Bathgate’s Paul di Resta will receive significant family support tomorrow when he drives the Force India F1 car in practice at Monza ahead of the Italian Grand Prix; his cousin Dario Franchitti will be alongside him in the garage.
The double IndyCar champ and Indy500 winner, in his role of the TW Steel ambassador, is paying a flying visit to the circuit on his way to Motegi in Japan for the penultimate round of this year’s IndyCar Championship.
“It’s just great to come and give Paul a bit of family support,” the 37-year-old, currently second in the chase for the IndyCar title, 17 points behind leader Will Power, said today.
Di Resta meanwhile is eagerly looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the F1 car after DTM win at Brands Hatch at the weekend.
“Brands hatch was fantastic, but now my head’s fully into F1 gear,” the 24-year-old explained. “Monza is one of the great tracks of the world and though I’ve never been here before, I’ve heard so much about it.
“I’ve done a series of laps round the track in the team’s simulator, and it’s a mighty challenge. It’s just one of those tracks which is awesomely fast and really allows you to push the car to the max.
I’m replacing Adrian on tomorrow, so I’ll be looking after his car when I’m out in it. Unlike the other F1 circuits I’ve driven this year, Monza requires a very different approach to the other tracks.
“It’s low downforce, high speed and then heavy braking into the chicanes so it’s going to be another terrific experience to put in the book. We showed well in Spa a fortnight ago so there’s no reason why it shouldn’t show again in Monza.”
JM