Fontana subs for Merhi in Monaco FR3.5

Pons Racing will field Swiss driver Alex Fontana in place of Manor Formula 1 team's Roberto Merhi at this weekend's Monaco Formula Renault 3.5 round. Merhi will skip the second meeting of this year's championship to concentrate on his F1 commitments, with his Manor tenure set to continue.

Fontana started his third season of GP3 with ninth in the feature race at Barcelona for Status Grand Prix earlier this month. Last October, the 22-year-old tested FR3.5 machinery for Lotus at Jerez, but Monaco will mark his first race weekend in the class.

Pons team manager Emilio de Villota told AUTOSPORT: "I have been in contact with Alex since 2011, when he won the European F3 Open title. Since then, we have always been in contact, so he was on top of our list when this opportunity arrived."

De Villota has stated that Merhi is expected to return to the team for round three at Spa-Francorchamps.

Originally on Autosport.com