Alfonso Celis Jr completed the opening day of Formula 1 in-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya for Sahara Force India.
The Mexican finished the session with a fastest lap time of 1m25.467s to finish eighth fastest, just behind the Scuderia Toro Rosso of Frenchman Pierre Gasly. He was able to complete a total of 99 laps behind the wheel of the VJM09 around the Barcelona track, and managed to improve on his morning session time by more than three seconds.
Celis Jr admits that he is gaining more confidence with the car every time he drives it with the priority being to achieve what the Silverstone-based team asks of him. He is hoping to push a bit more tomorrow when he continues to test on the final day of testing in Barcelona.
“It was a very positive day with a lot of mileage and some good work with different tyre compounds,” said Celis Jr. “It was interesting to come back here after winter testing: the track and weather conditions are quite different and the same applies to the car, so it took a few runs to adapt.
“I feel more and more confident with the car, but I am still treading carefully not to make mistakes: my priority is to do the job the team is asking me to do, but hopefully I’ll be able to push a bit more tomorrow.”
