BARCELONA, Spain -- Alfonso Celis insists he is happy with his performance level for Force India following Sergio Perez's call for him to pick up the pace during his time in the car.
Regular driver Perez has called on Celis to up his performances, saying his compatriot has "been quite off the pace" in the sessions he has done for the team so far this year in Bahrain and Russia. Celis finished Tuesday in eighth, 2.2s down on the pace, though headline times are rarely a fair indicator of pace in testing.
Perez acknowledged Celis brings invaluable finances to the team but said the teenager must also be judged by what he does on the track.
Asked if he had spoken to Perez about those comments or his concerns, Celis replied: "No, we haven't spoken about that. I guess it's normal during the FP1s I was quite conservative but this test will give me the confidence and the seat time I need to keep improving and to do some better performances.
The 19-year-old says the fact he is in the car for both days this week proves the team has faith in his ability.
"I think for sure, that's why I was given the opportunity of the two days because the team trusts in my feedback. I think I'm doing a good job and that's why I've been given this opportunity otherwise I wouldn't be here both days.
"I think after today I'm in a much better position. I've kept improving through the day and hopefully tomorrow we can do some more low fuel running and start getting to look to quicker pace."
Celis is set for another day behind the wheel on Wednesday, with five more FP1 appearances to come this season, which will add to those he completed in Bahrain and Russia and the two days of winter testing earlier in the year at the Circuit de Catalunya.