Now for those who know me, it is no surprise that I am a massive fan of Paul Di Resta, in fact I think I almost shed a tear when the Sahara Force India F1 team announced that Sergio Perez was to replace Di Resta for the 2014 season. So, during the break between DTM races and in the build up to the Austrian GP, I’m going to prove how Vijay Mallya was so wrong in sacking Paul:
Firstly, having spent three years in a competitive midfield, Di Resta never faltered. Understandably, in his rookie season, mistakes were made but after qualifying 6th for his home Grand Prix at Silverstone and finishing, at the time, a career best 6th at Singapore, he had definitely made his mark on formula one, with 7 further points finishes in his first year, only narrowly missing beating his much experienced teammate, Adrian Sutil in the final drivers’ standings.
2012 saw Paul make the step up, with a new, highly rated teammate in the form of Nico Hulkenberg.
The young Scot was clearly top dog throughout the first half of the season. Finishing higher with 5 points finishes after the first 10 races, it looked like things were on the up for Paul with links to Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes for the 2013 season circling the tabloids. Two further points finishes were on the cards after the mid season break, but round 15 at Japan was where things changed.
During practice, Paul found the edge of the race circuit and slid into the wall surrounding the track, damaging his Force India. At first, it seemed like a routine change in front wing with several other aesthetic changes needed. However, come race day, Paul had a terrible start, losing many positions while his teammate stole the limelight, constantly battling at the sharp end of the field and finishing in the points. It wasn’t until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that the Anglo-Indian team discovered fundamental damage in his monocoque’s rigidity. This caused his car to lose speed even in a straight line, causing him to be outshone by Hulkenberg. However, once fixed, he was back in the points with a 9th place finish in Abu Dhabi. But the damage was done. By then, Hulkenberg was on a hot streak, finished all three races in the points, and was snapped up by Sauber.
Di Resta missed out on a £5m move to Maranello as Ferrari decided to stick with Felipe Massa, and McLaren opted for Sergio Perez, backed by Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man. The Scot did not dwell on it, saying: “after changing various different components, the last thing we changed was the monocoque in Abu Dhabi. It was like flicking a switch and we were back.”
Sticking with force India into 2013, Paul was fundamental in developing the car as his teammate wasn’t confirmed until the final preseason test. This turned out to be returnee Adrian Sutil. Scoring in 8 out of the first 10 races Di Resta was electric and could’ve had more points on the board had it not been for a retirement caused by a wheel nut expanding in the heat of Malaysia or countless qualifying strategy mistakes from his team in Canada and Monaco knocking him out in Q1. Regardless of this, the Bathgate born driver fought through to the points in spectacular fashion- he was the only driver to make one pit stop in Montreal, proving his capabilities with tyre management.
Unfortunately, after a series of tyre blow outs at the British GP, new tyre compounds were introduced by Pirelli and this, combined with Force India’s decision to stop development for that season’s car meant the team went backwards. It was a struggle to get into the points, yet alone qualify in the top ten. Meanwhile, arch nemesis (in my opinion) Nico Hulkenberg was flying in a newly revitalised Sauber team. A string of mistakes and unavoidable collisions led to several retirements for Paul but by India, the team was back on track with an 8th place finish and then a 6th place at Abu Dhabi. This was to be the last points for Paul in 2013, but with Sauber suddenly starting to struggle, Di Resta still had a chance of finishing in the Top 10 of the drivers’ standings. But after Brazil, Hulkenberg and Perez scored good points, elevating them to 10th and 11th respectively with Paul in 12th, 1 point off eventual successor Perez.
Having scored almost double the points of teammate Sutil, Paul only finished one position in front of him. Ultimately, the season was a tale of two halves but had the tyres not changed, I thoroughly believe Paul would’ve finished in 10th or higher come November. Yet, it wasn’t to be. The second half of the season always seems to be the unluckiest for Paul and again in 2012 had Di Resta not had a fundamental problem with his car, he most definitely would’ve finished in front of Hulkenberg.
Di Resta was sacked because he had no sponsorship to bring to his team in a time when it was most needed. Forget his relationship with Mercedes securing him the seat in the first place with the team. Perez, backed by huge amounts of Mexican money bought his way in after being sacked by McLaren for a dismal season. If only Martin Whitmarsh had seen reason back in 2012 and signed Paul. Let’s not forget, he beat now four time world champion Sebastian Vettel in Formula 3 back in the day.
On the other hand, he didn’t help himself in his three year tenure at force India, occasionally blaming the team for mistakes. Yes, they did make mistakes but in Formula One, it’s all for one and one for all. Or else you get sacked. Simple.
Returning as a former champion to the German touring car championship, DTM, Paul will race for Mercedes. This is a better place for Paul at the moment, no politics, not money driven and a hugely competitive grid to prove himself against the likes of Gary Paffett, Pascal Werhlein and Dani Juncadella for teammates will prove a challenge but one I am sure will prove fruitful for Paul. However, so far this season, the Mercedes-Benz cars have been lacklustre, occupying the final rows of the grid with all of their cars and being beaten by Audi and BMW. But, having qualified poorly in the first three races, Paul went on to secure 4th position at the second round in Oshesleben, due to a hectic rain driven race. While in Budapest he was on track for 7th before his steering broke and he currently stands as the second highest Mercedes driver in the Championship standings.
There is some good news on the horizon. Paul is determined to get back into Formula One next year and by signing with Mercedes it is widely believed and hinted at by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team’s co team principal Toto Wolff, who also runs the DTM team, that Paul will sign on as their test and reserve driver. Primarily, this keeps his foot in the door for any opportunities in the future. He’s still young enough and fast enough to get back in, “It is a shame, he is a grown up driver, but he will know how to deal with it,” former teammate and now 2014 Sauber driver Sutil explained to Sky Sports.
“There is no question he deserves a drive in Formula 1, he is a really good guy and I think it is important that he continues to work on himself and doesn’t give up.” And if he could bring just a little bit of money with him like Kamui Kobayashi has done this year to sign with Caterham, it would only do him good.
Basically, it’s all Lewis Hamilton’s fault. With Lewis always a couple of years ahead of Paul, his talents were recognised first. As a result, he was picked up by Mercedes, McLaren and various other sponsors and secured a formula 1 drive because of this. Paul blossomed a little later but of course, by then, money was a bit more tight and he wasn’t given everything Hamilton was and most F1 seats were taken, meaning it took Paul a little longer to get to F1 but even while he was there, he was constantly fighting for his seat, as was everyone else in the midfield; but because Hamilton got there just a little bit earlier, he landed straight into a top F1 team.
Therefore, he deserved not just more, but better. However, I still hold out hope that Paul Di Resta will be back and better than ever before. Now back in DTM with Mercedes, a reserve driver role is just around the corner and with it, the possibility of a return to the top flight in 2015.
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