Photo: Force India
Alfonso Celis arrives at Force India as a driver of development. The mexican driver, 19 years of age, and will be shown for the first time in the VJM08 in the test of Abu Dhabi that will put an end to the season 2015, and will work in the simulator and in different free practice sessions in 2016. Joins Nico Hulkenberg (with whom he will share the evidence of the Yas Marina) and Sergio Perez, who will continue as pilots owners. It will be the third mexican in Formula 1 next year, with Perez at Force India and Esteban Gutierrez at the team rookie Haas.
Alfonso is one of the most promising young mexicans that come out of the lower categories. After success in karting in Mexico, he moved to Europe in 2013 to compete in the championship of Formula Renault NEC, and advanced to the Series GP3 in the past year. This season raced for ART in GP3 and competed in the World Series by Renault with AVF.
In his development role, Alfonso is going to spend time in the simulator at the factory in Silverstone the team. He will also participate in seven sessions of official practice sessions in grand prix during the season 2016.
The pilot showed his enthusiasm for this new step in his career, in that it will deliver a dream:
Since I started running I’ve been dreaming about Formula One, so it is a great honor to start working with Force India. It’s an incredible opportunity for me to learn about Formula One and to work in close collaboration with engineers and pilots. Being on the track in Abu Dhabi will be an amazing feeling. It’s going to be the biggest moment of my career and I’m fully focused on doing a good job for the team.
the director of The team, Vijay Mallya, was the one who expressed the words of welcome on the part of Force India:
I would like to welcome Alfonso to the team, and we wish him the best since his debut with us in Abu Dhabi. As a pilot development our we will work hard to prepare you for the demands of driving in Formula One and provide you with a good base in all aspects of the work. It is a fantastic opportunity for Alfonso, to learn from Sergio and Nico, and get mileage valuable in the car.
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