Getting to know Paul di Resta

He's the new Scottish star of Formula 1 but Paul di Resta hasn't taken the conventional route to take a drive in the sport with Force India...

After plenty of karting as a youngster, Formula Renault was the first experience of open wheel racing for the man from West Lothian in 2002. Three years later the step up to F3 followed and he would also win the McLaren Autosport BRDC young driver of the year award. A great achievement and one which gave him the opportunity to test a McLaren F1 car. Plenty is made of him beating Sebastian Vettel in F3 in 2006 and certainly that showed that he had good potential. It should be noted however that Vettel also had commitments in 2 other series, including test driver for BMW in Formula 1.

However di Resta's career would take an unusual turn as he ended up driving in DTM in 2007 for Mercedes. This is basically the German equivalent of the British Touring Car Championship in the UK. On paper it is a strange move to make for someone who wants to get into Formula 1. Former Grand Prix winner David Coulthard has described the two series as very different in driving style. What has proved beneficial for di Resta is the building of a relationship with Mercedes. Customer of the German company Force India allowed the 24 year old to gain some experience in 2010 by being the teams reserve driver. He travelled to all the races with the team and took part in 8 practice sessions. He drove at a competitive pace and didn't suffer any major dramas and generally impressed.



Now he steps up to the true test of a race seat. Losing out is Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian had a deal with the team but has been replaced after a difficult seat. It's been the story of his career, flashes of brilliance but often flattering to deceive. Certainly he had some car issues at times but also made errors and was regularly outpaced by Adrian Sutil. His F1 career is now on the brink and he will find it difficult to find a new seat. Can di Resta shine where Liuzzi didn't? Time will tell but i believe that pace wise he can be close to Sutil, it will be how good his racecraft is which will be the major test.

Image courtesy of http://www.forceindiaf1.com

Alonso wins as Red Bull falter in Korea epic

Rain, safety cars, crashes, mud and a red flag, it was a marathon inaugural Korean Grand Prix...

Race Control get 100%: It was a difficult day for the drivers but also for race control and Charlie Whiting. He had to deal with rain and the condition of the new surface. His first call was to delay the start by 10 minutes. I presume this was done as a lot of rain was coming in on the radar. The conditions before the race looked ok for a normal start and i was disappointed when they did but when things did get underway it was clear that the track was very wet and a red flag soon followed which was the correct decision. When the race resumed almost an hour later it was still a soaked surface but eventually the water cleared. There was a bit of psychological warfare going on as Mark Webber was quite reluctant for the safety car to come in but Lewis Hamilton was demanding that the race go green. I feel Whiting was a few laps too cautious in this situation. Still he managed to get a full race distance in though this was another tight call as darkness fell in the final laps. Again, another difficult decision as a red flag could have caused controversy in itself with the standings going back 2 laps. A red flag a lap after Sebastian Vettel retired would have meant the German would have been given the win so you can see the knock on effect of a decision but the last couple of laps were perhaps a bit too much.

Red Bull crash and burn: Saturday seen them take a dramatic 1-2 but it all went wrong on race day for Webber and Vettel. The Australian looked understandably edgy on the grid and perhaps in hoping the race would be stopped or not be a full points event got into too much of a negative mentality. He struggled compared to his team mate and then dropped it. His car then ended up taking out Nico Rosberg, who was unhappy with what Webber had done. I was a bit curious at the incident but looking back on it i think Webber was trying to back his car off the track rather than stop in the middle of the track so it was simply bad luck for the German. For Vettel it had been a great drive from pole but engine failure condemned him to a third DNF of the season. Whether Alonso, who was closing, could have passed him towards the end will never be known but it was still a mighty blow to Vettel's title hopes. The German can point to reliability costing him the title and its an intriguing argument, on one hand he has had the most unreliability of the title rivals but also the fastest car of the lot. Which is the best overall package is of course the big question.

Here's a rough idea of what drivers have lost through reliability, misfortunes and mistakes this season. Not possible to be accurate but interesting nonetheless...

