Roberto Merhi

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Merhi and the second or maternal family name is Muntan.
Roberto Merhi

Born Roberto Merhi Muntan
(1991-03-22) 22 March 1991
Castellón, Spain
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Spain Spanish
Active years 2015
Teams Marussia
Entries 14 (13 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Career points 0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 2015 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Previous series
2014–present
2014
2012–13
2009–11
2009
2008
2007–08
2007–08
2006–07		 Formula Renault 3.5 Series
Stock Car Brasil
DTM
Formula 3 Euro Series
British Formula 3
Formula Renault 2.0 WEC
Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup
Spanish Formula Three
Formula Renault 2.0 Italia
Championship titles
2011 Formula 3 Euro Series

Roberto Merhi Muntan (born 22 March 1991) is a Spanish racing driver who, in 2015, drove in Formula One for the Manor Marussia F1 Team as well as the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for Pons Racing. Merhi is also a part of the revitalized Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, together with Christian Vietoris and Robert Wickens. In 2011, Merhi won the Formula 3 Euro Series championship, while driving for Prema Powerteam.

Career

Merhi competing at the opening round of the 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series at Hockenheim.

Merhi was born in Castellón de la Plana, Spain to Brazilian parents of Lebanese descent.[1]

Formula Renault

In 2007, Merhi mainly competed in Italian Formula Renault and the Formula Renault Eurocup, finishing 4th and 18th respectively. In 2008 he competed in the West European Series, where he was runner-up, and he finished 4th in the Eurocup. He also did five races in the Spanish Formula Three Championship.[2]

Formula Three

Merhi made the full-time step-up to Formula Three in 2009 when he was signed by Manor Motorsport for their Formula 3 Euro Series campaign, finishing seventh, with four podiums. He moved to Mücke Motorsport for the 2010 season, improving on his debut season by finishing fifth in the standings, with four podiums, including his maiden win at Hockenheim.[3] 2011 saw another change in teams for Merhi, this time joining Prema Powerteam. Merhi subsequently won the championship, getting 20 top-3 finishes, including 11 wins.

DTM

Merhi at Brands Hatch during the 2012 DTM season.

On 3 April 2012, Mercedes announced the revival of the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team that has guided several notable drivers in their racing careers like Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Karl Wendlinger and Michael Schumacher. With that announcement came the news that Roberto Merhi, together with the reigning Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion Robert Wickens and DTM-sophomore Christian Vietoris, would become a part of the new Junior Team and that the three of them would drive for the Junior Team in the 2012 DTM season. In addition to that, 7-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher will be involved with the three drivers by serving as a mentor. Merhi's entry into the DTM meant that he would be one of two Spaniards in the drivers field, together with Miguel Molina.[4]

Merhi scored no points in 2012 for Persson Motorsport. In his second season he switched to HWA Team. He collected a 7th place at the Norisring and two 10th finishes. In the final race of the season he recorded his best finish of 2nd to end the season 15th in the standings.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

Merhi during Race 1 of the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season at Nürburgring.

Merhi moved to Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2014 with Zeta Corse.[5] He finished third in the championship.

Merhi switched to Pons Racing for the 2015 season. He competed in the first round at Aragon, but was replaced by Alex Fontana so as to focus on his commitments with Marussia during the second round in Monaco, which had their races on the same date. He rejoined the team following the event.

In round five in Austria, Merhi was deemed at fault for a massive collision with Nicholas Latifi when Merhi slowed at the finish line. He was disqualified from the race and banned from the next two events, and has since not returned to the series.

Formula One

Merhi competing in the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix.

Merhi has appeared for two Formula One teams thus far in his career, Caterham and Marussia.

Caterham (2014)

Merhi made his first appearance in a Formula One car for the Caterham team during practice for the 2014 Italian Grand Prix.[6] It is believed that he was being evaluated for a race seat in place of Kamui Kobayashi, but had yet to qualify for an FIA Super Licence.[7]

Marussia (2015)

