- Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Force India
Di Resta feels sixth proves worth to Force India
Paul di Resta believes his sixth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix proves Force India should retain him for 2014.
Di Resta's future is uncertain after three seasons with the team, with Force India likely to make a decision on its driver line-up after the end of the season. However, having held off Lewis Hamilton to secured a top six finish at Yas Marina, di Resta said he had shown what he is capable enough when given a quick car.
"I've always said I would like to stay with the team; I would like to stay in Formula One more importantly," di Resta said. "But if they give me the tools I can deliver and I think that proves what I can do. I expect the decision very soon from the senior management as they said, but I will keep focusing on the races and let the management team do the business in the background."
Di Resta said he was especially pleased to hold off a Mercedes in the closing laps.
"It's a great feeling to finish sixth and make the one-stop strategy work. I said yesterday that we had opted to set the car up more for the race and it really paid off today. There were times when we had to be very quick and times when we had to manage the pace and look after the tyres. Towards the end of the race I was battling with Fernando and Lewis, but it was impossible to hold Fernando back because he was on much fresher soft tyres.
"Lewis was on the mediums so I just focussed on getting clean exits from the hairpin and the chicane leading onto the long straights, and was able to stay ahead. The eight points are just what we needed and everybody in the team deserves credit for the big effort that has gone in this week. That's two strong weekends in a row and we will move to Austin determined to keep up the momentum."
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