Paul Di Resta: “It’s going to prove to be an exciting Grand Prix”
Saturday ,29 October 2011
Friday proved to be a good first day at home for Sahara Force India as both cars made the top ten in FP2. Having been 11th in the morning, Paul Di Resta was ninth in the afternoon session as the drivers dialled themselves into the challenging new track. We asked Paul for his thoughts on the day
Obviously you walked around the track and tried it in the simulator, but there’s no substitute for actually driving it. How would you sum up your impressions?
“I think it’s very good. The track is quite exciting, and it’s gripping up well. The weather is nice and consistent – the temperature is fine, it’s not too hot. The DRS seems to be very productive here. It’s going to prove to be an exciting Grand Prix, I think!”
There’s a lot of talk about the wide entries to the slower corners. How have you found that?
“I think they’re a bit too wide personally, you get down there and it’s a bit of a car park! But it’s a great track in terms of that – judging braking distances is a bit different to normal. The first lap I think is going to be a bit mad, especially considering the grip level difference between different parts of the track.”
There are two corners with blind, uphill entries. Are those difficult?
“They are a bit of a challenge. The second to last corner, Turn 15, is probably the trickiest part of the track. You come in blind and it’s all off camber. If you just miss it, it’s a problem. It would say it’s even harder than Turn 3, where you can see the bollard.”
How much of a problem is the dust?
“It appears that it’s been blowing on the track between the sessions. They may clean the track tonight, but anyway it will be better at the end of qualifying.”
Did you find it difficult on the harder tyre?
“It’s the same for everybody. There’s definitely a performance difference, but it’s not as quite as much as people first thought.”
How are the pitlane entry and exit?
“The pit entry is good, the pit exit is tight, but it’s safe enough. You are on the inside, and the car on the track has good visibility if there’s a car coming out of the pits. The only thing is in qualifying, and people getting in your way. But that’s really down to the teams to sort out with their drivers. In the race itself you can’t pull over!”
Credit: Sahara Force India Formula One Team (www.forceindiaf1.com)
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