Motorsport: Paul's on track to join Formua One

Oct 30 2008 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

PAUL Di Resta narrowly missed out on the DTM title this weekend but the 22-year-old could win an even bigger prize - a place in Formula One.

The Bathgate bullet finished second in both the race and the final standings but has earned rave reviews for a sensational second half to the season.

And this could place Paul on track to join the elite of motor racing.

The Mercedes-Benz driver closed up to Timo Scheider until the final lap, but couldn’t overtake him and finished four points behind the new champion.

In the last five races of the season Di Resta steered the car home to five podium places picking up four second places and a first in what was a tremendous finish to the season.

Paul was always destined for a top career behind the wheel of a car considering his Motorsport lineage.

After all his cousin, Dario Franchitti is one of the planet’s biggest racing stars having won the world-famous Indianapolis 500, the IndyCar Series Championship and the Rolex 24 at Daytona last year.

Another cousin, Marino Franchitti drives a Porsche RS Spyder in the American Le Mans Series with Dyson Racing.

And his father Louis is still racing competitively at the age of 46 years having lost none of his enthusiasm or love for the sport.

Motor racing is clearly in the family blood.

And now Paul could be set to go onto track territory which even his famous cousins haven’t graced after the West Lothian youngster was heavily tipped for a place at motor racing’s top table in Formula One.

A series of impressive test drives for McLaren has whetted his Formula One appetite and he insists he is ready for the challenge.

“It would be nice to think it could happen for me,” said Di Resta.

“All I need is the chance to prove myself.

“I always said I’d think about it when the season ended as I’ve been concentrating fully on the DTM season.

“But I think the next two or three weeks will be crucial.

“The testing was very productive and it was a fantastic day.

“It was a great opportunity for me and one from which I feel I learned a lot.

“My target next season is definitely Formula One.”

Five podium places in a row saw Di Resta push DTM title winner Timo Scheider all the way until the final lap.

Di Resta also clocked the fastest lap time of the final trace in 1 min 33.57secs but the manner in which the Audi driver took the chequered flag doesn’t sit easily with the West Lothian speedster.

His Mercedes was damaged in an early clash with Audi’s Swedish driver Mattias Elkstrom, who pushed him off the track twice, and suffered a loss of power.

“I’m not happy about how the season ended.

“It was pretty difficult to take as I felt the Audi drivers were very unsporting in the way they went around their tactics.

“But the last five races of the season were great for me and I don’t think anyone has ever done that in DTM before.

“We’ve had a tremendous end to the season but we had a bad start which cost us in the end,” he told the Courier.

The current golden boy of Formula One is McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

The 23-year-old has been a revelation since emerging last season but Di Resta has revealed he boasts a good record against him after the two youngsters came through the Motorsport ranks together.

And Hamilton’s emergence at such a young age also bodes well for the prospects of the outstanding Scottish driver who could be set to follow in his slipstream.

“I’ve been racing against Lewis Hamilton all my life as we grew up together although he is a little bit older than me.

“Hopefully I’ll get the chance to step up and race against him in Forumla One next.

“We raced a lot in the go karts and I had a good record against him, beating him a few times.

“I know that motor racing is very different but I’m confident I could do well.

“Lewis breaking through so young and making an impact in his first season has opened some peoples eyes in F1 that young drivers can do well. It won’t do my chances any harm.”

There are some parallels between Hamilton and Di Resta with both wowing onlookers at a young age and both winning the Formula Three Euroseries.

Di Resta also took the 2004 McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year award.

He has been around motor racing all his life with his dad, Louis, his inspiration for taking to the track.

“My Dad has been involved in racing for 30 years so it was through him I became involved.

“I would travel with him to races and watching him inspired me to get involved. I’ve also had some great advice from Dario and Marino who I’m as close to as brothers.

“I started racing in Scotland before progressing to England and Europe.

“At the end of 2004 Mercedes called me and invited me to go for a test drive to join their Formula Three Youth Development.

“I did well and passed and really went on from there.”

The possibility of being fast-tracked in Formula One is a genuine one for Di Resta.

For McLaren-Mercedes team boss Ron Dennis has already admitted the county driver he is firmly in his thoughts.

He said: “We have a policy of trying to promote young drivers into Formula One and Paul did a great job when he was evaluated in our simulator a few months ago.

“It was agreed that, as and when he gets over the DTM season, we would evaluate the possibility of integrating him into Formula One.”