Di Resta fifth fastestposted in F108 | 06 | 2012
McLAREN'S LEWIS HAMILTON topped the timesheets at the end of free practice for tomorrow's Canadian Grand Prix, but Scot Paul di Resta (pictured today) showed he will be competitive by finishing fifth-fastest.
The 26-year-old from Bathgate clocked a best time of 1min 15.544secs in his Sahara Force India VJM05, 0.255s faster than his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in eighth. Hamilton's quickest time was 1: 15.259s
And after completing 32 laps of the 2.7-mile Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the first session, Di Resta made a number of changes to his car and set his fastest time during an additional 32 laps in the afternoon.
Ad he admitted he heads into qualifying tomorrow believing he has the pace to make it through to Q3, and a top 10 start.
"It was a busy, but productive day of practice in Montreal as everyone in the team worked hard to dial the cars into this challenging circuit," Di Resta, a global ambassador for Whyte & Mackay whisky, explained.
See more official photos of Paul in action in Canada today
“Because the weather was a bit of a worry today — there was a constant threat of rain — we had a very busy morning and probably did more laps in FP1 than we normally would. I focused on the Pirelli soft compound tyres in the morning.
"In the afternoon, we were able to do a complete dry tyre programme because, in the end, the rain held off.
"We also worked on understanding the brake and engine cooling requirements to make sure the solutions we have in place are adequate.
"The initial baseline of the car was good and we worked on improving things further with each run. By the end of the day I was very happy with the feel of the car in terms of balance.
"Of course the ambient conditions are expected to change overnight and we need to see how that impacts us tomorrow, but based on today’s performance I think we can target Q3 if everything comes together.”
Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal — Free Practice:
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.259s 43 laps;
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m15.313s + 0.054 36;
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.410s + 0.151 39
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m15.531s + 0.272 44;
5. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m15.544s + 0.285 32;
6. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.651s + 0.392 37;
7. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m15.697s + 0.438 32;
8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m15.799s + 0.540 39;
9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.812s + 0.553 14;
10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.878s + 0.619 40;
11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.898s + 0.639 38;
12. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m15.907s + 0.648 41;
13. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m15.987s + 0.728 39;
14. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m16.360s + 1.101 29;
15. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m16.562s + 1.303 33;
16. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m16.981s + 1.722 24;
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m17.022s + 1.763 22;
18. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m17.075s + 1.816 41;
19. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.124s + 1.865 41;
20. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.716s + 2.457 34;
21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m18.908s + 3.649 27;
22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.084s + 3.825 40;
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.378s + 4.119 21;
24. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.902s + 4.643 18.
Paul di Resta: Momentum is crucial
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Jim McGill