Sahara Force India’s third driver, Nicholas Latifi, made his debut in the VJM11 in the first day of testing in Barcelona, while George Russell worked with Pirelli to help develop its range of F1 tyres.
“I was really looking forward to my first outing, especially after the disappointment of missing out on pre-season testing [due to illness]. It was a very good first day on track with the team and I finally had the chance to put to practice a lot of the procedures and processes that I had learnt in the simulator," says Latifi.
"I am pleased with how the day went; we ran smoothly with no big dramas. We completed lots of laps and I couldn’t have asked for a better first day. I am glad I could help the team with their testing programme and I am looking forward to being back in the simulator with this new knowledge of how the car behaves on track.”
Force India's programme included a series of aero test items with extra instrumentation on the car in the early part of the day, which allowed him to get up to speed with how the team operates and with understanding the VJM11.
“It was a very solid performance by Nicholas on his first day in the car. He settled in well with the team from an operational point of view and was on top of the various switches and procedures straight away after the simulator work he did earlier in the season. We were able to get straight to the various test items and completed the main objectives. It was a good day and a great start to our on-track relationship with Nicholas,” explained Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer.
Laps: 107
Best time: 1:18.530
Position: P5 of 13
Mileage: 498 km
