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

Di Resta says the best is yet to come after impressive British GP qualifying

Paul di Resta thinks there is even more to come from himself and Force India this season after delivering the best qualifying performance of his career at Silverstone

The Briton will line up an impressive sixth for his home grand prix and thinks that with the team's update package now working well, there is every reason to feel even more confident for the races to come.

"It is the first time since Barcelona [where the updates were first introduced] we are back at a proper track where you rely on the aerodynamics, and the car has worked well since we have put all these updates on," explained di Resta.

"It was difficult to gauge where we were. We knew we were improving with them and it is nice to confirm that they have worked and we are going forward.

"Coming for the Nurburgring we have some other bits coming, so it will be interesting to see where they are going to lead to.

"Maybe this track suited us, I don't really know. All you can do is go to the grip you've got. Even with the regulation change we seem to be very comfortable with where the car is and nothing is sticking out that is causing huge problems."

Di Resta said that his final qualifying lap, which left him just a few hundredths of a second away from being the fastest British driver, was at the absolute limit.

"Our aim and ambition was to get into Q3," he said. "We have been relatively very competitive when we have been on track this weekend; whether it is wet or dry, and even in the morning it felt quite good.

"There was some rain interruption in Q2. My engineer was quite keen to get out early and I said no, we need to be waiting here to make sure we are out on track at the end of the session. That is when you do the lap.

"We got through and the last lap I did on Q3 was on the edge. There was not much else coming out of that car. It was one of those laps where you come in and are happy you have achieved it. This place does seem to develop quite a bit of commitment and, having not driven on the GP track or raced on it with the new generation Silverstone, and being in front of my home crowd, is obviously very good."

Despite earning headlines because he out qualified Lewis Hamilton, di Resta said that he did not take any specific pleasure from achieving that feat.

"I want to beat the other 23 drivers," he said. "Lewis had a different strategy in qualifying. He went out on an old set at the beginning and maybe got caught out in the rain, but it is not for me to comment on. I just try to do the best job possible for myself.

"But you could say I would probably rather have beaten Jenson, as he only beat me by a few hundredths. So I think that would have been a better one for me, and I narrowly missed out on him. That would be the angle I would go at."

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Five themes to watch for in Britain
Next article Felipe Massa buoyed by Ferrari's Silverstone gains

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