Potential points lost through car problems

Vettel 66
Hamilton 32
Button 2
Alonso 2
Webber 0

Of course it's hard to define exact points and there has been plenty of indirect effects of reliability (Webber and Hamilton have suffered grid drops for gearbox changes) Jenson Button and Webber can also cite being hit by Vettel this season as well as Alonso suffering some misfortune. Everyone's had their moments, good and bad, and all remain in the hunt with 2 races remaining

Sauber at the double again: Another good day and vindication of the teams decision to bring in Nick Heidfeld as he scored good points for the team. He survived being passed 3 times by Adrian Sutil. The Force India had brake issues and eventually his day of banzai moves came to a end by hitting Kamui Kobayashi, the Japanese driver surviving the collision. Good stuff from the Swiss squad who will hope Kobayashi can spearhead a strong 2011 with the finances coming in from North America. The strategy was quite interesting, pitting both cars very early for inters but like Ferrari, the car keeps the tyre wear low in comparison to others and both drivers came through the field well and kept their cool.

Sutil received a 5 place grid penalty for his antics and Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi was also given the same punishment after smashing into Timo Glock, putting both men out of the race. The Swiss driver was on the inside but not close enough to pass. I think he was caught out by how wet that particular corner was and under braking lost it. He hit Glock hard and thankfully the tether kept the wheel from flying loose and avoiding what could have been a very nasty incident. Team mate Jaime Alguersuari was unfortunate as he lost a point on the last lap, frustratingly saying 'not fair' on Twitter afterwards.

Mercedes shrewd but Nico denied: Its been a year of disappointment for Mercedes after high expectations but as in China, they showed the potential they had in the wet. During the red flag period, they reverted both cars to a full wet setup, taking advantage of Perc Ferme rules not applying. Both Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher attacked from the moment the race went green but when Webber spun, Rosberg went left to avoid the Red Bull but was wiped out. He was understandably frustrated afterwards. He could have went on to win his first race thought the Mercedes works the tyres hard, meaning he could have been vulnerable towards the end. It was still a shame after looking good throughout the weekend. Can he show what he's worth in 2011? Schumacher took a joint best result of the season in 4th but has now been beaten by a team mate over a full season for the first time in his career.

Petrov downbeat as Liuzzi delivers: Oh Vitaly, you had switched early for tyres, made your way through the field and looking set for a massive result and then snap... offline a touch and a huge impact with the barriers. The Russian has simply crashed too much and only his bank balance will keep him at Renault next season. Eric Boullier is considering Sutil and Heidfeld so talent or money, which will win? Meanwhile there was a joint personal best result for Vitantonio Liuzzi as he tries to cling on at Force India. Sadly its a performance which has been too rare from the Italian.

In other news, Pastor Maldonado is getting a test day with Williams after the season finale in Abu Dhabi. The team have confirmed Valeri Bottias as test driver so it certainly heightens the prospect of the Venezuelan replacing Hulkenberg for 2011. Patrick Head talked positively of the German at the weekend but also seen to hint that the decision was not down to him. Williams were looking set for big points towards the end of the race but the tyres went for both drivers, Barrichello slipping to 7th with an off and Hulkenberg crippled by a slow puncture which forced a late pitstop. A last lap pass on Alguersuari earned a point. Barrichello is one of 5 drivers with a fresh engine left so expect that to be utilised in front of his home crowd in two weeks.

Hispania's plan to sneak 10th?: It was a decent outing for Hispania, Sakon Yamamoto had a solid weekend, out qualifying Bruno Senna by almost a second. The Brazilian scored a personal best result of 14th, putting him ahead of the Virgin drivers in the championship. Hispania remain 11th in the championship which like Virgin in 12th means no prize money. Both teams need a 11th place finish, which on raw pace is pretty unlikely, to jump Lotus. It's hard to see an attritional race occuring in Abu Dhabi so basically the last opportunity is some Sao Paulo madness which is not out of the question. Colin Kolles has not ruled out getting 10th and i do wonder whether he is considering drafting Christian Klien in for the next round. The Austrian has only raced at Singapore but was much faster than Senna and he could be the best chance of pulling a top 11 finish off. It's hard to see Yamamoto being dropped with the finances he brings but with Senna heading to his homeland it would be a ruthless decision to drop the rookie. Collin Kolles can be ruthless though, so watch out for the possibility of yet another change at the Spanish team...

