Paul di Resta happy to have finished the season on a high

Mercedes AMG driver Paul di Resta drove a strong race to finish third on the podium at Hockenheim from 18th on the grid, ending the season as the second best-placed driver for the manufacturer.

The C63 DTMs had shown good pace in Sunday’s warmer conditions. Still, di Resta had a poor starting position after qualifying. “I had a good car today, but I made a mistake on my qualifying lap, and had traffic on the next, so I couldn’t get a good result,” di Resta said to TouringCarTimes. “But I had the pace to be seventh, and my race could have been very different if I had started from that position.”

The key for di Resta was at the beginning of the race: “I had a good start and managed to recover many positions during the first lap. Then the pit stop was spot on and it was easy from then on.”

The Scot exited the first round of the year at Hockenheim as championship leader, but was left out of contention after the Nürburgring. Reflecting on the season, the Team HWA driver said: “We had some very difficult races, with highs and lows. We started the year with the new bodywork and, after a few races, we had the strongest package, so I think we have a reason to be satisfied with how things worked out.”

“Tonight is time to celebrate, it has been a good season for us. We then have a lot of work this winter to come back even stronger next year” he concluded.