It was not the weekend many people expected for Roberto Merhi and Pons Racing, with the Spanish driver only taking two points all weekend for a ninth place finish after a frustrating, problem-filled weekend at Motorland Aragon.
Merhi, who is also racing for the Manor F1 Team in Formula 1 this season, was frustrated with his Saturday race after being suffering damage to both ends of his car on the opening lap, before struggling for pace and ultimately retiring in the pits having fallen outside the points-paying positions.
“On low-downforce we knew that the situation would have difficult to manage, but we also haven’t been lucky,” said Merhi. “At the start, a Tech 1 driver crashed into my car, destroying part of the rear wing and aero. If that wasn’t enough, I also had another contact that damaged the front wing, which lost the right flap.
“It was tough to race that way, but I just tried to stay on-track in an effort to score some points. As we saw that, with four laps to go, it was not going to happen, we then decided to retire.”
Despite claiming two points for ninth place in race two, Merhi was still not happy having suffered issues throughout the weekend. He knows the team are working hard to solve those problems, and was happy to climb up from near the back of the grid to finish inside the points.
“We collected two points, but that’s not the reason why we race,” revealed Merhi. “Today we struggled again even in wet weather, a condition that usually helps me to express my 100 percent potential.
“The team is working really hard but we definitely have to find a way around some issues. Among the positives, we fought our way back from the rear, and the pit stop was just perfect.”