So Fernando Alonso heads to Brazil knowing he could seal a third championship in Sao Paulo. Mark Webber needs to bounce back and repeat his win from 12 months while Sebastian Vettel remains in the hunt but needs Alonso to have some difficulties. Lewis Hamilton kept his hopes alive with a battling second but with his car still the third quickest, he'll need plenty more twist and turns up ahead to take the title. He may however have the support of his team mate Jenson Button now, the Brits title reign now nearing the end barring an incredible turnaround.

It's incredible to think Alonso could do it earlier in the season but the Spaniard insisted that the upgrades were coming for the Prancing Horse and he has duly delivered. Six days of Formula 1 action remain and 5 still stand in the title race, roll on Sao Paulo!

Suzuka: Step by Step

Having recovered from the all nighter which seen qualifying and the race take place on the same day, it's time to look back at what was a dramatic Japanese Grand Prix...

Crash, Bang, Wallop: It was chaos before turn 1 as the fast starting Vitaly Petrov swiped the front of the slow moving Nico Hulkenberg, putting both drivers out of the race. The Russian also landed himself a 5 place grid drop for the Korean Grand Prix, which was confirmed as going ahead yesterday. These errors keep coming from Petrov and he really needs to get some solid performances in to cement his 2011 seat. Team mate Robert Kubica was making noises about having an experienced driver beside him at the weekend. However it could yet be finances which helps the rookie keep his seat.

Meanwhile there was significant damage for Felipe Massa and Vitantonio Liuzzi as the Ferrari went across the grass and into the side of the Force India. The Brazilian has a contract for 2011 and Liuzzi claims to be secure but rumours still swirl about both men. I've been told by a Force India employee that Adrian Sutil is almost certain to stay with the team, though i would think he'd fancy the Renault seat if it comes free. However if true and with Paul di Resta expected to get a chance it would push the Italian out of the team. My gut feeling on Massa is that Ferrari won't move him out and that unless the Brazilian was to walk away, which i think is unlikely, he will be there in 2011. Fernando Alonso knows that Massa could yet be a foil to him in his own title aspirations.

Kubica unlucky but lucky: Robert Kubica threw himself into the mix of the championship challengers by qualifying on the second row and then moving up to second place at the start and looking good for a podium. Behind the safety car that was deployed for the lap 1 incidents he began to slow and then had his right rear tyre fly off, leading to his retirement. Having looked so good for a positive result which would have helped Renault closed the gap to Mercedes in the battle for 4th in the championship. However it was revealed afterwards that the French team had an issue with the wheel gun on the grid and that none of the Polish driver's tyres were fitted properly. So perhaps they will be thankful that there was a safety car or else it could have been an even more scary incident.

Mercedes have improved showing: It was a better weekend for Mercedes, though it only ended with 8 points after Nico Rosberg suffered a wheel failure late on through the Esses. He had a poor start and pitted behind the safety car. Meanwhile Schumacher made a good pass on Rubens Barrichello but when he was pitted he was going quicker than his team mate but emerged behind him and despite his best efforts he couldn't past. Mercedes have admitted that was an error on their part. Either they were concerned about other cars around them or wanted to ensure that Rosberg, who is close to Massa and Kubica in the championship, would score the extra points.

McLaren see margin grow: McLaren were unable to take the fight to Red Bull this weekend. Lewis Hamilton had a Friday crash and then McLaren took a chance on using his gearbox from Singapore but within three practice laps it had a problem so he got a five place grid penalty. He then lost third gear during the race so had to yield to Jenson Button and finished fifth. Button went for the hard tyre for Q3. I think it was worth the risk because McLaren did not have the raw pace and a safety car at a certain moments may have played into his hands. Both men are now more than a race win behind Webber. I think they needed a wet qualifying or race to act as a leveller and though Hamilton was catching Alonso before his gearbox issue its going to take some turnaround for the number 1 to remain on a McLaren next season.

