can do as a driver on the race track during the course of the season. But it is clear that Merhi will do his very best and has every confidence in his abilities to deliver.

In his own interview with the media, New development driver King stated the following on his new role in the Manor F1 Team as follows:-

'I am obviously over the moon to be joining Manor Marussia F1 Team as a development driver. This is such an exciting project, full of great people and with a real chance of success. This is another great step closer to my ultimate goal of racing in Formula One.'

You cannot disagree with King here and he should be proud of what he has achieved in order to get this role with the Manor F1 team. King quite clearly understands that this role will be important to show what he can do in a car while also helping to build up the team for the future and have the success that they would like to achieve in the sport.

But overall, it is clear that both King and Merhi are delighted in their new roles with Manor F1 for the season ahead. Both drivers are motivated to help the team in any way that they can while also taking the opportunity to show what they can do in a car on the track; even if it is clear that it will be difficult year for them and the team as they run a 2014 car, a 2014 Ferrari engine with a 2015 nose and could fail to get under the 107% rule.

But the most important thing for me this season is that no matter the performance levels that Manor F1 can achieve with what they have at their disposal; the fact that are attempting and trying to race as much as they can and have taken up their grid position at Melbourne is a fantastic achievement in itself and that is something for Manor F1 to be proud on and build upon as much as they can in their first season under new management.

Sarah Jones