Paul di Resta will sit out on Friday practice for the German Grand Prix this weekend after Bridgestone revealed the tyres that will be available for the teams to use at Hockenheim. The Force India test driver has appeared in the practice at a number of events this year but will watch on to allow Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi to secure the maximum track time ahead of the race weekend. However, in an effort to spice up the racing – as was the case in the Canada – Bridgestone has elected to take two vastly different compound of the tyres to Hockenheim, with drivers having to use both the supersoft and the hard tyres. As a result, the team has taken the decision to give Sutil and Liuzzi the maximum amount of the track time to evaluate the two tyres, with di Resta back in action in the Hungary next weekend.
“It's a shame but I completely understand the decision,” he said. “In Hockenheim Bridgestone are bringing two tyre compounds that are a two steps apart - the supersoft and the hard - rather than just the one step as the usual, so the drivers and the engineers need to understand the performance fully. It's a decision that's been taken relatively late but it's better to err on the side of caution at such a crucial stage in the season.
“The team is performing well but other teams are also making a steps forward so we need to have as much information as possible to get every performance advantage we can. Hockenheim is a track I know well from the DTM and I was looking forward to getting out there in the F1 car, but it's a team effort and I am sure I can put some of the knowledge and I have back into the overall weekend.
“I'll be back in the car in Hungary, replacing Tonio for the FP1, so I'll resume my running there. In the meantime I'll join in the programme as usual - help out with the meetings, on the pitwall and pick up as much information as I can. At this stage and everything is part of the learning process.”
“It's a shame but I completely understand the decision,” he said. “In Hockenheim Bridgestone are bringing two tyre compounds that are a two steps apart - the supersoft and the hard - rather than just the one step as the usual, so the drivers and the engineers need to understand the performance fully. It's a decision that's been taken relatively late but it's better to err on the side of caution at such a crucial stage in the season.
“The team is performing well but other teams are also making a steps forward so we need to have as much information as possible to get every performance advantage we can. Hockenheim is a track I know well from the DTM and I was looking forward to getting out there in the F1 car, but it's a team effort and I am sure I can put some of the knowledge and I have back into the overall weekend.
“I'll be back in the car in Hungary, replacing Tonio for the FP1, so I'll resume my running there. In the meantime I'll join in the programme as usual - help out with the meetings, on the pitwall and pick up as much information as I can. At this stage and everything is part of the learning process.”
