Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British
racing driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
from Scotland, competing in the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
for
Peugeot Sport
Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities.
History Beginnings in rallying
Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Champions ...
in their
LMH entry. He drove in
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
for
Force India
Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...
from to , and became a reserve driver for the
Williams F1 team
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams (Formula One), Frank Williams and aut ...
in , driving a single race for them as a substitute driver in . A former
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) and
Formula 3 Euro Series champion, di Resta did not secure a Formula One seat for 2014, instead rejoining Mercedes to race again in DTM. He is currently a reserve F1 driver for McLaren for the 2022 season, and a commentator for
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
' coverage of F1.
Personal life
Di Resta is of Italian descent and was born in
Uphall,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, and grew up in Bathgate,
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
. He is a former pupil of
Bathgate Academy and supports
Celtic Football Club. He now lives in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, and is a cousin of racing drivers
Dario and
Marino Franchitti.
His step-father was Scottish footballer
Dougie McCracken. His younger brother, Stefan, has raced at an amateur level and his half-brother, Jon, is a goalkeeper for the Norwich City u23's.
Di Resta and Laura Jordan became engaged in December 2013 and married on 28 August 2014.
Career
Karting
He started his career in
karting
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
, racing in various competitive series of karts from 1994 until 2002. In 2001 he won the British JICA Championship.
Formula Renault
He stepped up to single-seaters at the end of 2002, when he competed in the
British Formula Renault
British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was g ...
Winter Series. He raced in British Formula Renault full-time in 2003 with the Eurotek Motorsport team, finishing seventh in the standings with one race win. He switched to
Manor Motorsport
Manor Motorsport Ltd, currently trading as Manor Endurance Racing Ltd is a British motor racing company that was formed in 1990 by former single-seater champion John Booth. Manor has participated as a team in many motorsport disciplines since ...
for 2004, finishing third in the championship standings with four wins. He also entered some races of
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0
Formula Renault Eurocup was a Formula Renault motor racing championship. Eurocup raced only on European circuits.
It served as a support series to the Formula 3.5 V8, Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the World Series by Renault from 2005 to ...
with the Manor team. He also won the
McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of The Year Award in 2004. The award had been won by his cousin
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
in 1992.
Formula Three
Di Resta switched to the
Formula Three Euroseries with Manor Motorsport in 2005, finishing tenth in the standings. For 2006 he moved to the
ASM Formule 3
ASM may refer to:
Codes
* American Samoa, ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code
* Asmara International Airport, IATA airport code
* Assamese language, ISO 639 language code ''asm''
Organizations
*Aare Seeland mobil, a Swiss bus and train operator
* Alb ...
team, winning the championship with five wins, beating teammate and future Formula One World Drivers' Champion,
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
. Di Resta also won the 2006
BP Ultimate Masters at
Circuit Park Zandvoort.
DTM
![Paul di Resta Brands Hatch DTM 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Paul_di_Resta_Brands_Hatch_DTM_2008.jpg)
In 2007, di Resta switched from single-seaters to race in the
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM)
touring car racing
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not move ...
series, for
Mercedes
Mercedes may refer to:
People
* Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name
Automobile-related
* Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
. In the championship, he finished 5th overall behind drivers
Mattias Ekström (who won his second DTM title),
Bruno Spengler
Bruno Spengler (born August 23, 1983) is an Alsatian-born Canadian racing driver, currently racing for the BMW factory/works team. Nicknamed 'The Secret Canadian', he won the 2012 DTM Drivers' Championship.
Career
Early career
Spengler was b ...
,
Martin Tomczyk
Martin Tomczyk (born 7 December 1981) is a German professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver.
He was the DTM champion in 2011, third in 2007, fourth in 2006 and fifth in 2004, having won eight races.
Racing career
After a karti ...
and
Jamie Green
Beast from lugar Craigston Sqaure who touched wains
Jamie Green (born 14 June 1982) is a British professional racing driver. He is currently employed by Audi Sport Team Rosberg in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) touring car championshi ...
. Di Resta was the highest driver in the standings to drive a non-2007 car. His performances earned him a 2008 Mercedes C Klasse for the 2008 season, in which he won two races and finished second in the points, four points behind eventual champion
Timo Scheider of Audi. In 2009, he finished third overall behind Scheider and compatriot
Gary Paffett. In 2010, he won three races in a row on the way to winning the championship.
