Paul di Resta heads home to get himself up to speed

Paul di Resta is exacting a punishing schedule on himself this week as he continues his steep learning curve in Formula 1.

Di Resta grabbed a point on Sunday on his F1 debut with Force India in Australia, although only after both Saubers were disqualified for a technical infringement relating to the rear wing.

Sauber have stated their intent to appeal, which could see drivers in rookie Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi re-instated if they are successful, but for now Di Resta has a point to his name.

However, rather than remaining in Australia, or heading to Malaysia early ahead of the next grand prix on 10 April, or at least putting his feet up on a beach somewhere, Di Resta has opted to return to England.

As far as the Scot is concerned, in his rookie season there is no substitute for being prepared. So Di Resta will now take to the simulator to ensure he knows Malaysia's Sepang circuit, and the one in Shanghai that follows a week later for the Chinese Grand Prix, like the back of his hand.

"I'm heading back because I have to prepare for Malaysia and China in the simulator as they are back to back," confirmed Di Resta. "It's always good to go back anyway, and I can have another look at the race, to see where I went wrong. I'll sit down, go over it and hopefully turn up at the next race in good stead ready to go again."

Di Resta is not afraid to admit he made mistakes around Melbourne's Albert Park en route to finishing 12th, one behind team-mate Adrian Sutil, prior to their unexpected elevation. Given the demands placed on a driver in the cockpit of a car these days, with a steering wheel resembling something from a spaceship, it is no wonder Di Resta come unstuck on occasion.

"There were a few errors, but nothing that cost me too much," said Di Resta. "It was a case of trying to do things too quick at times, pushing the wrong buttons with some things.

"But the workload is quite extreme in the cars just now, so I just have to be a bit more patient, whereas other things were very good and I was on the money.

"There are so many things going on, though, like using the rear wing at times to get close, and then you are trying to save KERS (the power-boost system] to try and overtake.

"Of course, it's exciting, and had we had a more competitive car then you would have seen gains, but at the end I was just glad to get through it."

Di Resta readily concedes the car is short on pace, and until F1 hits Europe in May, the next two races will be tough. "We definitely need to go up, that's one thing that's apparent," added Di Resta."We're just going to keep pressing on, and as long we keep going upwards rather than downwards, then that's all that matters.

"The stuff we've got coming should give us a reasonable gain, and there is definitely time within me in terms of managing conditions and the set-up better."