Formula E: Mahindra Splits with Oliver Rowland, Hires Roberto Merhi for Jakarta Showdown

With Oliver Rowland's decision to step down from the Mahindra Racing team he has raced for since the start of the 2022 season, Roberto Merhi will make his Formula E debut next weekend in Jakarta. Rowland competed in what is expected to be his last race for Mahindra earlier this month in Monaco. At the harbourside chicane, he collided with Edoardo Mortara's Maserati, resulting in an injured hand. However, doctors don't think the hand injury has anything to do with the switch. The 30-year-old driver's sole points finish this season was a sixth in Hyderabad and a tenth in Berlin Tempelhof, and he's been privately disillusioned by the lack of competitiveness of the Mahindra M9Electro. The Indonesian race will be Merhi's first in Formula E, however, he did partake in the Berlin Rookie Test with Mahindra earlier this year. 

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Oliver Rowland Formula E Career

With 64 race entries to his record, Rowland has a wealth of expertise in Formula E. He made his Formula E debut in the 2015 Punta del Este E-Prix. During that period, he won Race 10 of Season 6 in Berlin, took home five pole positions from Julius Baer, and finished on the podium six times. In the GEN3 era, however, Rowland has just nine points to his credit, putting him in nineteenth place in the Drivers' World Championship.

In his last Monaco race, Rowland got off to a fantastic start and gained eight positions inside the first few laps. However, he had to pull out of the race early after suffering a hand injury in a collision and had to be checked out at the hospital. Fortunately, an X-ray revealed that the injury was minor, and he planned to compete in next weekend's Indonesian doubleheader. 

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Roberto Merhi Racing Career

Roberto Merhi's track record is unparalleled. Before joining the Manor Marussia F1 Team in 2015, he competed in Formula Renault, the Spanish F3, the British F3, and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, all of which he won, before moving up to Formula 1. Merhi participates in both single-seaters and endurance racing and 2020 he won the Asian Le Mans Series Drivers' Championship.

“It’s a huge honour for me to step in and represent Mahindra Racing for the races in Jakarta. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity and I’m determined to make the most of it,” said Roberto Merhi.

“I had a chance to drive the M9Electro at the rookie test in Berlin but Formula E is very different to any of the other series I’ve raced in so the learning curve will be steep. But I feel ready, excited, and up for the challenge,” he added.