Former F1 driver Merhi to test F2 car with view to racing in series
Former Manor Formula 1 driver Roberto Merhi will test with the Campos Racing F2 squad at Barcelona with a view to competing in the rebranded series this season
Merhi, 25, will drive in the three-day collective pre-season F2 test at the Spanish Grand Prix venue next week alongside Ralph Boschung, who was confirmed as Campos's first driver for the 2017 season on Saturday.
The team said it was working with Spaniard Merhi - who last year contested a part-campaign in the World Endurance Championship - to put together an F2 programme for 2017.
Merhi has previously tested contemporary F2 machinery, having driven the GP2/11 with Arden at Barcelona in 2011.
"Campos Racing and Roberto Merhi are working together to confirm his presence in the new Formula Two championship as soon as possible, as it is the right decision to relaunch his career," read a statement from Campos.
Merhi started 13 grands prix for the now-defunct Manor F1 team in 2015, his best finish a 12th place at Silverstone.
If the Spaniard were to secure an F2 drive, it would not be an unprecedented event, as other drivers have stepped down to F2's predecessor series GP2 in the recent past.
GP2 champions Timo Glock, Giorgio Pantano and Romain Grosjean all raced in Formula 1 prior to their title-winning campaigns, while Gianmaria Bruni and Sakon Yamamoto also stepped back into the feeder series.
BOSCHUNG SIGNS
Should Merhi join Campos, the Spaniard would be partnered with GP3 race winner Ralph Boschung at the outfit - the Swiss having been confirmed as Campos's first signing for 2017.
Boschung, 19, raced in GP3 in 2015 and 2016 and last year scored his first win at the Red Bull Ring with Koiranen, before losing his seat due to budget issues before the end of the campaign.
2017 GP2 LINE-UP SO FAR
Prema: Charles Leclerc, Antonio Fuoco
Racing Engineering: Gustav Malja, Louis Deletraz
Russian Time: Luca Ghiotto, Artem Markelov
ART Grand Prix: Nobuharu Matsushita, Alexander Albon
DAMS: Oliver Rowland, Nicholas Latifi
MP Motorsport: Sergio Sette Camara, Jordan King
Arden: Norman Nato, Sean Gelael
Campos: Ralph Boschung
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments