Force India’s Paul di Resta, a rather reserved figure, has spoken out about his former teammates achievement, claiming Sebastian Vettel won the 2011 championship ‘because he had the best car’.
Di Resta, who made his F1 debut at the start of this year, raced against Vettel as teammates in F3 during the 2006 season in equal cars. The scotsman beat Vettel by 11 points, but failed to break into F1 as early as the German, despite being a year older.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Di Resta made the claim that another driver in the same car would probably have achieved the same – though he doesn’t mention Mark Webber’s efforts.
“We had the same car, same engine, same tyres [in 2006] and I beat him,” said Di Resta.
“I don’t want to diminish Vettel’s achievement, but he won the championship because he had the best car. He did his job, but another driver in the same car would probably have achieved the same results. I hope one day to have the same opportunity.”
Di Resta is expected to be confirmed as Force India’s first driver for 2012 alongside Nico Hulkenberg before Christmas.
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