Di Resta misses out on points in India

Nov 3 2011 by Kieran Westbrook, West Lothian Courier

Di Resta

A SAFETY car gamble failed to pay off for Paul Di Resta who had to settle for a 13th-place finish in New Delhi.

The Sahara Force India Team grabbed two points in their home grand prix with Di Resta’s team mate Adrian Sutil crossing the line in ninth.

But it was a frustrating day for the Bathgate Bullet who couldn’t translate his 12th-place start on the grid into championship points.

He said: “We went for a fairly aggressive strategy today – starting on the hard tyre – and it was always the plan to come in early with the hope of a safety car.

“It was a gamble to get rid of the hard tyre early on, and if it had worked we would have gained a pit stop and done the race on three sets of softs, which was the quickest way.

“We had to do three stops because of the tyre wear, which was quite high to begin with, but got better later in the race.”

Di Resta’s team opted for a tyre strategy of new hard, used soft, used soft, new soft.

He started 12th on the grid before making the early pit on lap 12 which brought him out in 16th. A retirement from Felipe Massa worked to Di Resta’s advantage and he brought the car home with a 13th-place finish.

His team mate Sutil faired better and sealed two points for himself and the Force India team.

Di Resta added: “It’s good that Adrian has picked up a couple of points, which are valuable for the championship.”

Force India are currently 6th in the Constructors Championships on 49 points, behind Renault on 72 and ahead of Sauber who are nine points behind them.

Di Resta is 14th in the Drivers Standings with 21 points on the board.

Two races remain in the current F1 season with trips to Abu Dhabi and Brazil later this month winding up the 2011 campaign.