The Monaco round, third weekend of the F.Renault 3.5 calendar, ended on a positive note for Zeta Corse. The Russian team and Roberto Merhi, who had qualified in the top ten on Saturday, kept momentum today to finish the race in P9, a very good result considering that the Spaniard was at his debut weekend in the Principality. On the monegasque track Roberto had a perfect getaway from 5th row on the grid, gaining one place and securing P9 in the uphill section to the Casino Square. From then on the talent from Valencia managed his pace with great attention, and knowing that overtaking is nearly impossible on such a tight layout he focused on keeping his position. Being much quicker than the drivers behind him, Roberto opened a gap that increased quickly, reaching the 12″ mark in the late part of the race. That allowed him to cross the line safely in 9th place, to the delight of the team’s staff.
On the team’s other car, Roman Mavlanov’s race was hampered by a double contact at the start that damaged both his front and rear wings. After pitting to change the damaged parts, Roman returned on track very far behind, and couldn’t do better than P19. Still, the race gave the young Russian talent the chance to get more mileage on Monte-Carlo’s unforgiving layout, an important addition to his experience.
Roberto Merhi – P9: “I had a good start, and basically that was it, because that’s the only moment of the race where you can make a real difference here in Monaco. After that I just managed my pace, paying attention to making no mistakes and trying to widen the gap to the cars behind. Everything went to plan, and even if normally I wouldn’t be too happy of a P9 finish, I have to say that it isn’t too bad for a first time in Monaco”.
Roman Mavlanov – P19: “I started well, but then at Sainte Devote for some reason Buller braked very early, and I couldn’t avoid contact. At the same time I was hit from behind by Laine, and virtually my race ended there. With damage to both my front and rear wings I had no other option than pitting for repairs, and that took a long time. Still, driving here was fun and good experience for the next season, so there are some positives to take from this weekend”.