Lotus increase grip on vital 10th position: It was a good day for Lotus Racing as they secured their best ever finish with Heikki Kovalainen 12th. He was followed home by Jarno Trulli in 13th. This means that Hispania and Virgin will need a top 11 finish to jump them and this will likely take a race of high attrition to acheive. Virgin had a poor day, Lucas di Grassi crashing before the race in spectacular fashion whilst Timo Glock was stuck behind Sakon Yamamoto for many laps. Lotus also have attention on 2011. It looks likely that Trulli and Kovalainen will be retained. The team will use the 2009 Red Bull gearbox and hydraulic system and an engine deal with Renault should be announced soon. This should help them take the fight to the likes of Toro Rosso and Sauber and ensure a much more competitive car.

Kobayashi thrills Japan and the world: There was a lot of hype around Kamui Kobayashi ahead of his home grand prix. Many feel he could be the star driver that Japan has been waiting for. On Friday he had looked ragged but i was hopeful he would score points and please his fans. The race would turn into an incredible drive, netting him a 7th place finish. He overtook several cars into the turn 10 hairpin, braking much later than his rivals yet managing to make every attempt stick. I know they talk about local knowledge around the figure of eight circuit but this really was astonishing! His first overtake on Jaime Alguersuari was a late lunge which he turned into an overtake with a bit of contact but the other moves were all clean. Even when he made a second move on the Spaniard, Alguersuari defended but still Kobayashi passed on the outside. The Toro Rosso driver was silly in turning into the Sauber several times, damaging his front wing and blowing the chance of a points finish.

How did the home hero pull off so many unexpected moves though? Part of this can be explained by strategy. Kobayashi had started on the hard tyre and then pitted late for the soft tyre. So he was able to attack late in the race. Also the characteristics of his car played a role. The Sauber has the longest wheelbase on the grid so the car is good through medium to high speed corners. This allowed Kobayashi to stay close to cars in front through the Degner corners preceding the hairpin. The Sauber is also kind to its tyres so usually performs better in races than in qualifying. Panasonic used to sponsor Toyota and are reported to be in discussions with Peter Sauber.

Red Bull win with something to spare: Qualifying and the first corner decide the Red Bull battle really and whilst Mark Webber was not far off, it was Sebastian Vettel who made it two out of two in Suzuka. The pair cruised it, even backing off when they caught up Button during the race who had yet to pit. There was still a bit of mind games between the duo when Webber pushed hard on the last lap to clock fastest lap and deny his German team mate a hattrick for the weekend. The Australian will know he may have to beat him on track at some stage. Three more Vettel victories and the championship is the German's. Fernando Alonso rolled in third which was the maximum possible, he will hope to challenge more in the remaining rounds

So the teams now head for South Korea which was confirmed on Tuesday. The pit straight isn't that long but turn 1 is tight and is followed by a massive straight, over a kilometre long so expect plenty of action down it. Sector 2 is a lot of medium speed corners and the final sector more twisty so it could be somewhere which plays to each teams strengths in certain parts. Rain is certainly a possibility in the region as well. Three races to go and still five can win it but McLaren surely need a strong result or the gap will be too much to claw back.

Vettel staves off improved Ferrari's

The German crowd were delighted this afternoon as Sebastian Vettel took his 3rd consecutive pole position. He had a big fight on his hand but it wasn't from usual suspect Mark Webber as the Australian had a poor Q3 with a scruffy first lap and then running wide at turn 1 on his final lap. He will start 4th. Instead it was Fernando Alonso who was just two thousandths of a second away from Ferrari's first pole position since the final race of 2008. Felipe Massa, who took that pole, will line up 3rd though he was half a second off his Spanish team mate. McLaren were not in the hunt, Jenson Button edging out Lewis Hamilton by a tenth and both men will occupy the third row of the grid. Robert Kubica was 7th, impressive as the Renault still has no F-Duct. Rubens Barrichello was 8th and is still beaming after his exploits on the TV show Top Gear. Nico Hulkenberg joins Nico Rosberg on row 5 with Michael Schumacher 11th after missing Q3 by 8 thousandths of a second

