MY QI MERITUS.MAHARA DRIVERS INSPIRED BY PAK LAH’S SUPPORT

Although Marco Bonanomi and Alvaro Parente were not present at the function, which also saw Meritus hand over a model of the GP2 car to the honourable Dato Seri Abdullah, they were in agreement that the government support will certainly give the team a big lift ahead of the April 3-5 Malaysian F1 Grand Prix.

The two drivers had prior engagements in Europe and expressed regret they were not able to meet the country's Prime Minister.

"I would have loved to have been there as it is great for Meritus to get the backing of the Malaysian government," said Bonanomi.

"Unfortunately, I could not attend but the team have told me how much it meant to them to for me personally,it is great to know we will race in Malaysia with 100% support."

Asia’s most successful motorsport team, Meritus Racing, received a huge boost for the the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix when the honourable Dato Seri Abdullah handed over the national flag, Jalur Gemilang, to Firhat on March 6.

Parente said: "It is not everyday that a motorsport team get the honour of meeting the Prime Minister and I know we are all inspired by the support shown by the Malaysian government.

"The Malaysian Grand Prix will only be my second outing for Meritus but already, I feel part of the team and both Marco and I are determined to aim for a podium finish to give the home fans plenty to cheer.

"It would be wonderful if we can achieve our goal of finishing inside the top three. We have shown we have the pace, now it is a matter of getting lady luck on our side."

Meritus Racing will compete in two support races in the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix – the Formula BMW Pacific and the GP2 Asia Series. Their drivers for the Formula BMW Pacific are Indonesians, Rio Haryanto and Dustin Sofyan.

Meritus are Asia’s most successful motorsports team, having won 32 international titles in the past 12 years, including the last six Formula BMW Pacific Championships. They have a tradition of unearthing talented drivers who have gone on to race in the pinnacle of motorspors, Formula 1.

India’s Narain Kartikeyan and Japan’s Takuma Sato starred for Meritus before finding success in F1. New Zealand’s Earl Bamber and Malaysia’s Jazeman Jaafar also started their careers with Meritus and they are seen as the next big talents in motorsports.

Malaysia’s only Formula 1 driver, Alex Yoong, has had a long relationship with the team and drove for them in the opening rounds of this season’s GP2 Asia Series, which is also known as the F1 Development Series.

Many of the current batch of Formula One drivers, including world champion Lewis Hamilton, graduated from the GP2 Series. The Meritus team are the only Asian outfit granted a license to compete in the GP2 Asia Series.