Merhi excited by Manor F1 return

Roberto Merhi says he “can’t wait” to resume racing in Formula One with Manor during this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, after missing the last two contests in the wake of GP2 Series title contender Alexander Rossi’s promotion.

Having driven for the British team since Melbourne, the Spaniard was informed in Singapore that the US driver would take over his seat for five of the final seven rounds of the 2015 campaign.

With Rossi focussing on the GP2 championship fight at Sochi Autodrom, Merhi is determined to seize the first of his two remaining opportunities to shine this year.

“I can’t wait to be back in the car in Sochi this weekend,” he said. “It’s the first time I have raced here, but last year I took part in the FP1 session [driving for the defunct Caterham team], so I have some understanding of the circuit characteristics and this will be helpful for me after a couple of races out of the car.

“I’ve continued to work very closely with the team during track sessions and engineering meetings, so I have a very good appreciation of the work we have completed and I’m eager to get stuck into the programme and to make the most of my two races, in Sochi and Abu Dhabi.”

Team-mate Will Stevens, who is also making his Russian Grand Prix debut this weekend, believes that partnering different drivers is a valuable asset when it comes to assessing his own level of performance in order to make further headway.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge of Sochi,” said the Briton. “I was here last year in my role as reserve driver, so I walked the track and observed the task of getting to grips with it from afar.

“It’s quite useful having two different drivers as a benchmark this past few races, and of course it is Roberto back in the other seat for this race, rather than Alex. This is a really technical track and I can’t wait to get my first experience of it on Friday.”

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