On 9 March 2015, the Marussia F1 team announced that Merhi would drive in the Australian Grand Prix, alongside Britain's Will Stevens.[8] However, Marussia did not compete in Australia due to a technical problem. In the Malaysian Grand Prix Merhi competed in his first Formula One race despite problems to his teammate Will Stevens car. Merhi failed to set a lap time within 107% of the fastest time in Q1, but the race stewards allowed Merhi to start the race. Merhi finished in 15th place, 3 laps down on race winner Sebastian Vettel. In the Chinese Grand Prix, Merhi finished in 16th place behind his teammate Stevens. In Bahrain and Spain Merhi also finished behind Stevens. However, in the Monaco Grand Prix Merhi finished in 16th ahead of Stevens. In the Canadian Grand Prix, Merhi qualified ahead of Stevens and would start in 16th thanks to penalties to Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. As well as that Jenson Button failed to set a lap time in qualifying because of an engine issue. In the race, Merhi was a minute ahead of Stevens but on lap 56, he was forced to retire due to a drive-shaft problem. It was the first time that Merhi failed to finish a Formula One race that he started, but he remained ahead of Stevens in the Drivers' Championship. In Austria, Merhi finished in 14th position, 3 laps behind race winner Nico Rosberg. Merhi was dropped in favour of Alexander Rossi for five of the last seven Grands Prix of 2015, the exceptions being Russia and Abu Dhabi.[9]

Racing career

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2006 Formula Renault 2.0 Italy Winter Series It Loox Racing 4 0 0 0 3 92 4th
Spanish Formula 3 Porfesa Competición 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2007 Formula Renault 2.0 Italy Winter Series BVM Minardi 2 0 0 0 1 38 10th
Spanish Formula 3 Novo 2 0 0 0 0 4 17th
Spanish GT Championship - GTA Santiago Garcia 2 0 0 0 1 6 19th
Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Jenzer Motorsport 14 0 0 0 0 16 18th
Formula Renault 2.0 Italy Jenzer Motorsport 14 1 0 0 2 232 4th
2008 Macau Grand Prix Hitech Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Masters of Formula 3 Hitech Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Spanish Formula 3 R. Llusia Racing 5 2 1 2 3 36 13th
Formula Renault 2.0 WEC Epsilon Euskadi 15 3 5 6 13 184 2nd
Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Epsilon Euskadi 14 2 2 1 7 108 4th
2009 Macau Grand Prix Manor Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 17th
British Formula 3 Manor Motorsport 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Masters of Formula 3 Manor Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 10th
Formula 3 Euro Series Manor Motorsport 20 0 0 0 4 42 7th
2010 Macau Grand Prix Prema Powerteam 1 0 0 0 0 0 8th
Masters of Formula 3 ATECH CRS GP 1 0 0 0 0 0 12th
GP3 Series ATECH CRS GP 12 0 0 1 3 26 6th
Formula 3 Euro Series Mücke Motorsport 18 1 0 0 4 56 5th
2011 Macau Grand Prix Prema Powerteam 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Masters of Formula 3 Mücke Motorsport 1 0 1 0 0 0 NC
Formula 3 Euro Series Prema Powerteam 27 11 8 10 20 406 1st
2012 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Persson Motorsport 10 0 0 1 0 0 NC
2013 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters HWA Team 10 0 0 0 1 26 15th
2014 Formula One Caterham F1 Team Test driver
Macau Grand Prix W66.com Double R Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 4th
British Formula 3 Hanier Racing 2 2 2 2 2 39 11th
Formula Renault 3.5 Series Zeta Corse 17 3 3 1 7 183 3rd
Stock Car Brasil Hanier Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2015 Formula One Manor Marussia F1 Team 14 0 0 0 0 0 19th
Formula Renault 3.5 Series Pons Racing 8 0 0 0 1 26 14th
2016 World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Manor 7 0 0 0 1 35 14th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key)

Year Entrant Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 DC Points
2009 Manor Motorsport Mercedes HOC
1
2		 HOC
2
10		 LAU
1
6		 LAU
2
2		 NOR
1
5		 NOR
2
8		 ZAN
1
18		 ZAN
2
11		 OSC
1
3		 OSC
2
5		 NÜR
1
18		 NÜR
2
Ret		 BRH
1
9		 BRH
2
11		 CAT
1
9		 CAT
2
Ret		 DIJ
1
5		 DIJ
2
2		 HOC
1
4		 HOC
2
13		 7th 42
2010 Mücke Motorsport Mercedes LEC
1
5		 LEC
2
4		 HOC
1
4		 HOC
2
1		 VAL
1
4		 VAL
2
Ret		 NOR
1
5		 NOR
2
11		 NÜR
1
3		 NÜR
2
5		 ZAN
1
5		 ZAN
2
3		 BRH
1
11		 BRH
2
10		 OSC
1
5		 OSC
2
9		 HOC
1
5		 HOC
2
2		 5th 56
2011 Prema Powerteam Mercedes LEC
1
4		 LEC
2
1		 LEC
3
2		 HOC
1
1		 HOC
2
4		 HOC
3
1		 ZAN
1
3		 ZAN
2
4		 ZAN
3
4		 RBR
1
1		 RBR
2
1		 RBR
3
Ret		 NOR
1
4		 NOR
2
2		 NOR
3
2		 NÜR
1
1		 NÜR
2
1		 NÜR
3
2		 SIL
1
1		 SIL
2
3		 SIL
3
2		 VAL
1
3		 VAL
2
5		 VAL
3
1		 HOC
1
1		 HOC
2
2		 HOC
3
1		 1st 406

