Daruvala unfazed by Force India's hiring of Celis, Mazepin

The Indian driver chosen from the 'One From A Billion' driver hunt believes the hiring of more experienced drivers only creates a healthy atmosphere within the team.

"All the big Formula One teams have several drivers in their development programmes, so this is not something unusual for a F1 team," he said to Motorsport.com

"Having other drivers to compete against and compare yourself with is all part of healthy competition within a team, so I view it as a positive. It's not something to worry about, everybody needs teammates.

"Also, we are all competing in different championships and we are at different stages in our careers," he added.

"Alfonso Celis is a couple of years older than me and at a stage where he is starting to get mileage in a F1 car.

"If I look into the future, that's what I would like to be doing in a couple of years time."

Hailing the strong relation with the team, Daruvala hopes to continue with them for a longer period of time.

Celis will compete in the Formula 3.5 championship and will get certain FP1 outings in the 2016 season while Mazepin will contest in the European F3 series.

Aiming for NEC and Eurocup title

After finishing second in the Toyota Racing Series at the start of the year, the Indian teen is now preparing for the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season.

Having switched to reigning champion team Josef Kaufmaan Racing, Daruvala is going all out for the title in his second year in formula cars.

"The aim for 2016 will be to win both the NEC and the Eurocup," he said.

"Right through last year and during the TRS, I have been quick in qualifying but have lacked the consistency.

"To win the title this year, I need to work on improving my consistency in qualifying and my race starts," he added.

In the first Eurocup pre-season testing, the Indian finished first and third respectively in the two-day test at Paul Ricard.

Hailing teammate Lando Norris, Daruvala was satisfied with the test. "It should be a good year for us," he said.

"Following a winter where I trained to lose a few kilograms and some strong preparation in New Zealand, I am confident for the season.

"The pace is good and I will probably have to beat the same guy [Norris] to win so I will give it everything I’ve got to achieve that.

"Also, my relationship with Josef Kaufmann Racing has been fantastic since we first met at Jerez last year."