Spaniard to return to S5000 grid at Adelaide 500

Spanish journeyman and former F1 driver Roberto Mehri will make a return to the S5000 grid for the VAILO Adelaide 500, adding some international flavour to the field.

Mehri is no stranger to the +500hp Big Banger machinery, having first raced in Australia in the 2021 S5000 Tasman series where he finished as runner to GRM’s Aaron Cameron.

Mehri will jump back behind the wheel of a BRM machine on the Adelaide Streets, having last raced in the category at the opening round of 2023 at Symmons Plains in February.

Mehri last raced in the S5000 championship at Symmons Plains in February. Image: Daniel Kalisz

After qualifying in P3 in Tassie, he couldn’t convert the starting spot with a best of fourth in Race 2 as Joey Mawson and Cooper Webster dominated the weekend.

The Spaniard last jumped behind the wheel of a BRM machine in the 2021 Tasman Series where he took a P2 at Mount Panorama during the Bathurst 1000 support, as well as taking a race win at SMP in the round prior over Cameron and Webster.

The 32-year-old racer has had a long and varied career across open wheel and sportscar racing, having gone from FIA Formula 3 to F1, first at Caterham F1 team as a test driver, before getting 14 race starts for Manor Marussia F1 Team, but his journey to the pinnacle of motorsport was short lived in an uncompetitive Marussia MR03B car.

After being dropped for Alexander Rossi in 2015, Mehri then took to LMP2 racing in the WEC, before also racing FIA Formula 2 in 2017-18, and again in 2022.

Mehri (pictured here in front of Lewis Hamilton) had his F1 dreams dashed by an uncompetitive Marussia MR03B car before losing his seat to Alexander Rossi

Of late Mehri has been racing Formula E with Mahindra Racing, as well as Super GT in Japan.

Mehri will be joining Aussie Nathan Herne as the masters edition to the VAILO Adelaide 500 field in the Big bangers, with the November 23-26 doubling as a single Tasman Series round and the finale of the Gold Star championship.

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