Force India will not retain Di Resta

Author of a remarkable start to the season in 2013, Scottish driver Paul di Resta is in the sights of several leading teams for the upcoming seasons. Courted by Lotus and Mercedes, according to persistent rumors, the driver will not be held back by his current team, Force India, if a good opportunity arises for him. And this despite his contract running until the end of the following year.

In any case, this is what Bob Fernley confirmed to our colleagues at Sky: « Paul is contracted with us for the next season. So the question is if someone else comes forward, it will not be our decision. Whether Paul is released from his contract or not, it’s a decision that is up to him. We will not oppose his way of thinking. It is not our policy. If a driver feels better elsewhere, what would be our interest in keeping him with us? »

Fernley draws a parallel with last year’s situation when Nico Hülkenberg decided to join Sauber: « we proved this at the end of last year with Nico, who wanted to join Sauber’s ranks. Did we want to lose him? Absolutely not. He was an important member of the team. But we weren’t more affected than that by his departure. We proved, by bringing in Adrian Sutil, that we were capable of bouncing back from such a situation and returning to our normal operations. Perhaps Nico is even questioning his decision today… »

The good form of Force India is a small surprise at the start of the season. The small team even managed to overtake McLaren in the constructors’ standings with its fifth position. However, Fernley is not afraid that the situation will change during the year: « I don’t think we should be afraid of anything. We have been good on all types of tracks during the first seven races and have achieved good results each time. I think we can maintain our position in the top ten in qualifying. We are truly the fifth fastest team on the grid, and there is no doubt about that. »