Racing ace Di Resta makes sixth in Singapore Grand Prix

Sep 29 2011 by Kieran Westbrook, West Lothian Courier

PAUL DI RESTA grabbed sixth place in the Singapore Grand Prix and hailed it his best race yet.

The Bathgate Bullet shot up to 13th in the Drivers Championships after collecting eight valuable points, bringing the rookie’s season total to 20.

Speaking after the race, Di Resta said: “I’m very happy.

“It was quite a long race but we looked very strong before the safety car came out.

“I would say it’s definitely the best race I’ve driven in my Formula One career.

“The big thing is we’re here with an upgrade package that’s enabled us to gain our performance in the race and gain tyre life.

“We worked very hard to achieve this.”

Di Resta started 10th on the grid alongside Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil after the team opted against going for the top-10 qualifying shootout.

He started on soft tyres instead of the supersoft option most of his opponents opted for.

And it looked another good call with his grip holding and leading to him reaching third position by lap 15 as others made pit stops earlier. Retirements also lifted him up the field.

Di Resta pitted on lap 19 after Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari sped past him and he was down to eighth after the stop.

Midway through the race, he overtook his team-mate and benefited from a Lewis Hamilton slip-up that brought him back up to 5th.

Di Resta sensibly yielded to the oncoming Hamilton keeping him in six with less than 10 laps to go.

And that was where the Bathgate Bullet was to finish, 1 minute 11 seconds off champion-in-waiting Sebastian Vittel, who now needs a single point to claim back-to-back titles.

Between him and Di Resta were Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Alonso and Hamilton.

Di Resta and Force India drove a shrewd race taking advantage of retirements elsewhere and not getting involved in track position battles they were unlikely to win.

Di Resta added: “I wasn’t going to compromise my tyres and track speed for that.

“When we had free air, we were very strong.”

The result marks his highest ever finish in Formula One after he finished seventh in Hungary in July and eighth in Monza.

Di Resta’s next outing will be in the Japanese Grand Prix from October 7 to October 9.

Force India-Mercedes are sixth in the Constructors Championships with 48 points.