Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

AUTOSPORT Awards Rookie of the Year: Paul di Resta

Paul di Resta has been named as the AUTOSPORT.com Rookie of the Year at the AUTOSPORT Awards in London

Autosport Awards

The Autosport Awards are a series of awards presented by motor racing magazine Autosport to drivers that have achieved significant milestones each season. Some of the presentations are selected by the general public via a reader's poll.

The 25-year-old Force India driver beat off competition from fellow Formula 1 rookies Sergio Perez, Jerome D'Ambrosio, Daniel Ricciardo and Pastor Maldonado, plus Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, IndyCar first-timers James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand, DTM racer Edoardo Mortara and GP3 rookie Lewis Williamson to win the award, which is voted for by readers of AUTOSPORT.com.

Di Resta, who joins a list of winners that includes former F1 world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, and the late Dan Wheldon, was presented with his award by Patrick Head.

"It's been a tough year," said di Resta. "But it's been an incredible journey. Force India gave me the opportunity two years ago to drive their car the first time and to help them to their best year, sixth in the constructors' championship, is great.

"My personal highlight was qualifying for the British Grand Prix, when we started sixth. The race didn't go quite so well, but there you go."

Di Resta, the 2004 McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner, made his F1 race debut this year with Force India after spending 2010 as the team's reserve driver while simultaneously winning the DTM title for Mercedes.

He finished 10th on his grand prix debut in Australia and then followed up that result in Malaysia, becoming only the seventh driver in history to score points in their first two F1 races.

A superb first half of the season resulted in him outqualifying his more experienced team-mate Adrian Sutil 6-2 in the first eight races, and starting an impressive eighth on the grid for just his third race in China.

In total he started in the top 10 on five occasions and scored points in eight different races, netting 13th place in the championship with 27 points. His best finish came at the Singapore Grand Prix, where he was sixth.

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article AUTOSPORT Awards National Driver of the Year: Matt Neal
Next article AUTOSPORT Awards John Bolster Award: Gian Paolo Dallara

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe