Paul di Resta fails at Adria

Paul di Resta (Mercedes), ninth at Adria, lost big points in the title race this weekend. Winner of the last three races, the Scotsman saw success flee from him this Sunday. Not the fastest at the start of the weekend, he still had the opportunity to limit the damage by losing as few points as possible on Bruno Spengler (Mercedes), his rival in the title race.

But, on the first lap, di Resta, then fifth, was harpooned by Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) and fell to the back of the pack (see video). " Paul had attacked me and was in front of me, explains “Rocky”. That?s undeniable. But, in the last corner of the first lap, I had a lot of pressure coming from behind. I wanted to defend my line inside. I think I was slightly hit. I was riding on the curbs and Paul was coming from outside. He held his line but the problem was also the one I had chosen. If I had chosen another line, there would have been no problem. He didn't expect it either? but it was not intentional on my part. I didn't want to attack him, I just wanted to protect my back. »

After this incident, Paul di Resta then attempted a fantastic comeback. Thanks to a well-run race, the Scotsman managed to move up to seventh place after two pit stops. But, not in luck this Sunday, he saw a second Audi driver hit him. Miguel Molina, after a broken suspension, was unable to avoid him entering a corner, tearing the rear of his car off. But, for the Spaniard, all this would not have happened if Paul di Resta, very nervous, had not hit him a few seconds earlier while swerving (see video). " Di Resta hit me and broke my suspension. In the next corner, I couldn?t avoid it », Commented the former FR 3.5 Series driver.

Eighth after this shock, the Mercedes driver was then unable to resist the return of Mattias Ekström, his Class C having suffered in the double collision with Miguel Molina's car. He finished ninth, out of the points, leaving Adria three points behind Bruno Spengler. “ I'm obviously disappointed, he commented. It could have been a good race. But I moved back and moved back because of several incidents. It was a wild ride, with opportunities for me but I left empty handed. But everything remains possible in Shanghai. »