Paul di Resta reflects on his successful rookie F1 season

Dec 29 2011 by Kieran Westbrook, West Lothian Courier

IMAGINE being strapped into the cockpit of a Sahara Force India supercar, inches off the ground in the sizzling Melbourne heat, on the starting grid of your first ever Formula One race.

Your heart is pumping as you try to block out the sounds of the chanting crowd as information and instructions are barked through an earpiece while you wait for the lights to turn green on an F1 career you have spent your whole life preparing for.

That was exactly what Bathgate’s Paul di Resta was going through on March 18 earlier this year.

And looking back on the moment his debut F1 season got underway, di Resta admits that first race Down Under was all a bit of a blur.

He told Courier Sport: “It was just so different to what I was used to.

“There were a lot of mixed emotions going on throughout that weekend.

“Fortunately there were enough people there supporting me and dragging me to different things that eventually from that it starts to build into a routine.

“But in the first grand prix, when the lights went out, it all went quite blurry.

“The biggest thing for me was this – making sure I got off to a good start.”

And di Resta certainly did that.

By the end of the first lap, he had overtaken three cars and was up to 11th.

He finished 12th but eventually earned 10th spot when Sauber rivals Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi were disqualified hours after the race had finished.

It may have not been the conventional method of scoring points, but di Resta looks back fondly on the big moment he found out.

“When I got the phone call in the airport to say we had got the point, it was really something,” he said.

“It was a massive relief and a bonus that it was done in my first grand prix.

“It was a great feeling.”

Di Resta followed that up with another point in Malaysia before a barren spell set in.

Technical failure, a drive-through penalty and a retirement led to the Bathgate Bullet going into his 10th race in Hungary on the same championship points as after his second race.

But, according to the 25-year-old speedster, that’s when everything changed.

“Hungary was the turning point of my entire season,” reflected di Resta.

“It was a really good result for us.

“There had been a bit of frustration before that, because we had been getting into good positions but things weren’t panning out as we’d have liked.

“I think the luck changed in that race.

“I don’t believe there was anything different from our point of view, it was always going to happen.”

Di Resta snatched six points with a seventh-place finish, propelling him up the Drivers’ Championships table and re-establishing himself as a driver to watch.

And with the bit now between his teeth, the Scot went on to prove that the stunning result was no fluke.

Two races later, his points tally for the season moved into double figures, with another four in Italy before securing his highest finish to date, crossing the line in sixth at Singapore just a fortnight later.

And unsurprisingly, di Resta looks back on that Far East adventure as his favourite of the season.

“That was an awesome race,” he said.

“We had a difficult Friday, where we lost a lot of running through mechanical failure, but we got both cars through.

“We outperformed Mercedes quite rightly out there on the track and it was a lot of points.

“We leapfrogged our rivals Sauber and Toro Rosso and never looked back from there.”

Di Resta ended the season with a flurry of points finishes, adding to his growing reputation as a consistent and talented driver

He snatched 13th place in the Drivers’ Standings and helped his team to sixth in the Constructors’ Championships.

A season of highlights ended on a high with di Resta being handed a new deal for 2012 by Force India.

And while he refutes any claims that his future had him concerned, he admits he welcomed the news.

“I wouldn’t say it was as much a relief, but it shows confidence from the team and that they are happy with what I have done,” Di Resta said.

“I feel very comfortable within the team and I am looking forward to continuing that relationship.”