29 June 2014
Merhi wins Zeta Corse their first pole
Russian team Zeta Corse secured their first pole position in Formula Renault 3.5 Series at their home round thanks to the performance by Roberto Merhi. The Spaniard’s pole position is also his first in the discipline, knocking Richie Stanaway (Lotus) off the top spot. Pierre Gasly (Arden Motorsport) and the Fortec Motorsports of Oliver Rowland and Sergey Sirotkin occupy the next positions, with the hope of taking some points from Carlos Sainz (DAMS), languishing in 11th on the grid.
Beneath the first sunny skies of the weekend, Carlos Sainz quickly set out his stall at the sharp end before immediately having the top spot wrestled from his grasp by Sergey Sirotkin and Meindert van Buuren (Pons Racing). The Spaniard responded, as did Marlon Stockinger (Lotus) and Sergey Sirotkin. However, it was Roberto Merhi who held the cards at the end of the first run, red flagged by Pietro Fantin (International Draco Racing) crashing out.
The drivers returned to the track with new rubber for the final ten minutes. Oliver Rowland topped the time sheets, before being deposed by Pierre Gasly before Roberto Merhi responded. The 1’20’’773 lap he turned in proved enough to head Richie Stanaway and Pierre Gasly.
The starting lights for Formula Renault 3.5 Series Race 2 in Russia go out at 14:30.
Roberto Merhi: “All the teams are near enough on an equal footing at this track, which has only hosted two meetings. If we can improve continuously, we are a young team and it’s easy for us to battle with the best in such conditions! The car is working fantastically well. Without traffic, I could have done even better. We’re going to see how the race pans out.”
