Force India positive despite di Resta’s mistake during practice

Force India have remained positive after practice at Suzuka, despite Paul di Resta’s incident in the early stages of the second practice session. After a productive opening session for the Silverstone-based outfit, di Resta dipped his front-right wheel onto the grass whilst negotiating turn 13 and embedded his car into the barriers.

This incident prematurely ended the Scot’s session, however Nico Hulkenberg enjoyed a relatively smooth second session as Force India continue to improve in the highly competitive midfield. Although Hulkenberg feels comfortable with the car on low fuel, the German has admitted that the team needs to improve on their high fuel performance before the race. Paul di Resta on the other hand feels he was too ambitious early on in the second session, which resulted in his unfortunate spin.

“The morning session was straightforward and the balance was good straight after lunch with the changes we had made to the car.” Explained Paul di Resta, “Unfortunately I made a mistake quite early on and was probably a bit too ambitious. I found myself with my two right side wheels on the grass and lost grip on the loose dirt. It’s a shame it had to happen so early in the session and it creates extra work for the guys tonight. You have to be on the edge to feel what the car is doing and sometimes these things happen, but hopefully it won’t cost us too much for the rest of the weekend.”

With both Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg hinted at being considered as possible replacements for Felipe Massa at Ferrari for next season, any errors such as di Resta’s spin could be detrimental in their quest to drive for the Scuderia. Both drivers have enjoyed decent results in the previous races, and are striving to continue their competitiveness this weekend at Suzuka after a bittersweet day of practice.

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