Formula One: Paul Di Resta will not give up on elusive podium place

Published on 23/06/2012 03:38

Paul di Resta would like to believe he can fulfil Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya’s ambition of a podium finish this year.

Force India are one of only two teams of the leading nine marques yet to claim a top-three finish this campaign – Toro Rosso the other – given some strange results over the opening seven races. Earlier this week Mallya called on everyone in the team to raise their game in order to match rivals such as Williams, who won in Barcelona, and Sauber who enjoyed podium finishes for Sergio Perez in Malaysia and Canada.

Di Resta, however, has expressed initial scepticism despite his performances in Malaysia, Bahrain and Monaco where he finished seventh, sixth and seventh respectively.

“I want a podium, but at the end of the day if the car is not under you, it’s not under you,” said Di Resta, who nevertheless finished sixth in yesterday’s practice for the European Grand Prix in Valencia, the Scot 0.366secs adrift of pacesetter Sebastian Vettel, with McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton 12th and 14th.

“We put ourselves in a strong position in Canada [where he ran fifth early on], but we never took advantage of it. If anything that should have been the race where we made a jump, and we were in a clear position to do that, but we failed to do so. Of course, everybody in the team is working to achieve it, but there are a whole lot of things in the background.

“You have to look at resource, the way our team operates compared to some others, that suggests we can’t achieve it. But in saying that I don’t see why we shouldn’t have the belief we can’t do it because we did it last year. I would like to hope and believe this year we can do it if other people have.”

It is now approaching two years since Di Resta was last on a podium, his previous experience being at the end of his 2010 title-winning campaign in DTM. The Scot, realising the limitations of the team he is with, said: “It’s the longest stretch I’ve gone, even without winning a race, by a long way. Of course you miss something like that, but you’re at the top of the sport and you have to accept the circumstances you are under. But it doesn’t mean you go into a race thinking you are not going to win. You have to have every faith you can achieve it.”

Di Resta, 12th in the championship with 21 points, accepts luck has to play a part if a top-three finish is to be achieved.

“You need luck in life for everything, and if it’s going for you, it’s going for you,” said Di Resta. “You can clearly see some people have had some good results this year. Look at where [Lotus’ Romain] Grosjean finished in Canada [2nd], well, I was two cars in front of him in the first stint.

“It shows you can clearly be outside a window which makes a huge difference.”

Meanwhile, Di Resta has joined fellow Britons Hamilton and Button in backing the prospect of a grand prix being staged in and around London’s Olympic Stadium.

Intelligent Transport Solutions Ltd, based at Wanstead in east London, are proposing using the venue for a race, which would naturally become the new European Grand Prix given Silverstone’s long-term contract to stage the British Grand Prix.