Williams reserve drive Paul di Resta says there is more to come from him after jumping into Felipe Massa’s car with less than an hours notice to prepare for his first Formula 1 outing since 2013.
The Scotsman went through some basic preparations in the early hours of Saturday morning in case the opportunity came, but was not expecting to get the call after Massa was cleared to run in FP3. However the Brazilian sat out the final third of the session due to feeling unwell.
Having to set aside his television and commentary duties for Sky Sports, Di Resta stepped up to the challenge without hesitation and ran for numerous laps in Q1 before attempting a final run to try and get into the second part of qualifying.
“I was nervous and anxious,” said Di Resta. You’re unsure of how your ability is going to be when you get out there. I was ironing my shirt at 11 o’clock this morning preparing to be presenting on TV. But honestly, I quickly felt quite comfortable in the car.
“There was nothing that took me by surprise, it’s just the more laps you can do, the better it is. Getting thrown straight into qualifying is the deepest of the deep ends. To do it in four laps is a big ask, but honestly I didn’t expect to be so close straight away.
“I’ve carried on everything Felipe has done up until this session like the brake settings, the set-up and the steering wheel switches are all his, so of course it could be more optimised. But there is more ability to progress in me, gaining the speed and confidence in the car.”
The 31-year old improved his lap times considerably over the course the of the 18 minute session. From an initial 1m22.289s on his first complete lap of the Hungaroring, he ended Q1 with a 1m19.868s, improving by 2.241s and qualifying 19th ahead of Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson.
“It’s a tough ask to go straight into qualifying, but that’s what it’s about and you take these opportunities,” added the Scotsman.
“Thank you to Williams for the opportunity, thank you to Claire and Sir Frank. To get the opportunity to get in the car and do it, with the team having the faith in my ability, I will hopefully be able to repay that. The team have been great. I’ve been here a year and a half waiting for this, so it’s a good job I’ve been attending all the meetings and paying attention!
“Today has been very special. I felt back at home in a Formula One car, and the team prepared me as best they could. We go into tomorrow with a long and difficult day ahead, but at the same time one that I’m very much looking forward to challenge and to see how it goes.”
