‘Aye, it’s going to be a busy year,” said Paul di Resta as the rain swept across Melbourne’s Albert Park during Friday’s free practice which signalled the start of the 2016 Formula One season.

As the threatening, low grey clouds hid the tops of the city’s skyscrapers, the Scot could be forgiven if he sensed a touch of deja vu.

Six years have passed since he first arrived at the Australian Grand Prix as reserve driver for Force India. Now, 28 months after his final grand prix for the team in Brazil 2013, the 29-year-old from Bathgate is back.

After two seasons in the F1 wilderness, the Scot was confirmed last week as reserve driver for Williams, overseen by legendary team principal Sir Frank Williams, and deputy team principal, daughter Claire. As in 2010, di Resta will not only attend all the grands prix, but will contest the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) with Mercedes. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s also part of the Sky Sports F1 team which delivers every race into our living rooms.

“I don’t really have many weekends free between now and the beginning of December,” di Resta said. “This year there’s 21 grands prix, plus there are nine rounds of DTM. None of the dates clash, which means over the next 39 weekends, I’ve got 30 filled with motorsport.”

With wife Laura, and their new baby boy, back in their apartment in Monaco, di Resta obviously thrives on being busy. In 2010 when he dovetailed his Force India duties with DTM, he won the championship with Mercedes.

This year he heads into DTM’s opening race on May 7 at Hockenheim as one of the favourites for the title. Di Resta is quick to emphasise that his F1 duties will not detract from his commitment to win the title for a second time.

“Being reserve driver for Williams is a great role to have,” he said. “To be part of Williams, one of the longest-established teams in the paddock, is a privilege. Between Frank and Claire, they’re keeping the Williams legacy going, and I’m delighted to have been able to join them. I’ll be joining the team at every opportunity. I’ll be at every grand prix and I’ll do my TV work alongside my Williams responsibilities.

“But obviously I’ll be ready to jump into the race car if I’m ever needed, should something happen to Valtteri [Bottas] or Felipe [Massa]. I’m doing a lot of work with the team, and learning new things, which is great. But I’m committed to doing everything I can to win the DTM title again for Mercedes.”

Di Resta has long been a favourite with Mercedes. A product of the German car giant’s Young Driver Development Programme, the Scot won the European Formula 3 Championship in 2006, before graduating to DTM with Mercedes.

Held in high regard by Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff, it’s no surprise that when the reserve driver position at Mercedes-powered Williams cropped up, di Resta was offered the role. At the moment, the Scot will be concentrating on intensive simulator work helping to develop the Williams. It’s a responsible role he’s comfortable with, having spent long days in the Mercedes simulator working on improvements for the cars raced by triple world champion Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Asked if this was a step towards getting back on the F1 grid, di Resta demonstrated the new media skills he’s developed to become one of Sky’s F1 pundits, alongside the likes of 1996 world champion Damon Hill, Martin Brundle and Johnny Herbert. “I don’t want to go into that. If I was pushed to answer, I’d say no,” he said. “If a door opens sometime in the future, then yes, I’d love to be back on the grid. But the reality is I’m happy in DTM and my role with Williams sits nicely with my DTM racing.”

The Scot is also relishing his new role with Sky. “It’s certainly interesting being on the other side of the sport, and it’s really exciting doing the TV work. It pushes you in so many ways. I’m far more comfortable driving a car than I am doing the TV bits, but it’s really good.”

As for this year’s F1 championship, di Resta is in no doubt that Mercedes, and Hamilton, are again the double act to beat. Quizzed as to whether he thought Rosberg could seriously challenge the Englishman for the crown, di Resta put the onus squarely on the German’s shoulders.

“It’s up to Nico. Obviously towards the end of last year he won a few races, but that was only after Lewis had clinched the championship,” the Scot said. “The pressure had been removed from Nico’s shoulders, and Lewis had done the main job. It would certainly be good for Formula 1 if Nico could genuinely challenge Lewis right through the season, but at the moment I would say Lewis has the upper hand in race pace.”

Does he think Ferrari can mount a genuine challenge to Mercedes’ two-year domination?

“It was clear during pre-season testing that both Ferrari drivers, Sebastian [Vettel] and Kimi [Raikkonen], have improved from last season,” di Resta said. “The big difference is the fact Mercedes have been used to beating people over the last two years with their power, and I think that’s just going to continue. Once we get into race mode, rather than testing, Mercedes will again have the upper hand.”

And McLaren? Can the once-dominant team led by Ron Dennis, recapture their winning ways, or will they again struggle to maximise performance from their Honda powerplant?

“I certainly think they’ve improved from where they were last season,” di Resta said. “Is it enough to challenge for results at the sharp end of the field? I’m not sure. Obviously the problems they’ve had in relation to lack of power have been addressed over the close-season, and there’s further work being done to ensure they maximise the engine-chassis package.

“Last year was the most difficult season the team had experienced, so they’ll be looking to improve. In Jenson [Button] and Fernando [Alonso], the team have two drivers they can rely on. So it’s really up to McLaren and Honda to give the two guys cars which are competitive.”

The Scot is also quietly confident his new Williams team can again repeat their success of 2015 by finishing third in the Constructors’ Championship.

“Certainly the early indications are they will be the next best team behind Mercedes and Ferrari,” he said. “They’re looking for more progress this year. to close the gap on the other two teams, and there’s a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to ensure that’s exactly what they achieve. It’ll be a tough fight again with Red Bull, but I think we’ll do it.”

With that, he was off to another meeting. “It’s all go,” he said. “There just never seems to be enough hours in the day, but I’m loving it.”