Di Resta: Tough from 10thposted in F124 | 09 | 2011
BATHGATE'S PAUL DI RESTA will start tomorrow's Singapore Grand Prix from 10th on the grid in his Force India. Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, moved closer to his second successive world championship by qualifying his Red Bull on pole, his 11th of the season.
Di Resta (pictured during today's qualifying) though, on his first visit to the 3.1-mile Marina Bay street circuit, was satisfied with his day's work but acknowledges Sunday's race will be tough.
And the 25-year-old Scot, who along with his Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil didn't complete a lap in Q3, defended the team's decision to sit out the session.
"Of course you always want to be out on the track," Di Resta admitted, "but for some of the slower teams we have to use an extra set of tyres in Q1 to get through to Q2; ironically, today we'd actually have managed to get through without using those tyres because we were fast enough after our first run. But, of course, you don't know that at the time.
See more photos of Paul in action in Singapore today
"We then used another two sets in Q2 and then there's no point going out in Q3 because you're in a losing battle; we're not going to qualify in front of cars that are quicker and also have fresher tyres.
"It's been a difficult weekend anyway, because I'm going into the race having done no high fuel runs because I had to sit out the whole of Free Practice 2 yesterday, with the hydraulic issues the car suffered.
"We've chosen a safe strategy for the race. We've a bit of an idea about how the car will handle with the high fuel load, but that's simply based on what Adrian did yesterday.
"It definitely looked promising, but there are cars around us who are going to be very close to us in terms of pace, and at certain times of the race.
"The conditions are very similar to Malaysia; they're tough because of the heat and humidity. But I think here, even although it's night and it's a little bit cooler, there's no air.
"You find yourself struggling to find fresh air, and because you're in a concrete jungle on the track; you're surrounded by high walls on the circuit, plus the cars are running extremely hot.
"It will be a long race tomorrow, the longest race of the year; there's even a strong possibility it will hit the two-hour limit mark.
Watch our extended video of David Coulthard getting 'dirty' with Red Bull
"Because we didn't do a lap in Q3, the way the rules are written, Adrian starts ahead of me simply because he has a lower number on his car.
"But we'll start on different strategies tomorrow, so it'll be interesting. To a degree we're in the unknown, in relation to my car, simply because of the lack of time we've spent on track; and we especially haven't done any long runs.
"I haven't done a tyre comparison, and I don't know what the degradation is like. So far we've gone with a set-up which we hope is going to be good on both cars.
"It's been a difficult weekend; the loss of FP2 yesterday cost us, but as long as you're close to your team-mate — our aim was to get both cars into the top 10, which we achieved.
"Now we want to make sure we get a double points score for the constructors' championship, and that's what we'll set out to do. W definitely want to extend our lead over Sauber in the race for sixth.
"We came here with a small upgrade, it's worked well. Fair play to the guys back in the factory at Silverstone; they're pushing hard. Now Adrian and I have to make sure we do the business on the track tomorrow, and bring home the points."
Vettel meanwhile, who shares the front row of the grid with his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber — ahead of McLaren dupe Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton in third and fourth respectively — labelled his lap as "perfect".
But the German, who could become the youngest ever double champion tomorrow, admitted he could have been quicker.
"In the last run I tried maybe a little bit too much at the chicane at Turn 10," Vettel said. "I decided to abort and go easy to not damage the car. I was happy with my first lap circuit and in the end it was possible to go faster.
"But all in all a perfect session. It's a big challenge, so many corners and a long lap to get everything together. We learned from the mistakes we did in qualifying last year and kept our heads cool. It's great today to have both cars in front row, so let's see tomorrow."
Today's pole means Vettel is just three away from equalling Nigel Mansell's record number of poles during a season.
Formula One, Singapore Grand Prix (Qualifying):
1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault — 1m44.381s;
2. Mark Webber , Red Bull-Renault — 1m44.732s + 0.351;
3. Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes — 1m44.804s + 0.423;
4. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes — 1m44.809s + 0.428;
5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari — 1m44.874s + 0.493;
6. Felipe Massa, Ferrari — 1m45.800s + 1.419;
7. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes — 1m46.013s + 1.632;
8. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes — no time;
9. Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes — no time;
10. Paul di Resta, Force India-Mercedes — no time;
Q2 cut-off time: 1m47.486s
11. Sergio Perez, Sauber-Ferrari — 1m47.616s + 2.685;
12. Rubens Barrichello, Williams-Cosworth — 1m48.082s + 3.151;
13. Pastor Maldonado, Williams-Cosworth — 1m48.270s + 3.339;
14. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari — 1m48.634s + 3.703;
15. Bruno Senna, Renault — 1m48.662s + 3.731;
16. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari — 1m49.862s + 4.931;
17. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber-Ferrari — No time;
Q1 cut-off time: 1m49.588s
18. Vitaly Petrov, Renault — 1m49.835s + 3.438;
19. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus-Renault — 1m50.948s + 4.551;
20. Jarno Trulli, Lotus-Renault — 1m51.012s + 4.615;
21. Timo Glock, Virgin-Cosworth — 1m52.154s + 5.757;
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Virgin-Cosworth — 1m52.363s + 5.966;
23. Daniel Ricciardo, HRT-Cosworth — 1m52.404s + 6.007;
24. Tonio Liuzzi, HRT-Cosworth — 1m52.810s + 6.413.
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Jim McGill