Ma explained himself in the similar sense. "I don't care the results or times or position of myself," he said. "My job is to help the team gather information and prepare for the qualifying sessions and formal races, and in addition to that, I hoped to get myself more experienced. I think I've accomplished both."
The Chinese started his F1 campaign as a member of HRT's driver development program 12 months ago and later made his world championship debut during an official practice session for the team at Italian Grand Prix on Sept 7, 2012 before taking part in practice sessions in Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
He won over the HRT team with his expertise and personality as the team announced in Shanghai early last November that Ma was expected to represent HRT as a full-scale grand prix driver, meaning that the 25-year-old could have become the first F1 driver of China in the 2013 season.
Taking his dream of being an F1 driver away from the bankrupted HRT, Ma joined Caterham last March and set his pace back as a test driver.
"My target of becoming a full-fledged F1 driver is always there. That's for sure," said Ma after Friday's Practice One. "But there's no rush."
"Formula racing is very special. It needs a driver to have acknowlegement in many aspects, not only about driving and technique, but also the cummunicating skills with other members of the team and good understandings of the engine. So my focus now is on learning and getting myself better prepared."
With Friday's performance, Ma also won over his new team, at least Caterham's head of communications.
"He made no mistakes under great pressure from his home crowd, so I think that's a very obvious sign of development," said Webb.
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