Q&A with Paul di Resta before Sepang

Australia was your first free practice session for the team, was it a positive experience?

For sure, it’s a very unique experience to get this sort of opportunity as a test and reserve driver in F1. It was a very productive session, my first time in the dry in this car and also a new track, and there was a lot of positive and valuable running. I was nervous of course - Albert Park is a pretty fearsome circuit with the walls and bumps - but I was also looking forward to getting out there and learning the car again and helping the team. With each lap my confidence in the car grew and now, after looking through the data and speaking with the engineers, I feel I can give a bit more in Malaysia so the team can learn even more.

And you’re in the car in Malaysia again, are you looking forward to getting back out?

I can’t wait. The team has been very welcoming to me and has encouraged me to ask as many questions as I can and learn so they can themselves meet their own targets. The goals they have set for themselves are quite high but they are realistic and at the moment everything seems to be on schedule. It’s great for me to be part of that and I’ll be looking to give them what they need when I get in the car in FP1 in Sepang. This time I’ll be replacing Tonio so I’ll be working with him to understand what information he and the team needs. As per last time that’s more important at this stage than going for the times.