• British Grand Prix - Qualifying

Di Resta 'shocked' by strong pace

Paul di Resta is expecting Lotus to challenge in the race © Sutton Images

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Paul di Resta was shocked by his pace after he thought he had qualified fifth on the grid at the British Grand Prix but he later found out he had been disqualified for being underweight.

Di Resta had equalled his best grid position of his career at Silverstone, but said Force India had focused on the race with his set-up and he had not expected to start so far up the grid.

"Yesterday we were P4 and I was a bit surprised we were there, and now I'm a bit shocked we're still one position behind that today," he said. "We went a bit backwards with set-up in FP3 and the guys did a great job to bring the car around and get it ready for qualifying on set-up. I struggled a bit in some sessions and saved the best until last, but the main focus has definitely been on the race and I hope that we can achieve that. It's unknown and it's where the tyres are that is going to be the talking point, but it's normally our strong point and I hope that we can get in some free air at the beginning and try and maximise what we can like we did in Bahrain [where di Resta started fifth and finished fourth]."

However, di Resta is wary of some of the cars behind him, especially the Lotuses that both started behind him in Bahrain and finished ahead.

"Their car is always strong on high fuel at the end of the race and we obviously got pipped by them in Bahrain," he said. "Their car can sometimes struggle in qualifying but they tend to make up for it in the race. To see what Lotus did last year in the race, after Grosjean took me out of the race, we'll need to keep our eyes peeled [for them]. Ultimately there is only so much defending you can do but we'll do what we can."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.