Di Resta labels competitive F1 return "unreal"

Paul di Resta has called his return to Formula 1 as unreal. The Scotsman stands in place of Felipe Massa for the rest of the weekend after the Brazilian started to feel dizzy last night with no improvement on his health this morning.

Di Resta was only told that he would be driving the car an hour and a half before the qualifying session got underway. He had never driven a 2017 F1 car before qualifying in Hungary and managed to secure P19, getting ahead of the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson.

"It's weird I was ironing my shirt at 10:55am, talking about what we were going to talk about pre-show," Di Resta told Sky F1. "I'm not going to lie, I was scared, nervous, anxious. I've not driven one of these cars for three-and-a-half years, apart from 10 laps I did in a 2014 car, and then you get thrown into qualifying which is the deepest of all deep ends - it's like jumping off a cliff and seeing how you fight for survival.

"Honestly I felt quite comfortable quite quickly. As soon as I let go of the pit limiter it was kind of there and I was improving by half a second a lap. There is still plenty of potential there. These cars are top of their game and it's like being back at home driving the best balanced car you've ever driven. The team prepared me as best as they could. It was absolutely unreal.

"I was very safe in the high speed and a bit safe on exit. I could have stepped on the loud pedal a bit quicker but the pedal stroke is so much longer than I'm used to and there are an extra two gears to downshift. It's about getting your bearings again."

Tomorrow in the race, di Resta is hoping to move up some positions but knows that he will be in for a tough physical test: "I go in with no pressure. You want to be going forwards, I've got a rate of development and to see how my fitness is over 70 laps around here in the heat.

"The 2017 car didn't surprise me. I was expecting it to be a bit quicker than I was. The race is a different story. I don't know where the tyres are and I've never driven the car on high fuel so that will be another shock into Turn One.

"I would say Hungary is top of my list for the hardest Grand Prix I've done, one of them in 2012. I started my summer holiday a little earlier than I should have, expecting everything to be OK this weekend, but you prepare the best you can't get the G force. You need to relax within your body so you're not tense. It's just about seat time. I got into a reasonable rhythm but I was a bit too early on the brakes. I've got to get my head around the steering wheel and the formation lap."

Fergal Walsh