Mercedes is considering Di Resta for 2013 if Schumacher retires

Nick Fry, one of the officials of the Mercedes AMG team, stated in the British press that Paul di Resta was a plausible option to replace Michael Schumacher in 2013 if the seven-time world champion decided to retire from the F1 world.

« Of course, Paul is on our radar. He has done a fantastic job, he’s a great person, a good team player, and he would clearly be a driver we could consider if Michael decided he no longer wants to continue. However, we haven’t reached that point in our minds yet, but we all have a lot of admiration for Paul, » Nick Fry told Sky Sports News.

Paul di Resta has always been part of the Mercedes fold; he won the DTM title with the German manufacturer and was placed within the Sahara Force India team, powered by … Mercedes. In the Scottish driver’s career, a move to the “first” team could therefore be the next logical step for his career in F1.

Nick Fry, however, was keen to point out that for the moment, there is no indication that Schumacher will retire at the end of the season, even though recently, a German poll indicated that more than 50% of those surveyed expected to see Schumacher retire at the end of the year.

Fry, however, believes that if Schumacher’s lack of results continues, doubt could settle in the German driver’s mind: « I am sure that if we reach the end of the year and it continues as it has in the last races, I think he (Schumacher) will certainly question his future. There is still time, and we are not going to make a decision at the moment. »