Di Resta surprised by pole margin

The Scot topped all four segments of qualifying, and his advantage was so great in the pole position deciding Q4 session that he was able to take pole despite running wide onto the grass coming out of the last corner.

"I was a bit shocked that we had that much of an advantage on such a short track," he said. "I thought I would be further back when I went off.

"We were all a bit speechless at the end of the lap, but obviously we had enough time in hand."

Di Resta, who won at Brands Hatch last year, added that his Mercedes had been in good shape throughout the weekend so far.

"We've not had to do a lot of laps with the car to be quick," he said. "It's been tremendous the whole time.

"Hopefully tomorrow we can do what we did last year. Our long runs are strong so we have to be confident.

"I enjoy driving on this track, and now we are just focused on trying to win and making up some ground in the championship."

Di Resta is currently third in the standings, 11 points behind championship leader Bruno Spengler. The Canadian will join him on the front row for Sunday's race.