Getting to know Paul di Resta

He's the new Scottish star of Formula 1 but Paul di Resta hasn't taken the conventional route to take a drive in the sport with Force India...

After plenty of karting as a youngster, Formula Renault was the first experience of open wheel racing for the man from West Lothian in 2002. Three years later the step up to F3 followed and he would also win the McLaren Autosport BRDC young driver of the year award. A great achievement and one which gave him the opportunity to test a McLaren F1 car. Plenty is made of him beating Sebastian Vettel in F3 in 2006 and certainly that showed that he had good potential. It should be noted however that Vettel also had commitments in 2 other series, including test driver for BMW in Formula 1.

However di Resta's career would take an unusual turn as he ended up driving in DTM in 2007 for Mercedes. This is basically the German equivalent of the British Touring Car Championship in the UK. On paper it is a strange move to make for someone who wants to get into Formula 1. Former Grand Prix winner David Coulthard has described the two series as very different in driving style. What has proved beneficial for di Resta is the building of a relationship with Mercedes. Customer of the German company Force India allowed the 24 year old to gain some experience in 2010 by being the teams reserve driver. He travelled to all the races with the team and took part in 8 practice sessions. He drove at a competitive pace and didn't suffer any major dramas and generally impressed.



Now he steps up to the true test of a race seat. Losing out is Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian had a deal with the team but has been replaced after a difficult seat. It's been the story of his career, flashes of brilliance but often flattering to deceive. Certainly he had some car issues at times but also made errors and was regularly outpaced by Adrian Sutil. His F1 career is now on the brink and he will find it difficult to find a new seat. Can di Resta shine where Liuzzi didn't? Time will tell but i believe that pace wise he can be close to Sutil, it will be how good his racecraft is which will be the major test.

Image courtesy of http://www.forceindiaf1.com

Getting to know Paul di Resta

He's the new Scottish star of Formula 1 but Paul di Resta hasn't taken the conventional route to take a drive in the sport with Force India...

After plenty of karting as a youngster, Formula Renault was the first experience of open wheel racing for the man from West Lothian in 2002. Three years later the step up to F3 followed and he would also win the McLaren Autosport BRDC young driver of the year award. A great achievement and one which gave him the opportunity to test a McLaren F1 car. Plenty is made of him beating Sebastian Vettel in F3 in 2006 and certainly that showed that he had good potential. It should be noted however that Vettel also had commitments in 2 other series, including test driver for BMW in Formula 1.

However di Resta's career would take an unusual turn as he ended up driving in DTM in 2007 for Mercedes. This is basically the German equivalent of the British Touring Car Championship in the UK. On paper it is a strange move to make for someone who wants to get into Formula 1. Former Grand Prix winner David Coulthard has described the two series as very different in driving style. What has proved beneficial for di Resta is the building of a relationship with Mercedes. Customer of the German company Force India allowed the 24 year old to gain some experience in 2010 by being the teams reserve driver. He travelled to all the races with the team and took part in 8 practice sessions. He drove at a competitive pace and didn't suffer any major dramas and generally impressed.



Now he steps up to the true test of a race seat. Losing out is Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian had a deal with the team but has been replaced after a difficult seat. It's been the story of his career, flashes of brilliance but often flattering to deceive. Certainly he had some car issues at times but also made errors and was regularly outpaced by Adrian Sutil. His F1 career is now on the brink and he will find it difficult to find a new seat. Can di Resta shine where Liuzzi didn't? Time will tell but i believe that pace wise he can be close to Sutil, it will be how good his racecraft is which will be the major test.

Image courtesy of http://www.forceindiaf1.com

Who is Narain Karthikeyan?

He's just announced that he is driving for Hispania Racing in 2011 but just who is Narain Karthikeyan...

He turns 34 next week and is back in a race seat 6 years after his one and only season with Jordan. It was a largely frustrating year in an uncompetitive car, the Indian only scoring at the USA grand prix where only 6 cars took the start. Indeed he was outspoken about the quality of the car and ended up having a war of words with Colin Kolles who will now manage him at Hispania. The season would end with a heavy crash in Shanghai.



A test driver role with Williams followed but Karthikeyan's turned to A1GP after that. The emergence of Force India offered hope but he was unable to secure a drive with Vijay Mallya's team. He was scheduled to drive for a Colin Kolles entered team in the Le Mans 24 hour race in 2009 but a shoulder injury ruled him out at short notice. Late last year he had a day in the Force India simulator. It was reported that he was a second slower than the times set by fellow countryman Karun Chandhok. It appears that Force India were trying to get a Indian driver involved in the team, especially with the Grand Prix happening in New Delhi this October. However it appears Karthikeyan did not have the pace to earn a seat.

What he does seem to have is massive backing from the Tata group. They may also be a help to Hispania technically as well as financially with some of the resources that they have. Indeed they have a computer company which can run computer fluid dynamic programmes but they have an exclusive contract with Force India. However money ruled the decision making process at Hispania in 2010 and appears to me again this season. This issue could become even greater after the owner of the team José Ramón Carabante was ordered to pay 35m Euros by a Spanish court yesterday.

Karthikeyan gets another chance to show what he can do in a F1 car and if he can survive to October will race in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. With doubts over his ability and the development of Hispania's 2011 car shrouded in mystery you do have to wonder if his weekends will consist of being lapped or even battling the 107% rule on Saturday afternoon's.

Who is Narain Karthikeyan?

He's just announced that he is driving for Hispania Racing in 2011 but just who is Narain Karthikeyan...

He turns 34 next week and is back in a race seat 6 years after his one and only season with Jordan. It was a largely frustrating year in an uncompetitive car, the Indian only scoring at the USA grand prix where only 6 cars took the start. Indeed he was outspoken about the quality of the car and ended up having a war of words with Colin Kolles who will now manage him at Hispania. The season would end with a heavy crash in Shanghai.



A test driver role with Williams followed but Karthikeyan's turned to A1GP after that. The emergence of Force India offered hope but he was unable to secure a drive with Vijay Mallya's team. He was scheduled to drive for a Colin Kolles entered team in the Le Mans 24 hour race in 2009 but a shoulder injury ruled him out at short notice. Late last year he had a day in the Force India simulator. It was reported that he was a second slower than the times set by fellow countryman Karun Chandhok. It appears that Force India were trying to get a Indian driver involved in the team, especially with the Grand Prix happening in New Delhi this October. However it appears Karthikeyan did not have the pace to earn a seat.

What he does seem to have is massive backing from the Tata group. They may also be a help to Hispania technically as well as financially with some of the resources that they have. Indeed they have a computer company which can run computer fluid dynamic programmes but they have an exclusive contract with Force India. However money ruled the decision making process at Hispania in 2010 and appears to me again this season. This issue could become even greater after the owner of the team José Ramón Carabante was ordered to pay 35m Euros by a Spanish court yesterday.

Karthikeyan gets another chance to show what he can do in a F1 car and if he can survive to October will race in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. With doubts over his ability and the development of Hispania's 2011 car shrouded in mystery you do have to wonder if his weekends will consist of being lapped or even battling the 107% rule on Saturday afternoon's.