planetf1.com

My tag says it all, I'm a Brit (a scot in fact) and I always cheer on the British drivers...

I had high hopes for young Paul but this year has just seemed like a steady decline, Hulk has outclassed him and he appears to be over driving to compensate. Ending the season in the wall just about sums up the second half of his season.

Lets hope Max Chilton can get in and show some promise next year!

All I've seen him do this year is whine, he's never smiled or anything. I wanted to like him, as another Brit on the track is always a plus, but IMO he's just too much of a moaner.

_________________

I am disappointed with Paul this season, after having high hopes

He seemed to have decent strategies at times, let down by the car at others, and then as you say in the end overcompensating with his driving and ultimately going backwards

He makes Andy Murray look like he's on Prozac...

_________________

_________________

Think Di Resta is the first British driver I haven't liked he's just so dull on track and off. When Hulkenberg finally got to grips with being back in F1 he's made Di Resta look highly average in the second half of the season.

_________________
Favorite Current Drivers :Kimi Raikkonen,Susie Wolff,Nico Rosberg,Adrian Sutil,Jean Eric Vergne,Danica Patrick,Beitske Visser

Past Drivers : Ayrton Senna,James Hunt,Eddie Irvine,Gerhard Berger,Colin McRae,Michele Mouton

Well he was going uphill for a moment, but then he crashed to the wall.

On more serious note, yes, I think he is. I haven't really followed him too closely, don't really like (or hate, for that matter) the guy, but Hulk is obviously the bigger gun right now. I don't really know why people rate, or rated, Paul so high, haven't seen anything extraordinary from him. The fact that he beat Vettel like 5 (?) years ago in a lower formula doesn't really count to anything in my book.

Hes always been middle of the road driver who had a lot of hype due to him being "one of us" however I don't think their is room in F1 for "that" extent of nationalism, sure have some but when it leads to hyping of a middle of the road driver who would not be hyped if he were say french or Italian (but who may well be hyped OTT in their own country) it become deterimental to a sport that is meant to extend beyond borders. Sutil comfortably beat him (who in turn was second fiddle to Fisichella) and a pattern has emerged with all his team mates a la Fisi that is the more competative his car is the less competative he is relative to his team mate, meaning if he gets a poor team mate the gap is greatest when the car is poor and closer when the car is good, seems he may be frail mentally or might just not have the skills to get that last tenth or two in a car with a lot of grip.

Di Resta is a very fine driver and just as many others, he had a couple of bad results in succession. People tend to easily forget his very fine 4th place in Singapore. The fact that he looks or talks in a certain way does not play to me anything.

_________________
The end is near

Anyone considered that he might just get the boot at force india leaving space for two??

I have to say Senna sounded pretty confident when BBC interviewed him about next year, made me wonder if he was going back to Renault / Lotus, but maybe it could be here.

Just seems Paul has got worse as the season went on and particularly so since Massa and Perez were confirmed that maybe hes gone huffy because he didnt get the Mclaren, Mercedes or Ferrari drive

I haven't noticed di Resta's presence for several months now. Suspect next year is a bit "make or break" for him now.

Yeah I thought that too. And the Senna interview was very telling - he's most certainly got a drive next year that he's happy about. Maybe he's replacing Grosjean. Hope he goes up the grid and not down it.

_________________

He has promise but this hasn't been a good year for him. I don't think it's so much that he is an average driver but that Hulkenberg is actually an exceptional driver. Personally I think Hulkenberg should have been the rough diamond for Mclaren to polish, rather than the crazy mexican.

That's not to say I dont think Di Resta is good though, I think he is a Jenson Button and with a bit more experience his skills will come to fruitation if he is given a good enough car. Hulkenberg did have the benefit many times in the season of having the right side of the dice fall down in terms of gambling with split setups/strategy, today was one of those days.


It's still too early days to write him off, when things all fall into place Di Resta could still find himself fighting at the top, though if he doesnt pick it up soon he might not get the chance to in the same way that button did.

I think Hulk has just got better. Paul i believe is still a good driver.

His best bet is hanging in Force India, trying to grind out some consistency and hoping McLaren take him on to replace Button when the time comes. In today's world of F1 though, I'm thinking he hasn't got the time to find the right car to prove himself like Jenson did (I'm thinking the BAR in 2004 where he was consistently on the podium) to set him up for the big team to give him a car worthy of trying a WDC.

_________________
"We can not drive slower, just to make the races more exciting." Alain Prost

Must suck being Diresta right now..Came to the sport with a big mouth and big talk..He always claimed that he is better than Vettel and Hamilton, yet 2 years later he has been beaten by both his teammates pretty significantly while Vettel is a 3 time WDC already attaining legendary status..Sorry but Diresta is a decent driver but nowhere near as good as he thought or claimed to be..Hulk I think will be the next big thing...His pre F1 career and progression clearly shows that..I hope he gets a drive in the big 3 teams.

How is losing to sutil, who lost to fisi, how is that an example of a fine driver? He's lost to both his two teammates, that's not a fine driver.... I am a scot and as I said if he were not a Brit he would not have been getting praise....

The problem is that he hardly shows anything spectacular and his teammate has made him look pale in the second half of the season. Next year is make or break for him I think.

