Paul Di Resta: The long and winding road

THERE are three things we know for sure about Paul Di Resta, mainly because everyone from his indycar-racing cousin Dario Franchitti to motorsport legends such as Sir Jackie Stewart mention them every time they're asked for an inside line on the latest Scot to ascend to Formula One.

These are: that he's almost pathologically determined and single-minded; unshakably down to earth; and, perhaps most importantly, very fast. By this time next week the Australian Grand Prix will have just finished and we'll have a much better idea of whether those qualities are enough to sustain him in the world's most high-octane sport.

Di Resta himself is under no illusions. The 24-year-old from Bathgate may have succeeded at every level, with last year's German DTM touring car title the latest in a string of almost uninterrupted triumphs, and he may have bested both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel when they were competing in karting and Formula Three, but Formula One is a far less forgiving environment. As Di Resta says: "Up until now my whole life has been focused on getting to Formula One, but it's going to be a lot harder to stay here than it was to get here."

If the Scot is now impatient to get started, there's little chance that he'll be overawed. Many of the top names are drivers he's raced against from an early age. Back in 1999, as a 13-year-old competing in the Monaco Cup, he was on the front of the grid while Robert Kubica, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton lined up behind him (he finished second behind Kubica). Later, he won nine consecutive Scottish titles and went head-to-head with Hamilton for the Formula Renault and F3 Euroseries. In 2006, he was the F3 European Champion, scoring 11 points more than his team-mate Vettel. "I'm not saying that I'm a faster or better driver than guys like Vettel," said Di Resta, "but if you look at the results when we had equal cars then there's at least been parity between us."

Since then, Hamilton and Vettel have become the youngest world champions in the history of the sport while Di Resta, despite being championed by Mercedes, found that a lack of resources rather than results meant it took him longer to get to Formula One.

He knows how precarious a career in F1 can be, and is determined to make the most of this opportunity. "It's been a hell of a journey getting here, and I've still got some big goals in life.

But you've got to know what you want and be prepared to make mistakes along the way, because that's how you learn."

If Di Resta, who is now managed by Hamilton's father Anthony, is to be a long-term success in Formula One, he will be looking to benchmark himself in a couple of ways in his first year. For every driver the clearest sign of success, even more than scoring points, is beating your team-mate. In Di Resta's case this means Adrian Sutil, a four-year veteran who has 71 grands prix under his belt. "Adrian has experience so hopefully I can learn from him," said Di Resta. "Up until now I've always been able to get the better of my team-mates, so hopefully it'll work out as it has in the past."

Stacking up well against Sutil - who last year scored 47 points and finished 11th - is crucial because the highly-regarded German Niko Hulkenberg has joined the team from Williams as test driver after his cash-strapped former team sold his place on the grid to Venezuelan rookie Pastor Maldonada.

Force India owner Vijay Mallya is also piling on the pressure to perform after the disappointment of seeing his team pipped to sixth place by one point by Williams.

But high-achievers also traditionally win the rookie stakes by beating the other first-timers. In Di Resta's case that means ending up further up the points table than Maldonada in the Williams, Mexican Sergio Perez in the Sauber and Belgian Jerome D'Ambrosio in the Virgin. With Maldonada and Perez driving cars that are expected to be quick - and in the case of Perez's Sauber, potentially very quick - it is a substantial challenge. Yet there are great expectations in the paddock, and not just from Force India.

"Paul Di Resta is a huge talent and is widely recognised as such, and I think he will be hugely well received," says Eddie Jordan. "He's one of four rookies but his target has to be the best of those and he certainly has the talent and the car in Force India to blow them all away."

His campaign to do just that starts in Melbourne next week, and while Di Resta has a reputation as a driver who adapts quickly to new circuits, it's still to be seen whether the half-track, half-road Albert Park circuit is the ideal starting point for the rookie. Bahrain, with its wide sweeping corners and long straights, is more like the circuits he's been used to racing on in DTM. Di Resta, though, seems confident in his ability to cope with the Aussie circuit.

"Melbourne presents some interesting challenges," he says. "I did ten laps there last year, but I've not raced on it so I'll need to be completely focused. The whole place suits the sort of very high speeds that the Force India is built for."

Although Di Resta felt a sense of anti-climax when Bahrain was cancelled, there are still 19 gruelling races remaining.At the moment, though, even a stoic like Di Resta can't help but cast his mind forwards to the races to come, to iconic venues that he has dreamed of racing at since he climbed on to that quad bike at the age of three and motor-racing became the entire focus of his life.

"Silverstone will be particularly special," he laughs. "There are so many exciting tracks that you look forward to them all, but there are the ones that stick in your mind, like the amazing atmosphere at Monza and the best corners in the world at Spa. Who wouldn't be excited by those?"

Di Resta says he is determined to make the most of an opportunity that has been a long time coming. "At the end of this year I want to be able to look back and say that the racing has been as enjoyable as I thought it would be, and that I've been as focused as I know I can be," he said. "There will be things that don't go to plan, but the challenge is to respond positively.

"I know it is going to be difficult. The workload is going to increase for me this year with so many grands prix, a lot of racing compared to what I am used to in a year. I don't think time wise it's going to be as bad, but on the brain it is going to be much more demanding. But this is my chance and I am determined to give it my all and show what I can do."