26/01/2011
NEWS STORY
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Force India has officially unveiled Paul di Resta as its second driver for 2011, the Scot lining up alongside Adrian Sutil.
The announcement was made at a press conference in Glasgow, and while the team prepared to issue a press release, the news came out courtesy of Twitter, with team sponsor Whyte & Mackay among the guilty parties stealing Force India's thunder. Indeed, the Silverstone-based team subsequently tweeted that although Whyte & Mackay had "dropped the bomb", official information would only come via the team itself.
Sure enough, at 14:40 - twenty minutes before the scheduled announcement - the Indian team bit the bullet team finally confirmed di Resta as its second driver and Nico Hulkenberg as test and reserve.
"'I am genuinely excited by the drivers we will be fielding in 2011," said Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal of the team. "I believe that the combination of talent we've assembled gives us one of the strongest line-ups on the grid: Adrian has matured into one of F1's most consistent and highly-rated young drivers, while Paul is, I believe, a real star of the future. He has won in every category in his career and this base speed was in evidence when he got in the car on Fridays last year. With Nico, signing him was too good an opportunity to let by. He showed a good racing head and talent and I was amazed by his control in Brazil last year. Together I think they are a formidable partnership and will help take us to the next level of performance."
"I made my F1 debut with the team back in 2007," said Sutil, "and we've worked together since then, so to stay for another year here feels very right. I've always said that I feel good in this team, it feels like family and when you feel good, you are confident and can push to your maximum. We've made some good progress together over the past four years and I'm excited to be part of the the team when it takes the next step, which is hopefully to become a front running team. We have the same ambitions so it makes a lot of sense to achieve them together."
"Naturally I am thrilled to be making my race debut this season," admitted di Resta. "Becoming an F1 driver has been a long-held ambition of mine, something I've wanted to do since I first stepped into a kart, and to finally realise it feels amazing. I've worked really hard for this opportunity throughout my career and to get it with Force India, a young team that's got ambitions as big as mine, is genuinely exciting. I can't wait to be on the grid in Bahrain, it can't come soon enough."
"I am happy I can stay in F1 in 2011," said Hulkenberg. "I am looking forward to working with Force India and I am sure the team will continue improving in the future. I appreciate the team trusting me by signing a long-term contract. I will do my very best to live up to expectations."