Di Resta will not participate in Bahrain free practices

Paul will participate in some free practice sessions this year, although not Bahrain as the race drivers will need to learn the new track configuration.

Paul, it must have been a bit of a whirlwind since February when you were announced as the test and reserve driver. What have you been doing since then?

It’s certainly been busy! I’ve been in Spain during all the F1 tests and it’s been quite a hectic schedule with three tests in three weeks. I’ve also spent some time at the factory, getting to know the team and the engineers and generally settling in. I had two half days in the car in quite difficult rainy conditions, which was not ideal, but I did at least learn about what to expect when it does rain and how to find that level when you need to change tyres: hopefully it’s something I will have to deal with later in my career. But it’s nice to get a feeling for the car going into the season, the strong points and how we deal with weaker spots. Any experience for me at the moment is valuable.

You’ve also been testing the DTM cars as well, sometimes switching literally overnight. How has that been going - has it given you a taster of how things will go this year when you are swapping F1 for DTM?

F1 and DTM are quite different to each other but so far I have done a switch from F1 to DTM and then one back again. The last time I didn’t even notice it had happened, so already I am learning how to deal with it. Both cars require a different mindset but I am sure I will be able to do it with more experience without really having to think about it.

What are your feelings heading into Bahrain?

For sure I am very excited. It’s a great thrill to be going there as part of an F1 team. Although I’m not going to be driving during free practice, Bahrain is a great track, I’ve raced there before in F3, and I can’t wait to get on the plane and head off for the first weekend. I’m realistic there are lots of challenges ahead of us and only in Bahrain will we really know where car is on the field, but everyone is very excited to see this. I can’t wait.