It was a bad day for Force India. After early promise this weekend, it was a Saturday that started badly and got worse. Adrian Sutil needed a new gearbox after a driveshaft problem in morning practice so was already on the backfoot with no qualifying setup work and a five place penalty. This showed as the local driver struggled with rear end stability and he will start 19th. Vitantonio Liuzzi didn't even make Q2 after a crash early on. He was wide out of the final corner and the astroturf was quite wet and he was spun across the track and into the pitwall. A strategic option open to the Italian tomorrow is to do what Fernando Alonso did in Monaco. Start on the soft tyre, hope there is an early safety car and pit for the harder tyre. He is considering the other main option though, which is do what Kamui Kobayashi did in Valencia. Start on the hard tyre and make one stop near the end and attack on fresh tyres.

This could work as the field may get rid of the soft tyres early. If Liuzzi can get good track position then the field spread could help him get in the points. A badly timed safety car could scupper this though. Strategy is interesting as the soft tyres are holding up better than expected and the lack of heat has meant the hard tyres are taking a few laps to get up to full performance. So i think the front drivers will want to stay on the soft tyres until they are really going quite badly off as the hard tyre may leave them vulnerable on their out lap. It could well be warmer tomorrow though with the chance of rain low. The top ten will also have put their tyres through at least 3 laps already. It's a short run to turn 1 so expect little change. Further back it could get messy. The McLarens will be a threat on the run to the hairpin as they were the fastest cars in a straight line today. Mark Webber may have to be on the defensive.

A word for Jarno Trulli today. The Italian has had so many car problems at Lotus this season but really shone today, qualifying within a second of Jaime Alguersuari. Bruno Senna was only two tenths from the Virgin of Timo Glock though he had gearbox issues and has taken a penalty for a new one. Still impressive when you consider that the HRT car has had only two updates all season. Lucas di Grassi failed to set a time in qualifying, also suffering with gearbox issues.

So it promises to be another fascinating race tomorrow. Red Bull have the pole position slot again but Ferrari and McLaren may well have the race pace to make it a real contest for the victory. Tyre management could be crucial and this is something that Alonso has been good at so he will be looking for a second victory of the season to boost his championship chances. We've seen many punctures recently from small contact so everyone will be desperate to avoid those as well. It's a good track though so we should see plenty of action. Look out for the Force India drivers making their way through the field. Race start is 1pm BST and i'll be tweeting my thoughts during the race. Who do you think will win? Vote or comment

Vettel wings pole position

Red Bull did what most expected them to do and took another crushing Saturday victory as Sebastian Vettel took pole position with Mark Webber again pipped into 2nd. The Australian was unhappy afterwards after it turned out that the new front wing on his car was given to his team mate after Vettel had problems in practice. Coming into Abbey the wing on the German's car came loose. Red Bull only had 2 with them so decided, based on practice times and championship standings which Vettel has the edge in both, to give the Valencia race winner the remaining new front wing. This will do little to dispel the feelings amongst some that Vettel is the favoured driver within the team. Fernando Alonso was 3rd but over half a second off pole while Lewis Hamilton declared himself delighted to have hauled his McLaren to 4th after a difficult day. Nico Rosberg was an impressive 5th, well ahead of Michael Schumacher who was 10th. Robert Kubica put his Renault 6th ahead of Felipe Massa. Rubens Barrichello continued the Williams improvement in 8th and Pedro de La Rosa was a surprise 9th.

It was a terrible qualifying for reigning world champion who ended up 14th and described his car as undrivable after feeling good in the morning. Conditions and particularly the wind was quite changable. Add in the lack of setup time and disruptive changes McLaren have had this weekend and it is perhaps not surprisng that Button, who is certainly somebody who really needs the car working to get the best out of his package, struggled to make a positive impression. He will need to pull something special off to get a good result tomorrow and it may well be a case of damage limitation.

