Nineteen-year-old Philo Paz Patric Armand has completed Pons Racing’s line-up for the 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.
The Indonesian driver will be team-mate to Spaniard Roberto Merhi, who will remain with the team despite being announced as a Manor F1 Team driver.
Armand tested with Pons Racing in the recent tests at Jerez, and impressed the team significantly, enough to warrant a full-time drive with the Spanish outfit.
“The Jerez test has been quite positive, and despite I was at my first experience, I set the 14th and 9th fastest laps,” said Armand. “So I thought that it would have been a smart move to continue my World Series Renault experience with Pons Racing.
“I look forward to this series which is the closest one to Formula 1, as demonstrated by the number of drivers who graduated to Formula 1 from here”.
Team Manager Emilio de Villota was happy to announce Armand to his team, and believes he will prosper in 2015 as he’ll benefit from having an experienced team-mate to help him develop as a driver.
“I am delighted to be able to have Armand in our team,” insisted de Villota. “In Jerez he was impressive both for his approach making his debut in the series and for the potential expressed.
“For him, having a quick and experienced team-mate like Merhi will be key in terms of growing up race by race”.