Formula One
![Paul di Resta 2010 Malaysia 1st Free Practice](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Paul_di_Resta_2010_Malaysia_1st_Free_Practice.jpg)
Di Resta tested for the
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
team, and was in the frame for a drive with the
Force India
Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...
team for the
2009 season due to the teams' shared engine supplier,
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
. However, Force India chose to retain
Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official ''Nazionale Piloti'' association football team (composed of the racing drivers). He has d ...
and
Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also t ...
, with
Vitantonio Liuzzi as reserve driver.
Force India (2010–2013)
=2010
=
In December 2009, with Fisichella having moved to Ferrari and Liuzzi being promoted to the race team, di Resta took part in a test with the team at the
Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...
circuit alongside
J. R. Hildebrand
John Randal Hildebrand Jr. (born January 3, 1988) is an American race car driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series driving part-time in the No. 11 Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Enterprises. Hildebrand won the 2009 Indy Lights championship and ...
. At the
Autosport International show in January 2010, he was said to be close to a deal as the team's test and reserve driver for the
2010 season. The deal was announced on 2 February. Di Resta made his Formula One race meeting début at the
2010 Australian Grand Prix
The 2010 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2010 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 28 March 2010 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the second round of the 2010 ...
, where he took part in the first free practice session in place of Sutil and finished 11th. He drove in the first practice session of all the following races until the
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
where he did not take part. He resumed driving for the team at the
European Grand Prix
The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
and the following
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...
. After sitting out the
German Grand Prix he returned for the
Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungarian Grand Prix ( hu, Magyar Nagydíj) is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
History Origins
The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 21 ...
. Di Resta subsequently sat out the
Belgian Grand Prix
The Belgian Grand Prix (French language, French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German language, German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula O ...
as
Tonio Liuzzi and
Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also t ...
needed as much track-time as possible to get the feeling of the new parts. He participated in practice for the
Italian Grand Prix
The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...
, but did not participate in the
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
or
Japanese Grands Prix. The team elected that di Resta should miss the
Korean Grand Prix to allow Liuzzi and Sutil to get used to the new track for the race.
=2011
=
![Di Resta canada 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Di_Resta_canada_2011.jpg)
Di Resta joined
Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also t ...
in the
Force India
Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...
Formula One racing team for the season, replacing
Vitantonio Liuzzi. He scored his first championship point at his first race, the , after both Saubers were disqualified. This was followed by another 10th place in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, 11th in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, and a retirement in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, where he left the pits with a loose wheel. He was running fifth in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
until a collision with
Nick Heidfeld left him with a damaged car and a drive-through penalty, and later crashed out of the race on lap 67. He qualified sixth at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
but finished 15th after a long pitstop due to a tyre mix-up.
His third points-scoring finish of the season came in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, where he finished seventh in changeable conditions. In the he finished 8th. This was followed by a career-best sixth-place finish in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, ahead of teammate Sutil, who finished eighth. He finished tenth in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, ninth in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
and eighth in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
=2012
=
![Paul di Resta 2012 Bahrain](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Paul_di_Resta_2012_Bahrain.jpg)
On 16 December 2011, it was announced that he was to be retained by Force India for the 2012 season, with
Nico Hülkenberg
Nicolas Hülkenberg (, born 19 August 1987) is a German professional racing driver who is scheduled to make a full-time racing return to Formula 1 with Haas F1 Team in 2023, after serving as a reserve driver for Aston Martin F1 Team for the yea ...
taking the place of Sutil as his teammate. He qualified 15th for the season opener in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and finished 10th in the race, passing
Jean-Éric Vergne and
Nico Rosberg on the final lap. He qualified 14th for the , and finished seventh in the wet race. He was 12th in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. In
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
he qualified inside the top ten, having missed the second free practice session after several members of the team were caught up in a petrol bomb incident. Using a two-stop strategy he took sixth place in the race, which equalled his previous career-best result. He was 14th in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, a lap behind winner
Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver, who competed in Formula One for the Williams (2011–2013) and Lotus (2014–2015) teams and as a Pirelli test driver until 2017. Before entering F ...
