Tyres deflate Di Resta points runposted in F118 | 11 | 2013
BATHGATE'S PAUL DI RESTA — who had scored 12 world championship points in the last two races — had to content himself with 16th in the US Grand Prix after his Sahara Force India struggled with tyre degradation.
Having started the race at the Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, from 11th on the grid, the 27-year-old Scot quickly moved up to ninth.
But it rapidly became clear that his car was struggling with the combination of the Pirelli tyres and the warm weather.
Having pitted on lap 22 and fitted a new set of hard compound tyres, Di Resta, backed by Whyte & Mackay Whisky, and the team had expected to be able to finish the race without another stop.
Unfortunately, it became clear with six of the 56 scheduled laps remaining that he was struggling to stay in front of the cars behind him as his Sahara Force India struggled for grip, and he was forced to make another unscheduled stop.
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“I made a good start and was in reasonable shape for the first stint," Di Resta explained. "But it soon became clear that we were struggling for pace and not really in the zone with the tyres.
"We were pushing to do a one-stop race, but the tyre wear was a bit higher than expected and I ran out of tyre performance with nine laps to go.
"It was hard to defend my position so I had to make a second pit stop. It’s a shame because we were quite optimistic before the race and we thought the warmer weather might play into our hands.
"So it’s a bit disappointing, but we will pick ourselves up and look to end the season with a better result in Brazil at the weekend.”
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Jim McGill