Paul Di Resta: “There’s always pressure on…”

The consensus in the paddock is that Force India team mates Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg are fighting each other as well as Felipe Massa for the second Ferrari seat next year, although some think that the German is on pole position for the drive.

The fact that they are high of many people’s wish lists has made the battle between the two drivers even more intriguing than usual. Both had crashes in practice this weekend, perhaps a reflection of their efforts to impress.

“There’s always pressure on,” said Di Resta. “It’s been a good in-team battle all year. At the end of the day they’ll make decisions for reasons which maybe you won’t fully understand, reasons that might lead other ways.

“If you look at what’s happened up and down the paddock with the other seats that have been taken, no driver holds the key to whatever it is. It’s the team principals and directors and management, they make decisions based upon what they feel is the way forward for the team.

“There’s probably an off track and off track reputation to be taken [into account], because clearly you need to have a full package for it. I’ve always said whenever I get a chance to drive a car that’s going to win races and win championships, I’m going to take it with both hands if I can. Fortunately Force India have said that they won’t stop it.”

Di Resta says he’s still focussed on the job in hand: “I’m here to represent the team and I’m trying to do the best job possible. The results at the end of the day do the talking. I’ve been having a good run the last few races, and I don’t want that to end.”