Another man to watch out for early on is Vitantonio Liuzzi who qualified 15th but will start 20th after being penalised for what was a clear block of Nico Hulkenberg in the Becketts section. Toro Rosso were fined for a unsafe release when Jaime Alguersuari came out in front of another car. He was the main victim of Q1 while Lotus were still best of the new teams though Virgin's updates have brought them closer. HRT take up the back row with Sakon Yamamoto 4 tenths off Karun Chandhok. Will he be able to see the 52 laps out tomorrow?

Red Bull look set for a dominating display but it has looked that way before and they have failed to deliver. On a track like this, they really need to maximise the opprtunity before them. They did dominate Barcelona qualifying and Hamilton kept in Vettel's wheel tracks on raceday. Fernando Alonso will really want to get the jump on Webber at the start and the Australian will not want a repeat of his Valencia nightmare where he lost 7 positions on the opening lap. Everybody is on the soft tyre in the top ten so expect the usual early stop when there is a gap to drop into. This may differ with a safety car but they are pretty rare for Silverstone though not improbable. It could be a key swing in the championship. Can Sebastian Vettel make it 2 wins in a row. Will Jenson Button be able to charge through the field? What colour of trousers will Eddie Jordan wear on the BBC tomorrow? All will be revealed tomorrow, race start is 1pm BST

Hamilton takes pole with skill and luck

A thrilling qualifying session in Montreal seen Lewis Hamilton break the Red Bull strangehold and take pole position. His last gasp effort beat off the team who had taken all the previous poles this year as well as Fernando Alonso. However the Briton was told to stop on his in lap as he was running out of fuel and needed a litre left in the car so the stewards would have enough for a sample. Since Malaysia 2008 where Hamilton was 1 of a numer of cars to drive extremely slowly back to the pits to conserve fuel, there is a time laid down in the Friday briefing which the drivers must be within so nobody impedes other drivers or back in the days of carrying race fuel saved more fuel than their competitors. Drivers have been slower than this time in the past but got away with a reprimand and that is what Hamilton got along with a $10,000 fine. A lot of people in the paddock are frustrated with this because Hamilton effectively gained an advanatge by setting a lap on less fuel than other cars, hence being able to go quicker. I'm pretty sure this was not planned by McLaren. Hamilton did one flying lap on the soft tyres in his first run and seem set to do the same in run 2 but didn't improve. He crossed the line with seconds to spare

and continued on to do the lap which leaves him at the front for the start tomorrow.

Image courtesy of www.mclaren.com

They key thing tomorrow is the tyres. We have the exciting prospect of splits in the tyre choices at the front with the potential for multiple stop strategies. Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel will head to turn 1 on the harder compound tyres along with Robert Kubica in 8th. They could run for over half the race while the rest of the top ten may hit trouble inside the first ten laps. However the trio will have to face the soft tyre at some stage unless rain intervenes, which seems unlikely at the preesent time. Unless the track really ramps up a 2 stopper seems likely for the majority of the field. Somebody who trys to hang on with worn tyres will likely be a sitting duck out of the hairpin onto the back straight. Safety car deployments could dictate the timing of stops as even if pitting is not in the ideal window, retaining track position will be more important. Red Bull really should get it early on but then they need the gap to make it work and hang on at the end on the soft tyre. They need as short a stint as possible on those. A Saftey car could also mean the Red Bull's having to stack in the pits so Vettel will want to get ahead though without the consequences of Turkey.

I posted earlier in the week about Vitantonio Liuzzi's need to get a good result this weekend and he is well on his way after a brilliant 6th for Force India who again showed their liking for the low downforce tracks. The Italian had a new chassis and the post qualifying press release certainly showed the teams pleasure at Liuzzi finding the speed to get a career best Saturday result. Team mate Adrian Sutil was 9th. His fellow countrymen at Mercedes at an awful Saturday. Nico Rosberg was only tenth after little running in the morning with a clutch issue while Michael Schumacher was a dismal 13th. The 7 time world champion blamed a lack of grip for his surprising Q2 exit. Kamui Kobayashi was the main Q1 casualty, way off making it through and only beating Heikki Kovalainen by 2 tenths as the Finn again excelled in the Lotus.

