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John Booth confirmed Roberto Merhi is going to drive for Manor in the next races, but before that Merhi was more or less confident about his presence within the team. As he says: "Normally I always continue, what would be strange is they said to me I don't continue. If that was the case they would've said it to me and if they don't say anything, I continue", he told F1Today.net.
Before going to Monaco, teams made the most of the time for test in the in-season test in Barcelona. Test where Manor was the only one who didn't participate as the team doesn't need it, something Merhi agrees: "It is the car from the last year, so maybe we cannot progress too much, we don't have any new parts, so in reality it isn't worth too much for us."
Manor is still racing with the MR04, the car from the previous season while the team keeps working towards a new car. "Once it is entirely designed, it needs three weeks to produce it. At the moment, it's going ok, trying to do the best work possible in the short time”, says Merhi.
"The new car is supposed to be a step forward for the team for various reasons. Firstly, the engine. Using the new power unit will help us a lot. Second one is the downforce. It will be a general improvement, both power and downforce."
The new car could be able to solve some problems show to be affecting Merhi's performance. One of the most important, the weight: "The main problem is the weight, there are twelve kgs of difference, it is around five tenths per lap. Obviously, more weight means I also wore the tyres more. It doesn't help me at all."
Despite the impediment, the Spaniard tries to beat his teammate, the only battle Manor drivers can face. In the Spanish GP, Merhi passed Stevens in the starting, but team orders changed the situation: "I was doing my laps fairly constant and they told me I had to let him pass. It is really frustrating the fact that we are two drivers who are not able to fight for the position. But well, that's racing."
However, Merhi doesn't give up and keeps trying to show his potential, as he thinks still has room enough to improve his performance: "I think I've not been able to show my skills, and it's really a problem. But you have to keep trying to improve and keep learning."
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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