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Roberto Merhi's hopes of retaining his seat with Manor in Formula 1 this season have been boosted after sporting director Graeme Lowdon said he was happy with his current driver line-up.

The Spaniard signed a short-term deal for the "opening races" of the season after Manor secured an investor to enable it to compete.

When Merhi signed the deal, he admitted that he needed to find a sponsor if he wanted to secure the drive with Manor long-term, given the team's financial situation.

While Will Stevens was unable to start the race in Malaysia because of a fuel system problem, Merhi got the car to the chequered flag for the first time in 2015 when he crossed the line 15th.

And Lowdon says he sees no reason why Merhi - whom Manor ran in Formula 3 Euro Series in 2009 - won't stick around providing the team's situation remains the same.

"We ran Roberto in 2009 in European F3 and we were really impressed with him," Lowdon told AUTOSPORT.

"He did a great job and we have always had an eye on him.

"We want to bring new talent through and we have done that but we have to do whatever is right for the team at the end of the day.

"At the moment, what is right for the team is the set-up we have. Roberto did a top class job [in Malaysia].

"There's not hard and fast rules or whatever when it comes to anything, other than focusing on what is right for the team."