Paul Di Resta
Name: Paul Di Resta.
Nationality: British
Date of Birth: April 16th 1986 in Uphall, West Lothian, Scotland.
Resides: United Kingdom
Series: F1
Car: Force India VJM 04
Paul Di Resta
Paul Di Resta is the cousin of famous racers Dario and Marino Franchitti. After racing Karts for several years he moved up to race full time in the British Formula Renault Championship in 2003. After winning the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2006, he won the highly prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award. 3 years racing with Mercedes in the DTM series followed before he was selected by the Force India Formula 1 team to be their test and reserve driver for the 2010 season.
Big Moment
Paul’s first big moment came in 2006, when in only his second season, he won the Formula 3 Euro Series Championship after his five victories and four podiums saw off current F1 superstar Sebastian Vettel.
The win brought him to the attention of Mercedes’ bosses and in 2007 Paul Di Resta made the switch to touring car racing and the DTM championship. In a two year old car he finished on the podium four times and finished fifth overall in the championship, a result that led to a works drive the following year.
In the works Mercedes in 2008, a strong run of five second places and one victory secured him second place in the championship – a remarkable result in only his second year of touring car racing. In 2010 however, the talented Scot would go one step better and take the DTM crown in a year which also saw him fulfil a test and reserve role with Force India in F1. The team was impressed and awarded Di Resta a 2011 F1 race drive in favour of the highly rated Nico Hulkenberg.
TV Show
Paul appeared on Mobil 1 the Grid in May 2009, when we visited the Official Test at Hockenheim as part of our build up to the upcoming DTM season. Stay tuned this season as we talk to Paul to learn about his new F1 drive later in the series.
Quote
We caught up with Paul as a top works Mercedes DTM driver, and whilst he was enjoying racing in the challenging series, it was clear he was destined for bigger things.
We asked: What is your ultimate ambition with regard to your motor racing career?
Paul says: “It’s always been my dream to go to F1 with Mercedes, to be driving one of their cars. I’m 23 and still young enough to have my heart set on that!”
Well perhaps Paul knew something we didn’t, but his move to the Mercedes powered Force India for the new F1 season will certainly have put a smile on his face!
Detail
2011 F1 debut with Force India
2010 DTM (Works Mercedes C Klasse), Champion
2009 DTM (Works Mercedes C Klasse), 3rd overall, one win, two podiums
2008 DTM (Works Mercedes C Klasse), 2nd overall, two wins five podiums
2007 DTM (Mercedes), 5th overall, four podiums
2006 Formula 3 Euro Series champion, five wins, four podiums
BP Ultimate Masters victory at Zandvoort
2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, 10th overall, one podium
McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year award winner
2004 British Formula Renault, 3rd overall, four wins, four podiums
5th place Bahrain F3-Superprix
2003 British Formula Renault, 7th overall, one win, one podium
2002 British Formula Renault Winter Series
2001 British karting champion
1999 European karting championship, 2nd overall
