SCOTLAND’S Paul di Resta admitted he was “scared, nervous and anxious” after receiving an 11th-hour call-up to the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Di Resta, who had not turned the wheel of a Formula One car in anger for 1343 days, will line up second-last on the grid at the Hungaroring, while Sebastian Vettel is on pole, with his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen second, Valtteri Bottas third, and his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton only fourth.
Di Resta, who competes in the German Touring Car series, DTM, but also acts as a reserve driver for Williams, was handed his surprise chance just 90 minutes before qualifying after Felipe Massa withdrew.
The Brazilian felt unwell after complaining of dizziness during second practice on Friday, and was taken to hospital in Budapest for checks. He was given the all-clear following an FIA medical examination yesterday morning, but lasted just 12 laps of final practice before he conceded defeat.
Di Resta, who drove in Formula One for Force India between 2011 and 2013, had been due to deputise for Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle in Hungary as the broadcaster continues his recovery from a ear-related illness which prevented him covering the British Grand Prix.
“I’m not going to lie, I was scared, nervous and anxious,” Di Resta said. “I’ve not driven one of these cars for three-and-a-half years, apart from 10 laps I did in a 2014 car.
“Then you get thrown into qualifying, which is the deepest of all deep ends. It’s like jumping off a cliff and seeing how you fight for survival.
“At 10.55 this morning I was ironing a shirt and sitting with Sky presenter Simon Lazenby and going through what questions I was going to ask. I had to text them at 10 past 12 and say I would not be there.
“It was ironic because my wife said to me on Wednesday, ‘how funny would it be if Williams required your services this week?’.”
Given the circumstances, Di Resta turned in a commendable perform-ance. He was within eight-tenths of a second off Lance Stroll in the sister Williams and 2.6 seconds off the pace of the front-runners. He also out-qualified the Sauber of Marcus
Ericsson. Di Resta’s display won plaudits for the man he was set to replace in the commentary booth.
“Excellent job from Paul di Resta from a standing start in qualifying in Hungary,’’ Brundle tweeted. “Kept it on the tarmac and a decent lap time. Well done.’’
Today’s race marks Di Resta’s 59th F1 start.
“I felt quite comfortable quite quickly,” said the 30-year-old, whose only taste of this year’s car will have been on the team’s simulator at Williams’ Oxfordshire base. “As soon as I let go of the pit limiter it was kind of there and I was improving by half a second a lap. There is still plenty of potential there.
“These cars are top of their game and it’s like being back at home driving the best balanced car you’ve ever driven. The team prepared me as best as they could. It was absolutely unreal. I was very safe in the high speed and a bit safe on exit. It’s about getting your bearings again.”
There was disappointment for Hamilton as he fell short in his bid to match Michael Schumacher’s 68-pole record, nearly half-a-second adrift of championship rival Vettel .
Hamilton ran wide at Turn 4 during his first attempt at pole and had to abandon his lap.
It left the Briton with one final go to match Schumacher’s record, but after complaining about vibrations on his car throughout the session, he finished a distant 0.431 sec off Vettel’s blistering effort.
To make matters worse for Hamilton and indeed his Mercedes team, Raikkonen pipped Bottas with his final throw of the dice as Ferrari secured their second front-row lockout of the season.
Hamilton said: “It is going to be a breeze for Ferrari tomorrow. I don’t think there was any moment that we had a shot at pole because we could not match the Ferraris. They have made an improvement this weekend and they deserved it.”
Claiming pole was the perfect retort from Vettel, one point ahead of Hamilton in the championship race, after he finished seventh at Silverstone after a penultimate-lap puncture.
“It is only Saturday so there is nothing to get from today other than the best position on the grid, but we did that which is great,” Vettel said. “The talk after the last race was a bit too much so it was good to deliver the answer on the track.”
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