Paul di Resta Spun After Struggling With Tyres At Austin

Paul di Resta endured a frustrating 56-lap United States Grand Prix, after the Briton suffered with the tyres after the team waited too long before pitting him for his first pit stop. As di Resta pushed to keep track position, he was forced into a spin at Turn 19, which practically ruined his race and forced him to pit for a second time.

After starting the race from 13th on the grid, Paul di Resta initially enjoyed a very competitive start to the race, rising through the melee in the midfield to 6th by Lap 20 before making his first scheduled pit stop. However, upon finally pitting, the Scot dropped back down to 12th position with the Williams duo of Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado in close proximity behind him.

However, as Paul di Resta strove to keep his rivals behind him, the 26-year-old was forced into making a mistake and spinning at Turn 19. This saw him plummet through the order back down to 16th position, practically ruining his race. Due to the spin, di Resta flat-spotted his tyres was forced to make one final pit stop before the end of the race. Despite a torrid end to the race, he was able to redeem himself slightly and overtake Michael Schumacher for 15th position.

“I made a good start and for the first few laps we were in quite a strong position and moving forward with good lap times.” Explained Paul di Resta, “Maybe we waited too long before pitting because I became vulnerable to Senna after my stop and was struggling on cold tyres with tyre warm-up. I couldn’t keep Senna behind me and then I had the same situation with Maldonado. I was fighting a lot of oversteer in the car and made an error in turn 19, lost the rear, and spun. I was just trying a bit too hard to keep the cars behind me. That gave me some flat spots on my tyres so I had to pit for a second time.”

Unlike Paul di Resta, team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was able to finish within the points with 8th after a relatively competitive United States Grand Prix after starting 6th alongside fellow countryman Michael Schumacher. Paul di Resta will be hoping for better luck next time out at the Brazilian Grand Prix, as this fine season comes to an end.

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