Force India's 19-year-old development driver Alfonso Celis was entrusted with putting himself and the team's new VJM09 through its paces yesterday, clocking in 58 laps and setting a highly impressive fifth time on soft tyres in the afternoon.
During the course of the entire session, the Mexican hopeful, who made his debut with Force India last November in Abu Dhabi, executed his workload perfectly, never putting a foot wrong and was beaming with joy at the end of the day over his own performance and that of his mount.
"It was a big honour to be the first to drive the car," enthused Celis.
"It was only my second day in an F1 car, but I was able to enjoy the experience more than last time because I knew what to expect and I had a bit more confidence."
"The car was perfect and I want to say a big ‘well done’ to everybody in the team for all their work over the winter to deliver this car.
"We managed to work through the whole plan with good reliability. I could not think of a better way to start the season and I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car on Thursday."
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