Caterham’s third driver, Ma Qing Hua became the first Chinese driver to take part in a race weekend session in front of his home crowd in the first free practice session of this weekend’s Grand Prix.
Despite having taken part in four practice sessions for HRT last year, the Chinese completed a 20-lap run behind the wheel of race driver Charles Pic’s car, which saw him make history by becoming the first Chinese to drive on his home circuit in a Formula 1 session.
“It was a very proud moment for me to be the first Chinese driver to take part in my home country,” said Hua after the session. “We did 20 laps and my times kept coming down as I was more and more comfortable with the car.”
The Chinese admitted that the team’s programme was for him to get used to the car as opposed to seeking an outright competitive time.
“I’ve learnt a lot this weekend already and that was the main thing in FP1 – make sure I completed the run plan and don’t push too hard so I could learn as much as possible,” he continued.
“[Team principal] Cyril Abiteboul told me he was happy with my performance at the end of the session, so I’m really pleased how it went!”
Hua finished the session in 22nd and last position, some 1.5 seconds behind the teammate Giedo van der Garde.
Despite having taken part in four practice sessions for HRT last year, the Chinese completed a 20-lap run behind the wheel of race driver Charles Pic’s car, which saw him make history by becoming the first Chinese to drive on his home circuit in a Formula 1 session.
“It was a very proud moment for me to be the first Chinese driver to take part in my home country,” said Hua after the session. “We did 20 laps and my times kept coming down as I was more and more comfortable with the car.”
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| Ma Qing Hua, Caterham CT03, in China. (Photo: Caterham F1 Team) |
The Chinese admitted that the team’s programme was for him to get used to the car as opposed to seeking an outright competitive time.
“I’ve learnt a lot this weekend already and that was the main thing in FP1 – make sure I completed the run plan and don’t push too hard so I could learn as much as possible,” he continued.
“[Team principal] Cyril Abiteboul told me he was happy with my performance at the end of the session, so I’m really pleased how it went!”
Hua finished the session in 22nd and last position, some 1.5 seconds behind the teammate Giedo van der Garde.