Alfonso Celis Jr made it three Mexican drivers on track during opening practice for this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom after taking over from Nico Hulkenberg on Friday morning.
Despite finishing at the bottom of the timesheets, the Sahara Force India reserve driver was happy with his morning’s work, although he had hoped to take some more risks during this session than he had during his previous free practice outing in Bahrain.
Unfortunately for Celis Jr, track conditions were not ideal, and he was forced to focus on the job in hand, and set a best time of 1m43.432s during his twenty-three laps of the Sochi circuit.
“I am happy about the work I did today and also about writing a page of Mexican motorsport history together with Sergio and Esteban – with three Mexicans on track,” revealed Celis Jr.
“My main priority was to avoid mistakes and complete the programme the team had planned for me. I wanted to take a few more risks compared to Bahrain, but the track conditions were quite tricky and in these circumstances you can’t be selfish – you need to focus and ensure you keep your nose clean.
“We had a busy programme of aero evaluation and I am happy I was able to deliver the information the team needed.”
