Father stays grounded as Di Resta makes F1 debut

Di Resta

Di Resta

Di Resta

Di Resta

Di Resta

FEW parents would pass up the opportunity to see their child racing in a grand prix – but a Scottish Formula One driver’s father’s fear of flying stopped him making the 10,000-mile trip to watch his son’s debut.

The father of Paul Di Resta and the rest of his family in Bathgate and around Italy all woke up early yesterday to watch the hotly tipped driver win a point in his first grand prix.

Di Resta, 24, roared to 12th place in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix for his Force India team but was promoted to 10th after the race finished because Sauber duo Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi were disqualified – a result Di Resta described as “mega”. The race was won by current world champion Sebastian Vettel in his Red Bull.

At home in West Lothian, the young driver’s family were happy enough to see him finish the race in Albert Park, Melbourne, without incident and were delighted when the chequered flag came down.

Louis Di Resta, 50, who runs a nightclub in Bathgate, told The Herald: “I was excited. This is the start of his F1 career and he got a point in his first race.

My dad has sacrificed a lot of his life and been very committed to me. I’m sure he will be a proud man sat on his sofa at home

“To get in the points is fantastic, especially not being in one of the four big teams.

“At first we thought he did a good job, brought the car home with no smashes, no crashes, nothing.

“Just a good solid job. But when we heard he got a point, we were all really happy. That’s just what I was looking for. That was my goal.”

The father and son have been in constant contact since the race, in which Di Resta at one point almost overtook former world champion and fellow British driver Jenson Button in his McLaren.

“He is very happy. He made two or three schoolboy errors in his first race, but that was it,” said Mr Di Resta.

The proud father has supported his son’s career since it began.

“Everybody thinks they would love to get their eight-year-old into F1,” he said. “You work away and work away, but for me it’s paid off.

“F1 is a revolving door. Generally, when you get through the door it’s very hard to be pushed out of it. Once you do a reasonable job, you’re in. It can be a long career if you work right.”

Since his son hit the big time, the local community has rallied round to show their support. “When I go out walking the dog, I often get stopped and people tell me he’s doing really well,” said Mr Di Resta.

“Community-wise it’s great, due to the amount of people who wish him all the best.”

Earlier, Di Resta, who was paraded before the race-day fans in a vintage car, described his sadness that his father would not be able to make it to see his first race.

He said: “My dad has put equally as much effort into getting here as I ever have. He has sacrificed a lot of his life and been very committed to me. I’ve obviously stayed in close contact with him and I’m sure he will be a proud man sat on his sofa at home.”

Di Resta has already gone one step further than his cousin, two-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, who never raced in F1.

When he was told about the disqualification decision, Di Resta said: “If the news is true then this is a mega result for me and the team.

“It is exactly what we set out to achieve and I am delighted to have scored my first point in my debut race. It was quite productive for a first race. I made a reasonable start and really had a battle with Kamui Kobayashi.

“But I didn’t come off the best from that battle and I think our speed showed where we finished.

“Relatively, looking at it, our performance was better than we expected this weekend.”