Former Force India driver and current Williams reserve Paul di Resta claims he is doing all he can to earn a full-time promotion to a race seat in 2018, amid competition from two other drivers.
The Briton forced his way into contention after an impressive showing in Hungary, when he stepped in to replace an unwell Felipe Massa and performed admirably in a car he hadn’t driven before qualifying that weekend.
Currently, he, Massa and Robert Kubica are believed to be the three main contenders for the seat alongside Lance Stroll, with the Grove team considering a younger, more mid-term option to partner the young Canadian.
Recently commenting on his ambition to return to a permanent race seat in F1 for the first time since 2013, di Resta told Autosport: “They (Williams) know me well enough now. I’ve been here over a year and a half.
“I’ve very actively tried to get as involved as I can here, as I will continue to do. As time goes on I’ve made it very clear what a dream it would be to get in the car. I’m racing DTM alongside what I’m doing, but being here and under people’s faces is obviously the biggest thing.”
During his first spell with Force India between 2011-2013 many thought the Scot, who had beaten Sebastian Vettel in European Formula 3 in his junior career, flattered to deceive but, now aged 31, di Resta believes he has learnt from those three seasons and wants the chance to prove himself again.
“I’ve learned from my mistakes in the past, and I can try and put it right,” he said. “It’s a bit of a waiting game. I’m actively trying to do as much as I can to try and put myself in contention for it, because it is there, and it’s an important time for the team as well.
“It would be wrong to say I lost my appetite for it although the longer it (not racing in F1) went on, the more difficult it was becoming,” he acknowledged, “but it (racing in Hungary) proved to myself that I can certainly still do the job.
“Although I always believed it, maybe it showed the outside world a bit more that, given the opportunity again, that was only a sniff of what you can do, given a proper chance.”
