Having made F1 history at Monza, Ma Qing Hua says he has taken an "important step" for both himself and China.
The 24-year-old, who previously drove for HRT at the Young Driver test at Silverstone, made his competitive debut on Friday as he got behind the wheel of the team's F112.
Replacing Narain Karthikeyan in FP1 at the Italian track, Hua completed 26 laps with a best time of 1:31.239.
"It was an extraordinary experience and I'm happy with my performance," said the Chinese driver.
"From the start I felt comfortable in the car and working with the team, and I accomplished all the targets we set ourselves.
"We started with quite a long stint on hard tyres and then we made changes to the set-up as I adapted to the F112.
"It was an important step for me, but also for motorsport in China since it's a very young sport there but with a great potential."
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