Complete GP3 Series results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points
2010 ATECH CRS GP CAT
FEA		 CAT
SPR		 IST
FEA		 IST
SPR		 VAL
FEA
3		 VAL
SPR
2		 SIL
FEA
Ret		 SIL
SPR
19		 HOC
FEA
16		 HOC
SPR
Ret		 HUN
FEA
Ret		 HUN
SPR
22		 SPA
FEA
2		 SPA
SPR
22		 MNZ
FEA
6		 MNZ
SPR
4		 6th 26

Complete DTM results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos Points
2012 Persson Motorsport DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé HOC
18		 LAU
16		 BRH
17		 SPL
12		 NOR
13		 NÜR
Ret		 ZAN
11		 OSC
14		 VAL
Ret		 HOC
15		 NC 0
2013 HWA Team DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé HOC
10		 BRH
16		 SPL
20		 LAU
10		 NOR
7		 MSC
14		 NÜR
19		 OSC
14		 ZAN
Ret		 HOC
2		 15th 26

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Points
2014 Zeta Corse MNZ
1
2		 MNZ
2
9		 ALC
1
6		 ALC
2
6		 MON
1
9		 SPA
1
Ret		 SPA
2
13		 MSC
1
4		 MSC
2
1		 NÜR
1
2		 NÜR
2
1		 HUN
1
1		 HUN
2
2		 LEC
1
5		 LEC
2
4		 JER
1
Ret		 JER
2
Ret		 3rd 183
2015 Pons Racing ALC
1
Ret		 ALC
2
9		 MON
1
 SPA
1
Ret		 SPA
2
Ret		 HUN
1
2		 HUN
2
7		 RBR
1
DSQ		 RBR
2
EX		 SIL
1
 SIL
2
 NÜR
1
 NÜR
2
 BUG
1
 BUG
2
 JER
1
 JER
2
 14th 26

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicates fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 WDC Points
2014 Caterham F1 Team Caterham CT05 Renault Energy F1‑2014 1.6 V6 t AUS MAL BHR CHN ESP MON CAN AUT GBR GER HUN BEL ITA
TD		 SIN JPN
TD		 RUS
TD		 USA BRA ABU  –  –
2015 Manor Marussia F1 Team Marussia MR03B Ferrari 059/3 1.6 V6 t AUS
DNP		 MAL
15		 CHN
16		 BHR
17		 ESP
18		 MON
16		 CAN
Ret		 AUT
14		 GBR
12		 HUN
15		 BEL
15		 ITA
16		 SIN JPN RUS
13		 USA MEX BRA ABU
19		 19th 0

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year Entrant Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rank Points
2016 Manor LMP2 Oreca 05 Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 SIL
6		 SPA
3		 LMS
Ret		 NÜR
Ret		 MEX COA
Ret		 FUJ
7		 SHA BHR
7		 14th 35

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2016 United Kingdom Manor Thailand Tor Graves
United Kingdom Matt Rao		 Oreca 05-Nissan LMP2 283 DNF DNF

References

  1. ↑ Rodríguez, Jaime (14 March 2015). "Un volante a dos millones" [A flyer to two million]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Unidad Editorial. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  2. ↑ http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/5067/career/ Roberto Merhi career statistics at Driver Database
  3. ↑ Beer, Matt (9 December 2009). "Merhi switches to Mucke for 2010". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  4. ↑ "Mercedes-Benz Junior Team: Back for 2012!". Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  5. ↑ Valeev, Elmir (4 April 2014). "WSR: Мери и Мавланов — пилоты российской Zeta Corse" [WSR: Merhi and Mavlanov — drivers of the Russian Zeta Corse] (in Russian). F1News.ru. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Caterham confirms Kobayashi's Monza F1 return and Merhi's FP1 run". autosport.com. Haymarket Publishing. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Noble, Jonathan; Beer, Matt (4 September 2014). "F1 newcomer Roberto Merhi waiting on FIA superlicence decision". autosport.com. Haymarket Publishing. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Roberto Merhi to race for Manor F1 team in Australian Grand Prix". autosport.com. Autosport. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Benson, Andrew (16 September 2015). "Singapore GP: Surreal to be making F1 debut - Alexander Rossi". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roberto Merhi.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Edoardo Mortara		 Formula 3 Euro Series
Champion
2011 		Succeeded by
Daniel Juncadella
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