Di Resta says penalty was too harsh

Di Resta had been on course to deliver the best result of his Formula 1 career when he clashed with Heidfeld at the final chicane - damaging his front wing and landing himself with a punishment that pushed him down the order.

Speaking about the incident, di Resta said he did not understand why he was judged to have done something wrong.

"The race was looking better after the restart," explained di Resta. "We were pretty fast on wets, and then we made the right call to start early and we jumped [Vitaly] Petrov again. At that stage the car was working well.

"I'd had a chance of passing Heidfeld the lap before the incident, but thought I'd bide my time. I got another run on him, got alongside him, but where he was trying to brake and what he was trying to do, he was never going to make the chicane and he took my front wing off.

"So I had to stop for a wing change, and I got a drive-through penalty, which again I thought was harsh. Then at the end I was lying 11th with two laps to go and I tried to get past Rubens Barrichello to get a point, but I pushed a bit too hard and clipped one of the walls."

When asked how harsh he felt the drive-through penalty was, di Resta said: "It's not even harsh, it's ridiculous. I don't see how I was at fault for that.

"He came in front of me, yet I still made the corner and he didn't, and all that happened was the front wing endplate came off, so I didn't batter him. I'd like to see it from the outside again."

Di Resta has vowed not to dwell too much on the disappointment, though, as he bids to build himself up for the next race.

"I've just got to give it a few days before I think too much about it," he said. "Obviously I'm going to be down and disappointed, but when I arrive at the next grand prix I have to be fully focused on trying to achieve more.

"It's tough, but the decision was hard, and I can't beat myself up too much about it."