; seventh in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
having started 15th on the grid; and 11th in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. At the European Grand Prix he was the only driver on the grid who performed a one-stop strategy and came 7th whilst his teammate,
Nico Hülkenberg
Nicolas Hülkenberg (, born 19 August 1987) is a German professional racing driver who is scheduled to make a full-time racing return to Formula 1 with Haas F1 Team in 2023, after serving as a reserve driver for Aston Martin F1 Team for the yea ...
, finished in 5th position.
![Paul di Resta, United States Grand Prix, Austin 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Paul_di_Resta%2C_United_States_Grand_Prix%2C_Austin_2012.jpg)
After failing to score a point in the next three races, di Resta finished tenth in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. The following weekend, at the
Italian Grand Prix
The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...
, di Resta showed strong pace in qualifying, setting the fourth fastest time in Q3, but took a five place grid penalty for a gearbox change to start the Grand Prix in ninth. He finished the race in eighth. At the
Singapore Grand Prix
The Singapore Grand Prix; ta, சிங்கப்பூர் கிராண்ட் பிரிக்ஸ் is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The event takes place on the Marina Bay Street Cir ...
, he qualified sixth and finished a career-best fourth, after the retirements of Maldonado and Hamilton. The final five races of the season resulted in only one further points-scoring finish – 9th place in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
.
=2013
=
![Paul di Resta 2013 Malaysia FP2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Paul_di_Resta_2013_Malaysia_FP2.jpg)
On 31 January 2013, Force India confirmed di Resta would race for the team for a third consecutive season in .
After qualifying outside the top ten in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, di Resta managed to battle through into the points, finishing just behind his teammate,
Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also t ...
in eighth place. In
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, however di Resta retired after his car's wheel nuts kept jamming, and the team was ultimately forced to retire both cars.
Qualifying in 11th place for the
Chinese Grand Prix
The Chinese Grand Prix () is a round of the Formula One World Championship and was contracted to return in 2023 but will now not do so until 2024 at the earliest. It is currently held at the Shanghai International Circuit, Jiading, Shanghai, des ...
, the race saw him finish in eighth place and he obtained four points.
Di Resta matched his career best result in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
with a fourth place, being overtaken close to the end by
Lotus
Lotus may refer to:
Plants
*Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly:
** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae
**Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
's
Romain Grosjean
Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously spent nine ...
, depriving the Scot of a maiden podium. He followed that up with a seventh in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
A disappointing qualifying session in the wet meant di Resta started from 17th in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, however initially going for an aggressive two stop strategy; luck played its part and due to a red flag he was able to use a new set of tyres, and made ground to ninth-place finish with some good overtakes.
Another disappointing qualifying session at the next race in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
saw di Resta starting in 17th position yet again. Starting on the harder medium compound tyre, di Resta was able to run the longest of all drivers on his first stint, going 56 laps before finally making his only pit stop. The strategy worked as di Resta finished the race in 7th.
After six consecutive point finishes, di Resta struggled in the later part of the season as his team Force India struggled to cope with new
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...
tyres and he recorded five consecutive retirements.
On 12 December, it was announced that he would not be retained as a driver with Force India for the season.
Williams (2016–2017)
=2016
=
After a two-year absence from the sport, di Resta returned to Formula One as reserve driver for
Williams.
=2017
=
Williams retained di Resta as their reserve driver for 2017 whilst he competed for Mercedes in DTM.
He replaced lead driver Felipe Massa for qualifying and the race at the as the Brazilian recovered from an illness. This marked di Resta's first F1 start in almost four years, whilst also becoming the first British driver for Williams since
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
in and Scottish driver since
David Coulthard in . His qualifying results were described as an "unbelievable job" by Mercedes F1 Director
Toto Wolff, having competed without having driven the FW40 prior to the session. He ended the day in 19th place ahead of
Marcus Ericsson and was 0.766s off his teammate
Lance Stroll
Lance Strulovitch (born 29 October 1998), better known as Lance Stroll, is a Canadian–Belgian racing driver competing under the Canadian flag in Formula One. He has driven for Aston Martin since , having previously driven for Williams and R ...
. He retired in the race after 60 laps.
McLaren (2020–present)
After another absence from Formula One, di Resta returned to the sport as a reserve driver after
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
put him on standby for the
70th Anniversary Grand Prix at the
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...
in
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
McLaren retained di Resta as a stand-in reserve driver for the and seasons while he competed in the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
.
