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Di Resta eyes 'top' move in 2014

Paul di Resta's 2012 season ended in retirement at Interlagos © Press Association

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Paul di Resta says next season will be crucial to his hopes of being involved in "a few movements at the top" for 2014.

Having been linked with a move to McLaren to replace Lewis Hamilton, di Resta is set to remain at Force India in 2013, with confirmation expected when his team-mate is announced. However, di Resta admits he is already viewing next season as crucial due to the opportunities that could arise at some of the top teams in 2014.

"Next year is a big one for me," di Resta told Sporting Life. "I need to do my stuff because it will be performance based. I think there'll be a few movements at the top, and hopefully I'll be a part of that. I felt ready for it this year, but for whatever reason it didn't happen, which was not my decision. I'll just keep doing my job on track to hopefully keep my name in the frame. I've good relationships with all the teams, and with senior people, which I think you need to have."

Di Resta admitted that his form hadn't been great in the final races of 2012 but hopes Force India will benefit from switching attention to next year's car at an early stage.

"The end of my season wasn't great. We had mechanical issues, a chassis change, and ultimately the style of my driving did not suit for the last few races. Overall, I had ups and downs, although there were still some very big positives. We got very close to being on the podium in Singapore, where we felt we were slightly robbed when a safety car came out because it was in touching distance there.

"Our performance slipped after that as we didn't develop at the rate of other people. All I can hope is when we switched off on this year's car it will pay dividends for next year in terms of our performance in Australia."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.