Paul di Resta - the real deal?

Brogan

Brogan

Legend
Staff Member
Paul di Resta has been mentioned for the last few seasons whenever there was talk of Force India and Mercedes but it's only now that he has been given a chance.

He must have assumed his chance in F1 had gone, having driven in DTM for the last 4 years. Normally F1 drivers go the other way, spending their last few semi-competitive years in a relatively sedate series.

But what an impact he has made. By any account his first three races have been impressive, never mind for a rookie.
He may be on equal points with his much more experienced team mate, but he has beaten him in all three Qualifying sessions.
With a few more races under his belt I can see him being a real contender for a promotion to Renault or possibly Mercedes (assuming they don't want to keep the team all German).

I'm pleased to see that Paul has finally been given the chance and I will watch his progess this season with interest.
 
I too am very pleased. I'd like to think he is the real deal, but we'll need to see a few more races yet, not least because i don't think Sutil has been quite on form as yet this season. If he is/has been, then he needs to look out because his reputation as a top midfielder, if that makes any sense, will be under great threat before long if he is to be out paced and out performed by his rookie team mate.
 
It's looking very positive for him. He seems to have got stronger race-by-race, unlike Perez, say, and appears to have the beating of Sutil very early into their partnership.

I've never regarded Adrian as a potential top-line driver personally, but even so for Paul to do as well as he is at such a stage in his career is highly impressive. He has to maintain that progress over the rest of the season, and I'll be looking particularly closely to see how he manages at Monaco.
 
I expected Paul to be good, but I didn't think he would come in and be quicker than Sutil right away. This must be a promising sign of things to come. And to think they almost went with Liuzzi again.

To along with the Schumacher thread, I think di Resta would be a perfect fit for Mercedes next season.
 
Sutil was always regarded as fast, just amazingly accident-prone in racing conditions. The fact that he has been out qualified by di Resta 3-0 so far is pretty impressive. As for DTM being a fairly sedate series, having watched a few races I don't think of it as any more sedate than GP2. If anything, in GP2 a young driver has the advantage that most of the other drivers are also relatively young and they don't have the same level of racecraft as you see in DTM, so all you are really up against is their raw speed. To achieve in DTM means that you need to be able to think just as fast as you drive, and I reckon that di Resta will have been very well prepared for F1 because he went up against experienced drivers early in his career.
 
I said relatively sedate, the relative being F1.

Tin top racing such as DTM is a world away from open wheel racing though. GP2 is far closer to F1 than DTM will ever be.
 
I don't know that it is so much more removed. From what I hear DTM has far more in common with F1 and GP2 than it does with WTCC and the like. Pretty much everyone I see interviewed describes them as single-seaters with roofs.
 
He has been really impressive so far, it is clear the Force India isnt as competitive as it was last year or the latter part of 2009 but he has been getting it into the points and regularly beating his team-mate. I reckon he could be Schumachers replacement at Mercedes.
 
If Schumi doesn't get at least 75% of Rosberg's points this year he'll be out, and currently I'd have to say di Resta is looking like the best candidate to fill his seat, with only Hulkenberg or Heidfeld (if Kubica comes back) as his competition.
 
Would Mercedes be too 'corporate' for Kubica though? That was one of his complaints of BMW Sauber when he left at the end of 2009.
 
MCLS said:
Would Mercedes be too 'corporate' for Kubica though? That was one of his complaints of BMW Sauber when he left at the end of 2009.
Click to expand

No, Kubica would stay at Renault, I'm saying that Heidfeld would only become di resta's competitor for the Mercedes seat if Kubica returns to F1 with Renault. Otherwise I'd imagine Heidfeld would remain at Renault with Kubica retiring.
 
I can't see Kubica ever coming back to F1; another form of motor sports maybe, but not F1. And even having been a fan of Nick Heidfeld down the years, I'm not sure he is doing enough this season (early days yet, I know) to be a real contender for a major seat next year. If he picks up the pace this season, and if I'm right about RK, he may keep his seat at Renault, otherwise his best chance of a seat will probably lie with the likes of Force India downwards.

So unless Mercedes really want to stay with a German driver line-up, I can see Di Resta being a shoe-in for Schumacher's seat in 2012, especially given Norbert Haug's comments. I can't really see a team that badly wants real results choosing either Sutil, Hulkenberg or Glock over Paul at the moment. And no matter what Michael says about seeing out his three year contract, if the car becomes more competitive as it seems to be doing, and he continues to under-perform relative to Rosberg I can see him walking, or being nudged, into the ambassador role a year early.
 
I've said the same about Robert many times, as soon as it became clear how bad his injuries were.

If Paul continues putting in decent results, or at least beating his team mate then I can see quite a few teams being interested.
It's not unreasonable to think that Red Bull might even be an option once Mark has moved on after this season.
 
Is Paul the real deal?
He cetainly looks it but one thing that struck me during his interviews is how rational, composed, and focused he comes across. I wouldn't go so far as to suggest these are sure signs of a potential winner, but they do indicate an unshakeable elf-belief all top-drivers possess.
Although I agree with what Galahad was saying earlier, I never really saw Sutil as a potential winner in the making.
 
Brogan said:
I've said the same about Robert many times, as soon as it became clear how bad his injuries were.

If Paul continues putting in decent results, or at least beating his team mate then I can see quite a few teams being interested.
It's not unreasonable to think that Red Bull might even be an option once Mark has moved on after this season.
Click to expand

Indeed, di Resta will be competing with Buemi and Alguersuari for that role to start with. I can see them going with Buemi though, because I don't think they want a Turkey 2010 situation again, so they'll have a Patrese in the role.

di Resta is likely to be at Mercedes, I think. I believe they'd be unwise to wait until next season!
 

Similar threads

F1Brits_90
  • Article Article
Grand Prix 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion
    • Like
2
Replies
38
Views
653
F1Brits_90
F1Brits_90
FB
  • Article Article
Grand Prix 2024 Dutch Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion
    • Like
Replies
19
Views
454
cider_and_toast
cider_and_toast
F1Brits_90
Grand Prix 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion
    • Like
2 3
Replies
50
Views
3K
TR
TR
C
The heck do they call champagne?
Replies
6
Views
1K
Landooooooo
L
FB
  • Article Article
Grand Prix 2024 Italian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion
    • Like
2 3
Replies
52
Views
1K
F1Brits_90
F1Brits_90
Back
Top Bottom