DTM return (2014–2019)
![2014 DTM HockenheimringII Paul di Resta by 2eight 8SC2144](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/2014_DTM_HockenheimringII_Paul_di_Resta_by_2eight_8SC2144.jpg)
In May 2014, di Resta returned to the
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series driving for
HWA Team, who manage the
AMG Mercedes team in DTM. Di Resta finished the 2014 season in 15th place having scored points only three times, all three being 4th-place finishes.
Di Resta finished the
2018 season in 3rd place in the driver's championship, after winning three races at
Hungaroring,
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...
, and
Misano.
In 2019, after five seasons driving for Mercedes, di Resta joined the
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
motor racing team
R-Motorsport
R-Motorsport is a Swiss motor racing team founded in 2015. The team race Aston Martins as they are affiliated with the dealership in Sankt Gallen; the only one in Switzerland.
History
Founded in late 2015, R-Motorsport would spend its formativ ...
, driving the
Aston Martin Vantage DTM
The Aston Martin Vantage DTM is a " Class 1" touring car constructed by the British car manufacturer Aston Martin for use in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. The Vantage DTM was the first Aston Martin DTM car since its entry to the sport fro ...
. Di Resta finished in 16th place having scored points only four times.
Endurance Racing (2019-present)
In 2018, Paul di Resta raced in the
Asian Le Mans Series for
United Autosports, scoring one win and 4 podiums alongside
Philip Hanson Philip Hanson may refer to:
* Philip Hanson (civil servant)
* Philip Hanson (racing driver)
Philip Hanson (born 5 July 1999) is a British racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series w ...
and eventually winning the
2018-19 Asian Le Mans Series championship.
Following their Asian Le Mans Series win, Di Resta and United Autosport competed in the
2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship going onto to win the
2020 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''88e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a 24 hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars held from 19 to 20 September 2020 at the Circuit de la ...
alongside Hanson and
Filipe Albuquerque in the LMP2 Class and finishing 5th overall.
On February 8, 2021,
Peugeot Sport
Peugeot Sport is the department of French carmaker Peugeot responsible for motorsport activities.
History Beginnings in rallying
Peugeot Sport was formed in 1981 under the name of Peugeot Talbot Sport, after Jean Todt, a World Rally Champions ...
revealed di Resta will drive their
LMH Hypercar entry in the
2022 FIA World Endurance Championship
The 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship will be the tenth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The seri ...
alongside
Mikkel Jensen and
Jean-Éric Vergne. He, and the Peugeot team, competed in the last three races of the season with a P4 finish in the
6 Hours of Fuji and two retirements in the
6 Hours of Monza and the
8 Hours of Bahrain. In the end, Di Resta finished in P10 in the Driver's championship.
Broadcasting career (2016–present)
Sky Sports F1 (2016–present)
Since 2016, Di Resta has been a regular contributor to the
Sky Sports F1 channel.
He is a common presence as a co-commentator, analyst and one of the insiders in "Sky Race Control" during practices, qualifying sessions and races, alongside
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
,
Karun Chandhok,
Anthony Davidson,
Damon Hill,
Nico Rosberg, and
Johnny Herbert.
Karting record
Karting career summary
Racing record
Racing career summary
– As di Resta was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete Formula 3 Euro Series record
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† Driver did not finish, but was classified as he completed 90% of the race distance.
Complete Formula One results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
References
External links
Paul di Resta career statisticsat Driver Database
Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Resta, Paul
1986 births
Living people
People from Uphall
Sportspeople from West Lothian
People educated at Bathgate Academy
Scottish expatriates in Monaco
British expatriates in Monaco
Scottish racing drivers
Scottish people of Italian descent
British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
Formula 3 Euro Series drivers
Formula 3 Euro Series champions
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters champions
Italian Scottish racing drivers
Scottish Formula One drivers
Force India Formula One drivers
Williams Formula One drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
Manor Motorsport drivers
ART Grand Prix drivers
Asian Le Mans Series drivers
United Autosports drivers
Peugeot Sport drivers
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers
HWA Team drivers
R-Motorsport drivers
Eurotek Motorsport drivers
Aston Martin Racing drivers