Roberto Merhi

Roberto Merhi Muntan (born 22 March 1991 in Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain) is a Spanish racing driver whom competed in two seasons of the FIA Formula Two Championship between 2017 and 2018. Better known simply as Roberto Merhi, the Spaniard was one of the most experienced racers on the 2018 grid, having competed in Formula One, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the DTM.

Merhi made his F2 debut at the 2017 Barcelona Feature Race, having signed up to Campos Racing for a seemingly one-off race. The Spaniard failed to score, but would be signed by Rapax after the summer break to complete the 2017 season, with Merhi going on to claim a best finish of fifth at Monza.

For 2018 Merhi moved to MP Motorsport for a full campaign in F2, although he suffered an inauspicious start due to a clutch failure at the opening race. Results briefly improved for Merhi after that, the Spaniard claiming his first F2 podium in Monte Carlo, before ending the season with a late change to Campos Racing that resulted in a second podium at the Season Finale.

Merhi left F2 at the end of 2018, instead racing in the Asian Le Mans Series and the World Endurance Championship for 2019 and 2020. However, the Spanish racer would make a surprise return to F2 at the 2020 Bahrain Post-Season Test, driving for HWA Racelab as they attempted to improve their car setup with a more experienced driver.

Background
Merhi's career began in karting, with the Spaniard winning several national championships before progressing to the Italian Formula Renault and Eurocup series in 2007. The Spaniard's maiden season in a race car saw him end the former series in fourth place overall, earning him a seat in the West European Series for 2008 alongside a second season in the Eurocup. Merhi would go on to finish as runner-up in the FR-WEC, fourth in the Eurocup, and complete a handful of races in the Spanish Formula Three Championship.

Mercedes Motivation
For 2009 Merhi moved into the renowned Formula 3 Euro Series, joining future Formula One employers Manor Motorsport. After a successful maiden campaign, with Merhi standing on the podium four times, the Spaniard moved to Mücke Motorsport for 2010, ending that campaign in fifth having also competed in the GP3 Series. A third move to Prema followed in 2011, which ultimately resulted in Merhi becoming the penultimate F3 Euro Series Champion having claimed eleven victories.

Merhi's F3 success earned him a spot in the newly re-forged Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, an honour which also secured the Spaniard a seat in the DTM. Unfortunately for Merhi his season with the customer Persson Motorsport team saw him fail to score a point in 2012, although the Spaniard was retained for the 2013 season. For his second DTM season Merhi would move to the factory HWA squad, but, despite claiming a maiden podium finish at the season finale, the Spaniard would be dropped from the series at the end of the season.

2014 saw Merhi join the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, with Mercedes still funding some of the Spaniard's racing for the time being. A successful debut season saw Merhi end the season in the top three in the Championship, although the Spaniard would move to another team for 2015. That move would coincide with Merhi's promotion to Formula One, with the Spaniard signed up to Manor for his maiden F1 campaign.

Promise Unfulfilled
Unfortunately for Merhi 2015 would not be a highlight of his career, for the Spaniard would lose his F1 seat before the end of the season, losing out to Alexander Rossi. Indeed, Merhi would end his maiden F1 campaign pointless, with a lack of funding for Manor, and himself, ultimately ending any hopes of a return for 2016. Furthermore, Merhi would earn himself a ban in Formula Renault, with the Spaniard deemed to have brake-checked Nicholas Latifi at the finish of a race in Austria, ending his season in FR prematurely.

Formula Two History
Having been dropped from F1 and FR 3.5, Merhi made the step to the newly re-named FIA Formula Two Championship, joining Campos Racing for the 2017 pre-season test. The Spaniard would have to wait, however, to get his first shot in an F2 race, with Merhi stepping in to replace Stefano Coletti in Barcelona. Yet, a pointless weekend on his debut would see Merhi dropped by Campos, with Robert Vișoiu coming in to replace him.

Reputation Rebuilding
Merhi's 2017 campaign was not over, however, for Rapax approached the Spaniard to replace compatriot Sergio Canamasas for the final rounds of the season. This time Merhi would finish in the points claiming seventh and sixth in the two races at Spa. The Spaniard would go on to score another handful of points in the Monza Sprint Race, but missed his second home races in Jerez. Merhi would return, however, for the season finale, although failed to score in Yas Marina.

MP Master
MP Motorsport decided to bring Merhi in for the 2018 edition of F2, partnering him with young Swiss racer Ralph Boschung.

Full Formula Two Record
Shown below are a series of tables outlining 's career in Formula Two in statistical form.

Formula Two Entries
The list below includes all of the teams and cars, as well as overall finishing positions for during their F2 career:

Career Results
Below is a table showing 's full Formula Two record.


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