23 year old former Caterham development driver Roberto Merhi will race for Manor F1 (Marussia) this weekend in Australia, after being confirmed as their second driver for the ‘opening rounds’ of the 2015 season.
The Spanish driver has has success in the past in numerous disciplines, including winning the 2011 European Formula 3 title and finishing third in last year’s Formula Renault 3.5 championship.
“I am incredibly excited to be making my Formula One debut in Melbourne this weekend,” said Merhi. “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.”
Merhi will join Will Stevens on the grid for Manor, who have already announced that they will be racing with an interim car in Melbourne, as the 2015 car will be introduced later in the year.
It’s unclear if we should expect any notable performances from either team or drivers, but from our experience watching Formula One, we’ll say that they’ll consistently feature at the bottom of the standings at the end of each race.
Last year the team (as Marussia) managed to score 2 points through Jules Bianchi in Monaco, but one could argue that that race was an anomaly with no fewer than 8 cars having to retire.
The 2015 Formula One season is starting this week Friday in Melbourne, Australia.
PHOTOS
