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Roberto Merhi has been 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.
“It is fantastic to welcome Roberto and Jordan to the team,” team principal John Booth said. “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.”
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.
“I am incredibly excited to be making my Formula One debut with Manor Marussia F1 Team 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.”
