Best race of the season so far for Manor

It was the best race of the season so far for Manor, finishing their home race in 12th and 13th places. In fact it was the best result for the team since they got their first ever points in Monaco last year.

There is never such a thing as a straight forward race though with both cars finding difficulties.

“I’m so happy to end the team’s home race in 12th position,” said Roberto Merhi.

“To be honest, this had not been the best weekend for me prior to the race, but it all came good when it mattered and I found the performance I needed to get ahead.

“When the weather started to change and we switched to the Inters, it was very difficult to know what would happen next because the conditions were hard to read. We were a long time on the Inters before the rain intensified, which meant that we had to pit again for a new set quite close to the end of the race.”

Will Stevens was looking good for 12th place, before a spin in the wet meant he needed to change the nose, “A good result for the team but incredibly frustrating for me.

“The weekend up until the race had been really positive and even in the early part of the race we were going strong on the option tyres, which were working really well for me. When it started to rain we stopped for Inters but we had 15 laps on them and the worst of the rain only lasted for a couple of laps.

“I was effectively on slicks by the end of the race and that’s what caused me to spin off and damage my nose. Overall, we have to look at the positives though. We’ve made a good step forward here, so well done to the team, and the support of my home crowd has been incredible. All in all it has been a special weekend and one to remember.”

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