Paul di Resta thrilled by result

July 31, 2011 (Andrés Rojas).- Force India had reasons to feel proud and celebrate. First, Adrian Sutil made it to Q3 and started the race from eight on the grid, but then, the best part: Paul Di Resta finished the race in seventh.

Paul di Resta’s finish at the Hungaroring marks, not only the Scot’s first points finish in eight races (10th in the Malaysian GP), but his best ever Formula 1 result.

“I’m very happy with the seventh place today,” he said, having come from 11th on the grid. “It was quite a mixed race with rain at the beginning, but I made a good start and felt comfortable in the conditions. Then it was a matter of which tyres to choose.

“We went to Super Softs for the middle two stints and then ended the race on the Primes (harder, Soft compound). We lost track position at the last stop, but I was able to pick through the cars and get back up to seventh place in the final few laps.

“Finishing seventh is the best way to respond after a series of races where, for various reasons, we didn’t get the results that were possible. So it’s nice to go into the summer break with a smile on my face, having scored points that are so important for our position in the championship.”

Paul di Resta is a well-praised rookie who started the season with consecutive tenth place finishes in Australia and Malaysia, but then he felt into oblivion by not scoring point. Additionally, he was outraced by his more experimented teammate Adrian Sutil, who leads him in point by 10 after the Hungarian unites were added.

Also, Force India extends its gap for seventh in the Constructors’ Championship to four points, even though Toro Rosso, its immediate rival, achieved a double points-scoring result.