Roberto Merhi
Introduction '''Roberto Merhi Muntan''' (born 22 March 1991), is a Spanish racing driver who previously competed in Formula E for Mahindra Racing and who drove in Formula One. Merhi has also raced in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for Pons Racing, and won the Formula 3 Euro Series championship, while driving for Prema Powerteam. In 2018, he drove for MP Motorsport and Campos Vexatec Racing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Since 2019, he has competed in sportscar racing, including finishing third in the 2019–20 Asian Le Mans Series. In May 2023, it was announced he would drive for Mahindra Racing from the 2023 Jakarta ePrix.
Career 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series at Hockenheim.Merhi was born in Castellón de la Plana, Spain to Brazilian parents of Lebanese descent.=== 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.=== Formula Three ===Merhi in 2009Merhi 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.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 ======= 2012 ====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. Merhi scored no points in 2012 for Persson Motorsport.==== 2013 ====Merhi at Brands Hatch during the 2013 DTM season.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 === File:WsbR-Germany-2014-Race1-Roberto Merhi.jpg|thumb|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. 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.=== FIA Formula 2 Championship ======= 2017 ====Merhi driving for Campos Racing during the 2017 Formula 2 Championship.In 2017, Merhi replaced Stefano Coletti at Campos Racing for the Barcelona round of the championship. He also competed at the Spa, Monza and Yas Marina rounds, for Rapax Team==== 2018 ====Merhi driving for MP Motorsport during the 2018 Spielberg Formula 2 round.He scored a full-time drive for the 2018 Formula 2 season with MP Motorsport. Before the Belgian round, he left the team and was replaced by their GP3 Series driver Dorian Boccolacci. He then joined Campos for the final two rounds of the season, replacing Roy Nissany.==== 2022 ====Merhi driving the Dallara F2 2018 during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 2 round.Merhi made his Formula 2 return for Campos Racing at the Austrian round of 2022, replacing an injured Ralph Boschung. He retired from the sprint race, but scored third position in the feature race, coming back from 21st position. After his good result in Austria and the fact that Ralph Boschung was still injured, Merhi also competed in the Le Castellet round but he had to retire from both races. He also competed at the Budapest round.=== S5000 Tasman Series ===In 2021, Merhi competed in the Australian single-seater championship, the S5000 Tasman Series, racing for Team BRM. He got 3 podiums, one of them a victory, thus proclaiming himself runner-up.=== Japanese Super GT ===For 2022, Roberto Merhi will compete in Japanese SuperGT for the Team LeMans in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 alongside drivers Yoshiaki Katayama and Shintaro Kawabata, making his debut at the second round of the championship at Fuji.Merhi driving in the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans=== Super Formula Lights ===In September 2022, Merhi announced that he would compete in the final round at Okayama of the 2022 Super Formula Lights.
Formula One Merhi competing in the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix.=== Caterham (2014) ===Merhi made his first appearance in a Formula One car for the Caterham team during practice for the 2014 Italian Grand Prix. 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.=== Marussia (2015) ===Merhi at the 2015 Malaysian Grand PrixOn 9 March 2015, the Manor Marussia team announced that Merhi would drive in the , alongside Britain's Will Stevens. 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 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, before taking a subsequent demotion to Formula E in 2017 and Formula 2 in 2018.=== Development driver (2019-2020) ===For 2019, Merhi revealed that he was working with an F1 team as a development driver, but his contract prevented him from revealing which team he was working with. Merhi continued to work as a development driver for 2020.
Formula E In April 2017, it was announced Merhi would be joining the series for the fourth season. However, he did not sign with any team.Merhi returned to Formula E in April 2023, partaking in the rookies' driver test in Berlin with Mahindra Racing. === Mahindra Racing (2023) ======= 2022-23 season ====In May 2023, it was confirmed that Merhi will replace the departing Oliver Rowland for the 2023 Jakarta ePrix. Having been only under a contract for three races, it was confirmed that he would see out the remainder of the season with the team. Merhi was not retained by the team for the 2023–24 season.
