Roberto Merhi had his best weekend of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series season so far at the Hungaroring, finishing inside the top seven in both races, which included taking his first podium finish for Pons Racing on Saturday.
Merhi had a stirring drive during that race on Saturday, making a clean overtaking manoeuvre on Lotus driver Matthieu Vaxiviere for third and then passing Fortec Motorsports driver Oliver Rowland for second at the final corner on the last lap.
“I’m very happy for this result,” said Merhi. “I thank Pons Racing because they did a great job lately and they always believed in my abilities.
“We had some problems, but they never discussed my potential. This podium is dedicated to them. On the other hand, I can’t stop thinking about all the chances we lost until now.”
Merhi was unable to capture the same result on Saturday, despite qualifying fourth, losing ground on the first lap after being touched by International Draco Racing‘s Brazilian driver Pietro Fantin whilst fighting for second place. He also felt he lost valuable time during his mandatory pit stop.
“My race was jeopardized at the second corner when I was hit by Fantin,” revealed Merhi. “I was already battling for the second place there, but I was pushed off the correct line.
“At that point I lost touch with the frontrunners and repeating yesterday’s performance became impossible. Maybe we also pitted a little late, losing a couple more spots, but we grabbed good points anyway.”