Paul di Resta is hoping the frustration he has had to contend with of late will be a thing of the past in Abu Dhabi.
The Scot endured a difficult weekend in India a few days ago due to an unspecified issue with his Force India car, which he feels had been improving prior to its failure at the Buddh International Circuit.
After a career-high fourth-place finish in Singapore, the last three races have yielded nothing for Di Resta. That has resulted in him falling behind team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, who yesterday announced he would be moving to Sauber.
However, Di Resta and his team hope they have now got to the bottom of their issues and are looking to enjoy a strong end to the campaign.
"It's very annoying when you go into a race knowing something is not quite right," said Di Resta. "We started very well after the summer break in terms of speed, and we had a great result in Singapore, but suffered mechanical issues at Spa, Monza and Suzuka.
"From Japan the season has petered off and we've been confused as to why. The situation has gradually got worse, although I think we've identified it. I can pretty much guarantee we will have something different in Abu Dhabi because we understood what the problem is.
"We've made the necessary changes and we will back to where we should be. I'd like to think we'll be fine for the last three races because that was as much as you could get out of me in a race [in India]. In terms of times and consistency the team was happy with me given the issues they knew I would face in the race."
Di Resta goes into the season's end – with grands prix in the United States and Brazil to follow later this month – trailing Hulkenberg by five points. But while he appreciates it is still possible to end the inter-team battle ahead of the 25-year-old German, for his own sake Di Resta is eager to simply head into the winter on a high with some strong results.
"The way things have turned with Nico is frustrating because I was in front," said Di Resta. "He's had a good run recently [finishing in the points in the last three races] but if the machine is not right to give you what you need then you're not going to do it.
"Obviously, I'll give it everything I've got in the last three races, and I'll be happy if I can get a good run to the end. That's regardless of the championship; just to underline what we have done."
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