Di Resta Fest

For the past three years, a British driver has won the F3 Euro Series title. The similarities don't end at nationality though, as all three won with the French ASM squad, and they were all associated with Mercedes-Benz in some way.

However, one of these three bucked the trend and did not step into a DTM car for the following season. While he had a lot of respect for the tin-top series, Lewis Hamilton had a different agenda, and he has since caused quite a stir in the Formula One paddock.

But Jamie Green and Paul di Resta, the men who won the title before and after Hamilton, did join the German-based series, and this year di Resta has been making Hamilton-like waves in the DTM paddock with a couple of startling performances.

Unlike Hamilton, di Resta was placed in a car that was expected to be nowhere near the front of the field this year, as his Mercedes C-Class is two years old. While a lot of effort has gone into equalising the performance of these cars with the newer models with different weight limits, only di Resta has even scored a point in a 2005 car so far, and then at Oschersleben he claimed his maiden podium.

Two-year-old cars were introduced into the DTM in 2006 in a bid to make up for the loss of Opel as a manufacturer, but before di Resta's debut at Hockenheim in April, one had never looked like scoring points.

The Scot had been bold in the build-up to the season though, and he claimed that he was not merely aiming to be the best car in the '2005 class'. "I would be very disappointed with myself if I spend the year just racing the other two-year-old cars at the back," he said at the time.

Paul di Resta crosses the finish line in 2nd at Oschersleben © XPB/LAT

But even di Resta could not have imagined that he would qualify third for his DTM debut, or that he would finish on the podium in just his second race. In yet another Hamilton comparison, he is also part of a three-way tie at the top of the championship with the Audi pair of Mattias Ekstrom and Martin Tomczyk.

"To be joint leader of the championship is something I can't really explain," says di Resta. "Of course I would have hoped for that, but realistically I never expected it."

When he sat down for the press conference after his top three qualifying performance at Hockenheim, the 21-year-old admitted that he had surpassed even his own high expectations.

It wouldn't be long before he appeared at the press conference again, and his second place finish at Oschersleben confirmed that Hockenheim was no flash in the pan.

"I knew we'd be fast, but I didn't think we'd be this fast, and I just hope we can keep progressing from here," he said. "We had a great car at Hockenheim and I didn't think that we would be as strong at Oschersleben, but we got a great result."

His strategy in Hockenheim had cost him the chance of a podium, as he had run comfortably in second early on, but lost out by leaving his stops until late in the race. Stalling after one of his stops didn't help, either.

However, he had already done enough to make an impact upon everyone in the DTM paddock, even if some didn't really need to be impressed.

"Paul is a new star in the making, but he didn't win the F3 Euro Series title by accident," says Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug. "It is a fact that stalling in the pits cost him a podium at Hockenheim, we can see that from his lap times.

"I have not been surprised, though. Even before Hockenheim, I had a bet with some German journalists, and when we predicted the grid I said that Paul would be fourth, and he actually qualified third. I knew this would be possible."

Praise from your employers is one thing, but praise from your rivals is quite another. di Resta has achieved both though, because Audi's head of motorsport, Wolfgang Ullrich, hasn't been shy in coming forward either.

Paul di Resta (Persson Mercedes-Benz) runs ahead of Christian Abt (Phoenix Audi) and Alexandros Margaritis (Persson Mercedes-Benz) at Oschersleben © XPB/LAT

"We have to take into account the guy who is in this car," says Ullrich. "We know he is a really fast young guy. He also has the experience of the tracks from Formula 3 though, and he already understands what a DTM weekend is like. His results are very good."

For a brief moment after qualifying at Oschersleben it appeared that the bubble had burst. di Resta had qualified 11th on the grid, and he found the result hard to come to terms with.

However, in a reverse of his Hockenheim weekend, things went much better in the race, and this time his pit stop strategy enabled him to run in clear air and set some stunning lap times.

Strategy is crucial in DTM, as two mandatory pit stops have to be completed during the races, and track position is key. di Resta has experienced both sides of how a strategy can make or break a driver's race, but he chooses not to know what his team has planned for him.

"I just want to race and be called in whenever the team wants me to pit," he says. "The team had a good strategy at Oschersleben and that was the key, because I was able to run in clean air."

The Scot has a lot of faith in his Persson Motorsport team, who were able to celebrate a 1-2 at Oschersleben as Gary Paffett won the race in one of their 2006 cars with di Resta following him home.

"Persson have worked so hard with me over the winter, and it's great to see them getting these results," says di Resta. "They always run the old cars, and its good to show what these cars can do, so hats off to them."

Having 2005 champion Paffett as a teammate doesn't hurt either, and di Resta believes that the whole team is working very well together just two races into their relationship.

"Me and Gary are working well together, and I think the team have raised their game," he says. "We have good cars, which have been well-prepared by a good team, so I see no reason why we can't keep getting these results."

Not everyone shares di Resta's optimism for the rest of the season, as some feel that when the lead teams really get their act together with the 2007 cars, the older machinery will not be able to keep up through the year.

"Paul is performing extremely well," says two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen. "It's difficult to judge because his car is light, but he is a quick driver. In the long-term we will have to wait and see what happens, though. I think the new C-Class is a better car."

Paul di Resta in the Persson Mercedes-Benz at Hockenheim © XPB/LAT

However, since 2005 there has been a development freeze on several parts of the cars, so some people at Mercedes don't feel that they will be able to develop their cars sufficiently to leave their predecessors behind.

"We can't do any major development work on the new cars," says Jamie Green. "We've just got to fine-tune the package that we've got. You don't win an F3 title without being good, so I'm not surprised by Paul, but I am impressed."

2006 championship runner-up Bruno Spengler has experience of racing an older car himself, and he is expecting di Resta to be a threat all season. But despite all of the hype so far, the DTM rookie is doing his best to keep his feet firmly on the ground.

"I just want to keep getting points and results," he said. "It's going to get harder because we will get more success ballast, but that just makes it more of a challenge."

In the first two races of the year, it would have been easy to pick out di Resta's car from an aerial shot of the DTM grid in the lead-up to the race. The grid has been packed with people both times, but so far his multi-coloured 2005 car has not attracted many onlookers.

At Hockenheim, despite starting third on the grid, di Resta looked a relatively lonely figure alongside his car, while the likes of Hakkinen, Spengler, and Audi's Mattias Ekstrom were surrounded by people.

Despite a strong debut there was little change at Oschersleben. Sure, this time di Resta was starting 11th, but you only had to look one place further up the grid, and it was a tough job to even spot the car of five-time champion Bernd Schneider through the sea of people surrounding it.

Expect that all to change though. It might take time, but Paul di Resta is going to leave his mark on the DTM, and not just as a rookie who made a flying start to his tin-top career.