Korean Grand Prix: Singapore disappointment still fresh for di Resta

Force India pilot Paul di Resta has admitted the disappointment from Singapore is still ‘fresh’ heading to Korea this weekend.

The Scot looked set for a good result at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and was running in the points until he crashed out with just seven laps to go.

It was a bitter blow, especially as it means he has now gone five races without finishing in the top-ten, his last points coming at his home race at Silverstone back at the end of June.

“The disappointment still feels quite fresh,” di Resta confirmed when quizzed on his feelings about Singapore in the countdown to the 14th round in the 2013 F1 World Championship in Yeongam. “When you have a race like that you just want to get back in the car as soon as possible.

“[But] after the race I went back to Europe for some training and to get myself ready for the final push of the season. October will be the busiest month of the year so it was good to have some quality time at home before we spend the next couple of months travelling.”

“The Korea International Circuit is an unusual track, but definitely a place that I enjoy driving,” he continued. “The three sectors are all very different with long straights linked by hairpins, some high-speed corners and a slower technical part of the lap. The tyre choices are the same as in Singapore so it will be interesting to see how they perform. We’ve always gone well on the supersofts, but struggled more on the medium compound so hopefully we can switch it on this weekend.”

Team-mate Adrian Sutil meanwhile will be looking for his third points finish from the last four races this Sunday – and his first in Korea after retiring in 2010 and only finishing eleventh in 2011.

“Singapore was a lot of work for one point, that’s for sure! In the race I started on the mediums to do something different with the strategy and that worked out quite well. In the closing laps I was right on the back of the train of cars fighting for points. My tyres were so worn that it was hard to push, so getting a point was a good feeling after a long race,” he stated.

“I’m now looking forward to Korea and I quite like the track. I haven’t been so successful there yet, but I want to make up for that this year,” added the German.

“The circuit has a nice layout and a nice flow in the second part of the lap with some high-speed corners. Let’s see how the supersoft performs because the corners are very hard on the tyres. That could open up some interesting strategies.”

Korean Grand Prix: Singapore disappointment still fresh for di Resta