Paul di Resta has revealed that he is close to capturing the reserve driver role at Force India this season, after impressing the Silverstone outfit during last month’s young drivers test.
The 23-year-old Scot has so far failed to make it into Formula One despite impressing in junior Formula, including his 2006 F3 Euroseries triumph over Sebastian Vettel.
However the Mercedes protégé is now confident of securing the reserve driver role at Force India and hopes that he can use the experience to step up into a race seat for 2011.
“Things are moving along quite strong,” di Resta said during an interview at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham. “Since the test for sure we have been in talks, and I would say we are about 90% there. We are in the final stages of finishing off for the programme they have set and hopefully we can build a very long and strong relationship for me to try and race with Force India in the future.”
He added: “The two drivers they have – Adrian [Sutil] did a very good job last year and also Tonio [Liuzzi]. It is a fight to get a seat, and I am going to try and fight for that – and try to prove to Force India that I am capable of getting in that car and doing the same job they can if not better.”
