Paul di Resta gets 4 day McLaren Test

[Steven Roy]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71204

After showing well in his short GP2 test for ART Paul di Resta is to get 4 days in a McLaren.  This not only gives him experience and lets McLaren evaluate him but gives McLaren 4 days extra testing at a crucial stage of the season.  Those of you who are unsure of who he is clearly have not been listening to me.  He is a Scottish driver, son of a multiple Scottish FF1600 champion and cousin of Dario Franchitti and currently running second in the DTM because he can't get a GP2 budget.  He is the 2005 F3 Euroseries champion where his team mate was some kid called Vettel.  Vettel is the new big thing in F1 and di Resta beat him to a championship as his team mate.  So much for the old theory that you have to beat your team mate if you want to succeed.  This break is way, way overdue.  I reckon one year as a test driver with a GP2 program then bye bye Heikki.

[John S]

Good luck to Paul, he deserves the break, however your build up Steven reminds me of the epithets about Heinz Harold Frentzen's projected abilities in F1.

According to the previous form book Frentzen should have left Schumie for dead but it turned out rather differently. Vettel has made the transition to the top league and made the big step up work, not every driver does though.

Heikki is in his first season with McLaren so you are right about next year being make or break for him.

[Steven Roy]

To be absolutely fair I really rate heikki and have done since he was in F3.  I was asked a few years ago to name two young drivers who would get to the top of F2 and I picked Lewis and Heikki so I am delighted to see them both in a top team.

It will be interesting to see how Paul goes but it seems odd that he has gone from DTM to a one day GP2 test to a 4 day F1 test in a matter of days.  For the last couple of seasons he could not get a single-seater drive now he has mst of a week in a McLaren.

[Chameleon]

I think the sudden interest in Paul di Resta is because Force India is looking at him.  With Mallya wanting to buy Mercedes engines, he has somehow become part of the deal.  Perhaps someone remembered that bit about being Vettel's team mate...

[Steven Roy]

He is driving for Mercedes in the DTM and is only two points behind the championship leader with I  think one round remaining.  So he has never really been out of site of Mercedes.  Dario Franchitti followed a similar path before he went off to CART.