Paul Di Resta has long been accustomed to mixing in exalted company, so the redoubtable little Bathgate driver has lapped up his recent adulation with the practised ease of a man who is in control of his own destiny.
During the last 48 hours, the Scot has collected the prestigious "Rookie of the Year" prize at the annual Autosport awards and taken possession of the BRDC's Fairfield Trophy for "outstanding performance". More importantly, from Di Resta's perspective, he will imminently receive a pre-Christmas bonus from his Force India employers when they get round to confirming that he and Nico Hulkenberg will line up together in the 2012 Formula 1 battle.
These baubles set the seal on an impressive maiden season for the 25-year-old, who made an immediate impression in his new milieu, and amassed 27 points on his graduation to Bernie Ecclestone's empire. The naysayers might counter that Di Resta fared better at the start than the finish of his campaign, while the psychological advantage he established over his colleague, Adrian Sutil, during the early GPs in Australia and Asia, diminished significantly once the F1 brigade arrived in Europe. Yet, considering the rapid learning curve with which he was confronted, and the challenge of translating his DTM success to the higher-profile environment of F1, Di Resta demonstrated that he has the speed, sangfroid, technical expertise and savvy to deal with whatever triumphs or travails were placed in his path. More experienced figures pouted and vented their frustrations in public, whereas the debutant transcended some questionable tyre strategies and Baldrick-style cunning plans from his managers to prove that he has the necessary ingredients to fight for podium places, the more so if Force India can keep pace with his demands.
The Autosport honour testified to how his peers admired Di Resta's graduation to the grand stage. He scored points in eight of his 19 events. Past winners include Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and, although the West Lothian competitor was up against the likes of Sergio Perez, Jerome D'Ambrosio and Pastor Maldonado, it was impossible to quibble with Di Resta being instrumental in helping Force India achieve their best ever season in the pit and paddock. His poise under pressure brought rewards where they weren't expected, and in committing himself to what was best for his team rather than himself, he embodied the qualities which are needed by the less established organisations on the grid in grappling with Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari. And, whereas others sought refuge in excuses, Di Resta was candid in dealing with disappointment. Indeed, even as he basked in the limelight on Sunday, he didn't attempt to pretend that everything had been sweetness and light in 2011.
"It has been a tough year, but an incredible journey," he said. "Force India gave me the opportunity two years ago to drive their car for the first time and to help them to their best year of sixth, in the constructors' championship, is great. My personal highlight was qualifying at the British Grand Prix, when we started sixth – the race itself didn't go quite so well, but there you go."
The contrast between his reaction to Kipling's twin impostors and that of Sutil has been instructive. Last week, the German claimed it was absurd he had not already booked his seat for 2012 and, for much of the last three months, has been tooting his own horn about his achievements, without acknowledging he was off the pace. Di Resta outqualified him 6-2 in the opening eight GPs. Hulkenberg, too, has threatened to defect to another series if he isn't guaranteed a drive next year, without having done an awful lot to prove himself. Sutil may have ended with 42 points but, in the bigger picture, the whining never stopped, even when his car was in the garage.
Di Resta rolled with the punches, kept accentuating the positives and, even if he was more David Coulthard than Damon Runyon in the soundbite stakes, appreciated that talk counts for nothing in F1. In that respect, he was more mature than any of his opponents and we can anticipate fresh illustrations of his powers in the future.
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