13 July 2014
Roberto Merhi gets the better of Oscar Tunjo and Carlos Sainz
Spanish driver Roberto Merhi (Zeta Corse) secured his second pole of the season in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series on Sunday, excelling on a drying track at the Nürburgring to qualify first from Oscar Tunjo (Pons Racing) and championship leader Carlos Sainz (DAMS). Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports) and Matthieu Vaxiviere (Lotus), who is making his return from injury this weekend, rounded off the top five.
Roberto Merhi was the first to show on a drying track before being dislodged from the top of the timesheets by Oliver Rowland and Carlos Sainz. The trio then traded fastest times, with Roberto Merhi nosing back in front by the midway point of the session.
The drivers bolted on new wet tyres for the final ten minutes. Carlos Sainz and Sergey Sirotkin (Fortec Motorsports) began the final push for pole with five minutes remaining, only for Roberto Merhi to trump them with a time of 1:59.409 to land his second pole of the campaign from Oscar Tunjo and Carlos Sainz.
The weekend’s second Formula Renault 3.5 Series race at the Nürburgring begins at 12.35.