_________________
F1 fan since 1989

He has been pretty dissapointing this year, it must be said. Maybe he's struggled with the tyres like quite a few others have.

Until a few races ago I thought he was on the fast track. Doing well v Hulk and Sutil, both of whom were supposed to have been the next big thing, but this last maybe 5 races he has not performed.

I know he had kers problems in one and a poor tyre choice in another, management problems etc, but in the same car as Hulk, he has not shown him self up in any part of the race, or gained good points by being consistent.
Hopefully he will impress next year

_________________
I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.

Marx (Groucho)

Whenever I see his face,(almost always frowning) I think of this:

In the couple of days proceeding this race rumours have been doing the rounds that Senna is the favourite for the FI seat alongside di Resta. I hope he gets a decent seat.

Anyway, di Resta.
Good driver, extremely dull. Came up against a guy who progressed quicker than he did as the year went on.
Don't know what else to say really. Everyone has ups and downs.
He'll do fine next season I think, but if he gets beaten by Senna next year (or whoever it is) it's hard to see where he goes from there. He'd always be welcome back in the DTM of course, but let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet

I thought he was going more uphill, then sorta sideways, the corrected and sidewyas the other way, then WALL....

_________________
As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.

My thoughts are exactly like a few others on the thread. Wanted to like him, but he just comes off as miserable. He's really quite average aswell.

Imo doesn't bring anything to the grid. Hope FI get rid and ship in a new face.

To be fair this race it was clearly said Di Resta was on a dry setup and Hulk on a wet, thus the advantage difference so big, usually they are very close and in the dry here he was 2-3 tenths faster than the Hulk, but when it was mixed conditions Hulk had the advance.

Di Resta almost got some points but made a silly mistake and spun, which cost a top 7.

_________________
Driver Instructor & Test Driver

If Hulk was on a wet set up, how did he outqualify Di Resta so easily yesterday? Di Resta was more than 4 tenths slower yesterday in Q2.

There is no doubt left Hulk is a much better driver than Di Resta. McLaren should have gone for him I think...

Di Resta got blocked on his flying lap. (So said on BBC)


I found that part weird as well as in all the dry sessions before that he was 2-3 tenths faster than the Hulk. Which would explain the dry setup.

Still don't excuse the fact he could of finished in the top 6 if not for the silly mistake.

_________________
Driver Instructor & Test Driver

Di Resta is a head scratcher.

He has his days, but then he has his bad days.

Its like after the mid-point through the season, he just dies off. He did the same thing to Sutil last year and got off to a fast start, but once Sutil (in this case Hulkenburg) was adjusted to the tires. He was just mashed into the ground.

He's so confusing sometimes. He has his days though...

_________________
Felipe Massa fan/supporter since 2002 and counting!

Has the potential and was beating his team mate till later in season, so lacks that consistently later in season when it really matters. Reminds me of a certain Mark Webber.

_________________
Driver Instructor & Test Driver

So now that Hulk has beaten DiResta, this means that PDR should now say that Hulkenberg is at the Prost/Senna/Lauda level...

Judging from how he raced up front he's no where near their level!

_________________
Driver Instructor & Test Driver

I disagree. Hulk made that mistake because he was already taking the Force India to the limit. It is a Force India... it took serious driving to keep it at P1 and be on the same pace than the McLaren which was the polesitting car and the fastest car.

Very Senna-esque!

He's been all mouth and no trousers so far. Simple as that.

Hulkenburg was totally embarrassing Di Resta today until he hit Hamilton. I mean Hulkenburg was beating two McLarens and leading the race in a Force India on complete merit in the dry and the wet today, no one ahead of him after he'd jumped Vettel at the start failed t finish apart from Hamilton as well. A seriously impressive drive that did have a large blot on it but still. Di Resta was puddling around just in and out of the points then he binned it totally. Hulkenburg still finished 5th.

_________________
1994 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

You are funny.

He could not handle the pressure of fighting for the win, he made two crucial mistakes, both costing him the win. One costing the other driver's race, potentially his teams 2nd place in teams standings on top of that(Millions of $ and repair bill)

Thats why no teams have picked him up, he's not shown he can handle the pressure up front yet. Regardless of how well he drove in the FI, it's the ability to handle the pressure that counts.

_________________
Driver Instructor & Test Driver

His downhill spiral seems in direct correlation to his split with Anthony Hamilton

Just like Perez not handling the pressure in Malaysia and no big teams subsequently picking him up?

beating Vettel in the other series is probably his biggest achievement on his resume and the only way it will get bigger is if Vettel wins more championships

Personally I'm extremely disappointed with his drive in Brazil. I mean apart from that greasy track bit which made his ass kick out hulkenberg in comparison drove brilliantly. Sad to see him leave FI as well...

Diresta got caught up in the Mclaren Lewis negotiation,he listened to Culthard and Button,and seeing that Withmarsh has serious resentment issues with the Hamiltons he had to fire Anthony so then LEADER Button would bring him in.
Anthony sued which then made him toxic to Mclaren and everyone else.now he feels abandoned and used.he was just a pawn In the Witmarsh/button war against The Hamilton