Image courtesy of www.forceindiaf1.com

So the rain threat may be low but the Canadian Grand Prix doesn't need rain to provide a good show. Lewis Hmailton on pole, 2 Red Bull's behind who have no qualms about racing each other, Fernando Alonso looking to make the podium and Jenson Button who has alway proved this season to be the calm man amongst F1's most stormy races. It's going to be unpredictable, we could have pitstops on lap 1, people hanging on at the end and perhaps going into the now famous fuel saving mode and if a 3rd Mercedes appears? Well that'll just bunch them all up again. Lovely

Has Liuzzi still got the force

Image courtesy of www.forceindiaf1.com

Vitantonio Liuzzi is at a critical stage of his F1 career. At the age of 28, his second F1 coming with Force India has been like his first, inconsistent and not living up to expectation. The Italian was a potential star from his karting days, winning the national and world championships. Like many other drivers in the past he won the F3000 title for Arden with backing from Red Bull. His opportunity in F1 came in 2005. He shared a Red Bull seat with Christian Klien and had an impressive start, scoring in his debut race at Imola. He got 4 races that season and then moved into the new Toro Rosso team, the Red Bull B team. This gave him the chance to get a full season under his belt and try to impress enough to have another go with the Red Bull team. He only managed 1 point in an uncompetitive car and was unable to make the leap up as Red Bull replaced Klien with Mark Webber. Another campaign in 2007 seen Liuzzi again struggle but also make several mistakes, overdriving the car as well as missing out on potential points in Canada with a visit to the wall of champions. By the end of the season Sebastian Vettel was on the scene and made a big impression. Liuzzi's stock was falling and he found himself out of a drive in 2008.

The 2008 season seen the emergence of Force India and Liuzzi was able to get the test driver role. It kept himself in the sport, albeit on the fringes. As the 2009 season unfolded, it was widely expected that the Italian would replace fellow countryman Giancarlo Fisichella in 2010. The opportunity would pop up for him though earlier than expected after Fisichella filled in for Felipe Massa after the Brazilian's accident in Hungary. He ran competitively at his home race before transmission failure. No points were to come but 2010 was the big test. Two solid races brought points in March but it's been a struggle since with a couple of shock Q1 exits whilst team mate Adrian Sutil has been a regular Q3 contender. Monaco was an impressive aside, outqualifying Sutil and scoring again but Turkey put the spotlight back on in a negative sense again, qualifying over a second slower than the German despite being the one running the F-Duct device which should have helped his straight line speed. The team believe a damaged chassis may have had an effect on his performance and like Vettel and Michael Schumacher this season, he will have a new one for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Image courtesy of www.forceindiaf1.com

The problem for Liuzzi is that there is a man waiting in the wings for a F1 chance. Paul Di Resta from Scotland is the Force India reserve driver and races for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM series. He has a few outings in free practice this season and shown good speed. With Mercedes backing, Vijay Mallya could be pushed to give Di Resta an opportunity should Liuzzi continue to underperform. I feel that he will continue to back Liuzzi for now, he has invested a lot of time in the Italian and has a good relationship with him, though this was slightly strained in Istanbul. Di Resta won't be doing any running this weekend (though he'll be on BBC Radio Five Live on Saturday and Sunday) but if he gets more Friday opportunities and makes a good impression then he could have a chance. The technical staff at Force India will be able to analyse his data and this will help aid any decisions. The last 3 races of the season are sandwiched between the last 2 rounds of the DTM season so if Liuzzi continues to struggle it could be a chance for Di Resta to get a few races. I think the Italian is safe for now and Canada could be a race where incidents and circumstances allow him to bag some points provided he can do a clean race. This should at least build his confidence. He's fell out of F1 once. Falling out again and it'll most likely be curtains for his F1 career.