Racing record === 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 Championship Porfesa Competición 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC 2007 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Jenzer Motorsport 14 0 0 0 0 16 18th Formula Renault 2.0 Italy 14 1 0 0 2 232 4th Formula Renault 2.0 Italy Winter Series BVM Minardi 2 0 0 0 1 38 10th Spanish Formula 3 Championship Novo 2 0 0 0 0 4 17th Spanish GT Championship - GTA Santiago Garcia 2 0 0 0 1 6 19th 2008 Formula Renault 2.0 WEC Epsilon Euskadi 15 3 5 6 13 184 '''2nd''' Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 14 2 2 1 7 108 4th Macau Grand Prix Hitech Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC Spanish Formula 3 Championship R. Llusia Racing 5 2 1 2 3 36 13th 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series Manor Motorsport 20 0 0 0 4 42 7th Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 0 17th British Formula 3 International Series 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 10th 2010 Formula 3 Euro Series Mücke Motorsport 18 1 0 0 4 56 5th GP3 Series ATECH CRS GP 12 0 0 1 3 26 6th Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 12th Macau Grand Prix Prema Powerteam 1 0 0 0 0 0 8th 2011 Formula 3 Euro Series Prema Powerteam 27 11 8 10 20 406 '''1st''' FIA Formula 3 International Trophy 8 4 3 5 6 133 '''1st''' British Formula 3 International Series 3 2 2 2 2 0 NC† Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC Masters of Formula 3 Mücke Motorsport 1 0 1 0 0 0 NC 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 Renault 3.5 Series Zeta Corse 17 3 3 1 7 183 '''3rd''' British Formula 3 International Series Double R Racing 2 0 2 2 2 39 11th Formula One Caterham F1 Team Test driver Macau Grand Prix W66.com Double R Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 4th 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 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Manor 7 0 0 1 1 35 14th 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 1 0 N/A DNF 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship Campos Racing 2 0 0 0 0 16 18th Rapax 8 0 0 0 0 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 CEFC Manor TRS Racing 1 0 0 0 0 2 29th 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship MP Motorsport 16 0 0 0 1 61 12th Campos Vexatec Racing 4 0 0 0 1 2019–20 Asian Le Mans Series - LMP2 Eurasia Motorsport 4 0 1 2 3 65 '''3rd''' FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC† 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 Eurasia Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 14th 2021 S5000 Tasman Series Team BRM 6 1 0 1 3 143 '''2nd''' GT World Challenge Australia Team BRM 2 0 0 0 0 12 15th European Le Mans Series - LMP2 G-Drive Racing 3 0 0 0 1 26 14th FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC† 2022 Super GT - GT300 Team LeMans 7 0 0 0 0 6 26th FIA Formula 2 Championship Campos Racing 6 0 0 0 1 15 20th Super Formula Lights B-Max Racing Team30000014th2022-23Formula EMahindra Racing70000023rd 2023 Super GT - GT300 Team LeMans 7 0 0 0 3 37 9th S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship Garry Rogers Motorsport 3 0 0 1 1 63 14th 88Racing00000 As Merhi was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.===Formula racing======= 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 HOC1 HOC2 LAU1 LAU2 NOR1 NOR2 ZAN1 ZAN2 OSC1 OSC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 BRH1 BRH2 CAT1 CAT2 DIJ1 DIJ2 HOC1 HOC2 7th 42 2010 Mücke Motorsport Mercedes LEC1 LEC2 HOC1 HOC2 VAL1 VAL2 NOR1 NOR2 NÜR1 NÜR2 ZAN1 ZAN2 BRH1 BRH2 OSC1 OSC2 HOC1 HOC2 5th 56 2011 Prema Powerteam Mercedes '''LEC1''' LEC2 '''LEC3''' '''''HOC1''''' ''HOC2'' ''HOC3'' ZAN1 ZAN2 ZAN3 RBR1 ''RBR2'' RBR3 NOR1 ''NOR2'' ''NOR3'' ''NÜR1'' NÜR2 NÜR3 '''''SIL1''''' SIL2 '''''SIL3''''' VAL1 VAL2 '''''VAL3''''' '''HOC1''' HOC2 '''HOC3''' '''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 CATFEA CATSPR ISTFEA ISTSPR VALFEA ''VALSPR'' SILFEA SILSPR HOCFEA HOCSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR 6th 