Paul di Resta says right tyre choice to start the race with key to German Grand Prix success

The top 10 drivers on the grid will all have a free choice of which compound to start on because they set their qualifying times on intermediate rubber.

With dry weather tyre data at a premium thanks to rain in practice and the fact that Formula 1 has never raced on Pirelli rubber at Hockenheim, thanks to last year's German Grand Prix being staged at the Nurburgring, di Resta expects a wide range of strategy choices.

"At Silverstone, what played the biggest art was what tyre you started on and I'm sure it will play a big part [at Hockenheim," said di Resta.

"The conditions are going to be a bit different. The track is going to rubber-in quite a lot during the early stages of the grand prix.

"Nobody knows how long the tyres are going to last and which compound to be on.

"I'm sure everyone will be starting on new tyres. It's all about what choice you make - whether it's options [soft] or primes [medium]."

Di Resta is confident that he will be able to score points in the race and that the Force India-Mercedes will have enough dry pace to compete.

"We looked okay on the long run on Saturday morning," he said. "Obviously, we have not got a lot of data to go on from dry conditions and I hadn't driven here in the dry until Saturday morning [because Jules Bianchi drove his car during FP1]. But it all seemed to be relatively comfortable.

"I would obviously hope [to be in the top 10] but there are some quick people behind us. Obviously [Felipe] Massa will be fairly quick and [Nico] Rosberg. But it's all about strategy."