DTM – Paul Di Resta returns to Mercedes

In 2010, Paul Di Resta became champion DTM at the wheel of a Mercedes after two failures in 2008 and 2009. For 2011, the cousin of Dario Franchitti, newly retired from theIndyCar, then goes into F1 full-time at Force India, a team powered by the German manufacturer. The Scot posted decent performances for his debut (in the points in Australia and Malaysia) before concluding the season with 27 points on the clock. In 2012, Di Resta was beaten by his German teammate Nico Hulkenberg in the final ranking. Last year, despite a good fourth place in Bahrain, the Force India driver had a complicated season and at the end of the year, Vijay Mallya's team decided not to keep him. Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg will be the starting drivers of the Indian single-seaters in 2014.

Speculation has been rife as to the Scot's future. Very quickly, when Dario Franchitti was forced to retire from IndyCar following his accident in Houston in October 2013, the name of his cousin appeared to replace him. In the end, it was the Brazilian Tony Kanaan who took his place in the seat of the car #10 sponsored by Target. As a result, one of the only opportunities for Di Resta remained a return to DTM, something official since today.

“It’s really good to be back in DTM and see so many familiar faces, admits the main person concerned. The DTM is a fantastic series with three very strong brands, a very competitive field and with great consistency of drivers. I'm really looking forward to working with the entire Mercedes-Benz team. A lot has changed since my last race, in Shanghai in 2010, with new cars, a new set of rules and a third manufacturer, but what hasn't changed is my enormous appetite for success. Mercedes gave me a car that I can use to fight for wins and the title. However, I realize that it won't be easy. My competitors already have two years of experience with the new generation of vehicles, but, from today, I will go all out in order to be able to win from the opening of the season at Hockenheim at the beginning of May . » He will notably be lined up alongside Gary Paffett.

The opening round of the 2014 DTM will be held on the weekend of May 3-4 at Hockenheim, as is tradition.