Alfonso Celis Jr.

Alfonso Celis Jr is a racing driver from Mexico who is currently trying to find the way to the highest ranks of motorsport. He served two seasons as a test driver for Force India Formula 1 team and he currently competes in the North American Indy Lights series, also making an IndyCar Series debut in 2018.

Alfonso Celis Jr

Karting racing and early departure to Europe

Alfonso Celis Enecoiz was born in Mexico City on September 18, 1996. At the age of 13, Alfonso started to race in karting. He had considerable success in the regional and national championships in Mexico until 2012 when he moved to Europe.

In the meantime, Celis competed in Campeonato Turismos and won the title in 2011 after being the winner in five out of seven races. The same year Alfonso appeared in five races of LATAM Challenge Series but failed to achieve notable results.

Formula BMW and Formula Renault days

After his arrival in Europe, Celis Jr competed in the Formula BMW Talent Cup and took the 8th place overall in the final stage held at Oschersleben. After a while, he moved to Formula Renault 2.0 NEC as a driver of Fortec Motorsport. In 17 races he collected several points but still achieved only one podium, finishing 3rd in the final race of the season at Zandvoort. In the final standings, Celis was 14th which was a bit disappointing.

Alfonso competing in Formula Renault NEC

In 2013, Celis also appeared in the selected races of British Formula 3 and the FIA European Formula 3 Championship but without too much success. In 2014, this Mexican again appeared as a guest in a couple of European Formula 3 and again failed to impress.

Move to GP3 Series in 2014

However, Alfonso’s main engagement in 2014 was driving in the GP3 Series with Status Grand Prix. His rookie season was far from perfect because Celis earned only two points and finished 21st in the Drivers’ championship. The same year he also drove two races for Tech 1 Racing in Formula Renault 3.5 Series.

Alfonso Celis Jr, Status GP, 2014 GP3 Series

One podium in the 2015 GP3 Series season

Alfonso Celis Jr stayed in GP3 Series in 2015 but moved to much stronger ART Grand Prix team. Despite having better conditions for progress, he hasn’t met the expectations completely. He moved up to the 12th position overall and had one podium finish but many were expecting more.

Desperate seek for victory continued in Formula 3.5

Parallel to his GP3 duties, Alfonso competed in Formula Renault 3.5 as a driver of AVF team and picked 17 points and finished 16th in the final standings which again was a bit below the expectations considering his talent.

Alfons Celis Jr, AVF, Formula V8 3.5 Series

Force India test driver in 2016 and 2017

Driving in the 2016 Formula V8 3.5 Series, Celis finished third in the race in Belgium. It remained his only podium of the season. He finished 11th in final standings, improving his performance comparing to the previous season but it still wasn't enough to secure him a progress.

However, even though his results weren't brilliant, his potential attracted Force India Formula 1 team to hire him as a development and free practice driver during the 2016 F1 season. He remained in the same status for the 2017 F1 season.

Alfonso Celis surprisingly got the chance to test F1 car with Force India

Maiden Formula V8 victory at Spa-Francorchamps

In 2017, Celis joined Fortec Motorsports in the World Series Formula V8 3.5. He finally scored his maiden Formula V8 victory in the first race of the second round at Spa-Francorchamps.

He added several podiums on his account to stay in a game for the championship title until the end of the season. In the end, he finished third in the points in the last season of the series.

Moving to the US in 2018

For 2018, Alfonso didn't get a superlicence for Formula One and he had to move on. He made a deal to race part-time in the North American Indy Lights series with Juncos Racing. In June, he also made an IndyCar Series debut with Juncos Racing, driving the #32 Chevrolet at Kohler Grand Prix at Road America.

Photo: thecheckeredflag.co.uk alfonsocelisracing.com autosport.com pitlanepress.com