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 MNZ1 MNZ2 ALC1 ALC2 MON1 SPA1 SPA2 MSC1 '''''MSC2''''' NÜR1 '''NÜR2''' HUN1 '''HUN2''' LEC1 LEC2 JER1 JER2 3rd 183 2015 Pons Racing ALC1 ALC2 MON1 SPA1 SPA2 HUN1 HUN2 RBR1 RBR2 SIL1 SIL2 NÜR1 NÜR2 BUG1 BUG2 JER1 JER2 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 F12014 1.6 V6 t AUS MAL BHR CHN ESP MON CAN AUT GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN RUS USA BRA ABU – –  Manor Marussia F1 Team Marussia MR03B Ferrari 059/3 1.6 V6 t AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON CAN AUT GBR HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN RUS USA MEX BRA ABU 19th 0==== Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results ====(key) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Year Entrant 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 28 DC Points  Campos Racing BHRFEA BHRSPR CATFEA CATSPR MONFEA MONSPR BAKFEA BAKSPR RBRFEA RBRSPR SILFEA SILSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR 18th 16 Rapax SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR JERFEA JERSPR YMCFEA YMCSPR  MP Motorsport BHRFEA BHRSPR BAKFEA BAKSPR CATFEA CATSPR MONFEA MONSPR LECFEA LECSPR RBRFEA RBRSPR SILFEA SILSPR HUNFEA HUNSPR SPAFEA SPASPR MNZFEA MNZSPR 12th 61 Campos Vexatec Racing SOCFEA SOCSPR YMCFEA YMCSPR 2022 Campos Racing BHRSPR BHRFEA JEDSPR JEDFEA IMOSPR IMOFEA CATSPR CATFEA MCOSPR MCOFEA BAKSPR BAKFEA SILSPR SILFEA RBRSPR RBRFEA LECSPR LECFEA HUNSPR HUNFEA SPASPR SPAFEA ZANSPR ZANFEA MNZSPR MNZFEA YMCSPR YMCFEA 20th 15 Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.==== Complete S5000 results ==== Year Series Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Position Points 2021 Tasman Team BRM SMPR1 ''SMPR2'' SMPR3 BATR4 BATR5 BATR6 BATR7 2nd 1432023 Australian Garry Rogers Motorsport SYMR1 SYMR2 ''SYMR3'' PHIR4 PHIR5 PHIR6 WINR7 WINR8 WINR9 SMPR10 SMPR11 SMPR12 BENR13 BENR14 BENR15 14th 63 88Racing / Team BRM ADLR16 ADLR17 ADLR18* Season still in progress.==== Complete Super Formula Lights results ====(key) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Points 2022 B-Max Racing Team FUJ1 FUJ2 FUJ3 SUZ1 SUZ2 SUZ3 AUT1 AUT2 AUT3 SUG1 SUG2 SUG3 MOT1 MOT2 MOT3 OKA1 OKA2 OKA3 14th 0====Complete Formula E results====(key) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Year Team Chassis Powertrain 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Points 2022–23 Mahindra Racing Formula E Gen3 Mahindra M9Electro MEX DRH DRH HYD CAP SAP BER BER MCO JAK JAK POR RME RME LDN LDN 23rd 0=== GT/Touring car results======= Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters 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 LAU BRH SPL NOR NÜR ZAN ''OSC'' VAL HOC NC 0 2013 HWA Team DTM AMG Mercedes C-Coupé HOC BRH SPL LAU NOR MSC NÜR OSC ZAN HOC 15th 26==== 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 SPA ''LMS'' NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 14th 35 2017 CEFC Manor TRS Racing LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL SPA LMS NÜR MEX COA FUJ SHA BHR 29th 2 2019–20 Eurasia Motorsport LMP2 Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SIL FUJ SHA BHR COA SPA LMS BHR NC† 0†==== Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results ==== Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps   2016  Manor  Tor Graves Matt Rao Oreca 05-Nissan LMP2 283 DNF DNF 2020  Eurasia Motorsport  Nick Foster Nobuya Yamanaka Ligier JS P217-Gibson LMP2 351 18th 14th 2021  G-Drive Racing  Rui Andrade John Falb Aurus 01-Gibson LMP2Pro-Am 108 DNF DNF==== Complete European Le Mans Series results ====(key) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2021 G-Drive Racing LMP2 Aurus 01 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT RBR LEC MNZ SPA ALG 14th 26==== Complete Super GT Results ====(key) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points 2022 Team LeMans Audi R8 LMS Evo II GT300 OKA FUJ SUZ FUJ SUZ SUG AUT MOT 26th 6 2023 Team LeMans Audi R8 LMS Evo II GT300 OKA FUJ SUZ FUJ SUZ SUG AUT MOT 9th 37
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