The Inside Line - on Force India’s Paul di Resta 01 Jun 2012
Paul di Resta’s second season of Formula One racing is already proving a good one. Six races in, and with 21 points, he is already only six shy of his entire 2011 tally. But what of the mindset behind the man? We went digging to discover a home-loving cheetah who wishes he’d worked harder at school and who just can’t stop eating…
Q: What keeps you awake at night?
Paul di Resta: An active mind... (laughs) Maybe thinking too much and not being able to relax. I am one of these people who likes to be moving - and many times I do enjoy that - but sometimes, yes, it would also help to shut down a bit more.
Q: What’s been your most valuable ‘life’ lesson?
PdR: To stay positive and always keep a positive mind and thinking. You live a long life and to fill it with bad vibes is not getting you anywhere.
Q: If you could give your younger self some advice what would it be?
PdR: To be more confident in situations, not to be too outspoken, but to approach people in different ways. It probably takes too much to make me speak to people.
Q: If your racing career ended after this season what would you do with the rest of your life?
PdR: I’ve never considered that situation. I have always been focused on being a race driver. But should racing be over, I would always consider doing something with motor racing, based upon the experiences that I’ve had. With hindsight I would say that if I had I the chance to live my life again I would definitely put more effort into school. At that time I was so full of racing that my attention span was not so good. (laughs) I was not thinking of maths or English - it didn’t add up in my head. I was just thinking about cars and tyres - that was my foreign language.
Q: If you had to stay in one place for the rest of your life, where would it be?
PdR: There is no place like home, Scotland - full of fresh water and fresh air! That’s the natural place for me.
Q: What animal best reflects your personality?
PdR: Maybe a cheetah? It is a moving animal - in fact, the fastest animal on land…
Q: What would you spend your last dollar on?
PdR: It must be something for my stomach. And it has to be an enjoyable taste - it is the last dollar, after all. (laughs)
Q: If you could banish one thing from your life - for the rest of your life - what would that be?
PdR: Anger is probably a good thing to get rid of. Not that I am particularly angry. It’s just my belief that things done in anger never get you anywhere - not as a human and not as a society.
Q: What is your greatest weakness?
PdR: Shouldn’t that be for somebody else to say? On a trivial level, it’s that I sometimes don’t know when to stop eating. When you put food in front of me I find it pretty hard to stop. And that runs against my diet, as I always have to look that I don’t get too heavy, as I am quite tall already.
Q: What’s your ultimate comfort food?
PdR: Freshly baked bread.
Q: What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a race?
PdR: Sit on the sofa and enjoy the smell of your own home.
Q: What’s your favourite smell?
PdR: Home.
Q: What’s the best advice you have been given?
PdR: Always believe in your initial feeling. It is not a one hundred percent success story, but I would say nine times out of ten. (laughs)
Q: Are you the man you always thought you would become?
PdR: I’m still trying to be the man I wanted to become. That surely is connected to motorsport - when I become a race winner, a champion.
Q: What tastes like home?
PdR: My mother’s home cooking. All her cooking. I am so much into food that I couldn’t pick one individual thing.
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