Mahindra and Rowland came to a “mutual agreement” to part ways last week, one-and-a-half years after the British driver joined the squad for the final Gen2 season in 2022.
It left Mahindra in a rush to look for a replacement, with former Formula 1 driver Merhi eventually chosen to take his place at the team for this weekend’s double header in Indonesia.
Bertrand revealed that Mahindra considered a number of drivers for the seat alongside Lucas di Grassi, including reserve driver Jehan Daruvala and development driver Jordan King, before eventually deciding in favour of the 32-year-old Spaniard.
All three drivers had taken part in the Berlin rookie test at the end of April, giving Mahindra a chance to directly compare their performance.
While Daruvala may have been an appealing option for the Indian squad, his Formula 2 commitments with MP Motorsport meant he was unable to step in at the last moment.
“There were several options on the table,” Bertrand told Autosport. “I would not say there was one A, B, C, there were several on the table and unfortunately some options closed by themselves. Jehan was busy with F2, some were not necessarily unavailable.
"On top, Roberto did a good test in Berlin and we think that he had the good background, the good behaviour, the good spirit, he is very motivated.
“So for us it's also a bit of fresh air into the system to have different views and someone joining the team and bringing his own way of being, which corresponds a bit to the way we would like, joyful and fast.
“He is building up right now but that's how the choice came. There was clearly the Jehan option but he was busy and then we had the second option was the two drivers who tested with us in Berlin.
“Few others were also on the table but it was making sense to go on with one of the two testing and Roberto has been the one chosen.”
Source: Autosport