Di Resta not driving in Germany

Paul di Resta will miss his customary appearance in a Force India during first practice for the German Grand Prix this weekend.

Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi will drive their cars in all sessions as the team focus their efforts on coping with the wide difference in tyres Bridgestone are supplying:

It’s a shame but I completely understand the decision.

In Hockenheim Bridgestone are bringing two tyre compounds that are two steps apart – the super-soft and the hard – rather than just the one step as usual, so the drivers and the engineers need to understand the performance fully.

It’s a decision that’s been taken relatively late but it’s better to err on the side of caution at such a crucial stage in the season. The team is performing well but other teams are also making steps forward so we need to have as much information as possible to get every performance advantage we can.
Paul di Resta

However di Resta will return to the car later this year:

I’ll be back in the car in Hungary, replacing Tonio for FP1, so I’ll resume my running there.

In the meantime I’ll join in the programme as usual – help out with meetings, on the pitwall and pick up as much information as I can. At this stage everything is part of the learning process.
Paul di Resta

The team are also working on some specific problems getting the most out of the softer compound tyres, which has made it difficult for their drivers to get into the top ten in qualifying:

We’ve really got to concentrate on getting into Q3 this race. We can easily get into Q2 but then we struggle a little to get the soft tyres to warm up.

Adrian’s had a similar issue in that on Saturday morning we are really confident after final practice, but in the afternoon it can go a bit wrong. If we can get the qualifying right – as we saw in Canada – then the race will come to us.
Vitantonio Liuzzi

And Adrian Sutil is hoping to score his first ever points on home ground:

It’s a great track. I never drove on the old version, although I did do the short track in 2002.

The new version is a really nice circuit. The first corner is a challenging and quick one and then you have the long straight down to the tight hairpin, which is really slow, but good for overtaking.

Then you come into the best sector on the track, right into the stadium. It’s a nice right hander and you can feel the atmosphere, you can feel the people sitting there.

The double right hander onto the start/finish line is a special corner, very difficult. I think if you have lots of experience on this track you can gain a little bit at this corner. I’m hoping for that home advantage!

Ever since I’ve been in F1 there has always been a large German contingent in F1 and now with six, and one of them being Michael Schumacher, I hope we’ll get an even bigger crowd and more atmosphere.

For me personally, I just concentrate on my own game, getting the most out of the car and the team and scoring points. To get some points on my home ground – for the first time in F1 – would be a great feeling.

Last year at the Nurburgring I started seventh but finished out of the points so I really want to try and finish the job now. We have a car that can do it and some small developments that should help. Yet again I’m feeling confident and comfortable and when I feel like that it normally shows out on track.
Adrian Sutil

2010 German Grand Prix