Paul di Resta seeking home comforts

The Scot has had a frustrating start to his F1 career but is relishing his first British Grand Prix - and so is his family

LAST weekend, in the run-up to the "biggest race of my life", Force India driver Paul Di Resta headed north of the Border for some family succour. This time the West Lothian driver wasn't back to consult with dad Louis, the man who helped launch his motorsport career, or even to get some advice from his cousins Dario and Marino Franchitti, the two brothers whose achievements helped inspire his early success.

Instead he was home to watch his little brother Stefan compete in the latest round of the British Karting Championship at Larkhall. It turned out to be an unusually instructive foray northwards, with his 22-year-old sibling starting slowly before hitting top gear as a fifth-place finish in the first race was followed by a podium finish in the second, in which he converted a 23rd-place start into a third-place finish. The upward trajectory of his brother's results is an example that the older Di Resta will hope to emulate at today's British Grand Prix, which is just one of reason why Stefan - not to mention mum Marie and a large chunk of his extended family - have travelled to Silverstone to witness him race for the first time.

What they don't know is whether the Di Resta they see racing will be a sainted tyro or the driver who has lately been desperately trying - but failing - to wring a contender's time from an also-ran's car. His early-season performances strongly suggested he was the former, with Di Resta winning a point in each of his first two Grands Prix with tenth-place finishes in Melbourne and Malaysia, followed by an 11th-place finish in China. At that stage rumours abounded that the 25-year-old was being lined up to replace Michael Schumacher at Mercedes next year, with Norbert Haug, the Mercedes boss who mentored Di Resta through the professional ranks, hardly dousing such speculation when he referred to the Scot's early-season form as "remarkable" and "exceptional".

If it appears that Di Resta has since begun to flag, nothing could be further from the truth. He may have failed to get back into the points, but his problem has been a lack of luck rather than speed. His car failed in Turkey, and 12th-place finishes in Spain and Monaco after starting way down the grid were widely hailed as impressive drives.

His last two races, though, have been deeply frustrating: he was going like an express train in fifth place in Canada until he and Nick Heidfeld came together, forcing the Scot into the pits and a 18th-place finish, while in Valencia practice driver Nico Hulkenburg holed his chances below the water line when he smashed up Di Resta's car in practice.

Despite those travails and despite struggling to convert his undoubted talent into points, the Scot's stock has remained high. But then he has been undeniably quick, out-qualifying experienced team-mate Adrian Sutil 6-2 in the opening eight races of the season. However, while the German has scored eight points in the past three races - six for a seventh-placed finish in Monaco and two for a ninth-placed finish last time out in Valencia - to take his total to ten points, Di Resta continues to languish on the points he won in those opening two races.

It is a scenario which, says the Scottish driver, is concerning commentators and fans more than the driver or his team. "Of course you look and see how you're doing against your team-mate but Adrian is a pretty experienced driver," says Di Resta. "He and I are a team, we win together, we lose together, and everyone at the team knows that and is working hard towards both of us doing well. But I'm under no illusions: I'm still a rookie, but there's no such thing as a learning curve in Formula One - you're expected to arrive as the finished article, and if you aren't competitive then you won't last long."

If the dice haven't fallen for Di Resta of late, then he is managing to show the calmness under fire and patience which have been the hallmarks of his driving career so far. "I'm not frustrated and I don't really feel under any pressure," he said. "I'm just going to keep plugging away, doing my best and waiting for my chance, as I've done throughout my career. Hopefully that will come this weekend because I know that it's a massive weekend, probably the biggest of my career. During the week I targeted a top-ten place on the grid, and of course the aim is to be back among the points."

Former team owner Eddie Jordan said before the championship began that Di Resta would finish in the points in every grand prix this season, and while that was hyperbole, there was a great level of expectation about his potential results. The notoriously reticent and modest Di Resta never shared those expectations, although he happily admits that he "hoped, not expected" to fulfil his potential this season.

If Di Resta's practice and qualifying times have had him looking like a man on the verge of a breakthrough, the Northamptonshire track is one of the venues where it is most likely to come together. Not only is Silverstone the home of Force India, which means it's Di Resta's surrogate home these days, but it's also a track where he has had a notable level of success in the past.He may only have raced here once - in Formula Renault in 2003-4 on the old international track - but his first drive in an F1 car was at Silverstone, he won the prestigious McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award there in 2004, and he did 22 laps of the circuit last year in practice.

The changes to the track have been sufficiently radical that none of that will count for much beyond symbolism, but Di Resta has proven in the past that the Silverstone environment is one that energises him. Even more importantly, the advantage enjoyed by the more experienced drivers will be lessened. "I drove at Silverstone last year but the track was a completely different layout, and it's been completely remodelled since then to accommodate the new pit complex and the start-finish line," he said. "But it's the same for everyone, so some of those other drivers who knew the track well will have to re-adjust too - it'll be a challenge for all of us."

It is also surely helpful for the rookie that on a weekend when he will perform in front of 120,000 home fans, many of them waving Saltires, that all of the pressure is on Lewis Hamilton. Not only have the former world champion's attempts to manoeuvre a move to race alongside Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull been emphatically and embarrassingly rebuffed by team principal Christian Horner, but the driver has been admonished by everyone from Ferrari's Felipe Massa to the grand old man of British F1, Stirling Moss, for his overly aggressive driving style.

Not that Di Resta is letting other drivers' troubles cloud his focus. Of course he wants to put on a show for the home fans, but his points on offer represent the real prize. "This is the race more than any other where I get a chance to say 'thanks' to all those many people who've helped me down the years, who have helped me make it this far," he says. "But I also know that the best way to do that is to get back among the points and give them something to cheer."