Paul di Resta facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Paul di Resta
Di Resta in 2014
Born	(1986-04-16) 16 April 1986 (age 39) Uphall, West Lothian, Scotland
Spouse(s)	Laura Jordan (m. 2014)
Children	2
Relatives	Dougie McCracken (step-father) Jon McCracken (half-brother) Dario Franchitti (cousin) Marino Franchitti (cousin)

FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season	2019–20
Current team	Peugeot TotalEnergies
Racing licence	FIA Platinum
Car no.	94
Former teams	United
Starts	28
Championships	0
Wins	5
Podiums	8
Poles	4
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	2nd in 2019–20 (LMP2)


Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	2011–2013, 2017
Teams	Force India, Williams
Entries	59 (59 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	121
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	2011 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry	2017 Hungarian Grand Prix


Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters career
Years active	2007–2010, 2014–2019
Teams	Persson, HWA, R-Motorsport
Starts	141
Championships	1 (2010)
Wins	11
Podiums	37
Poles	8
Fastest laps	10


24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2018–2021, 2023–2024
Teams	United, Peugeot
Best finish	5th (2020)
Class wins	1 (2020)


Previous series
2005–2006 2003–2004	F3 Euro Series British Formula Renault
Championship titles
2006	F3 Euro Series

Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a famous British racing driver from Scotland. He also works as a broadcaster. Currently, he races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the Peugeot team. Paul di Resta competed in Formula One, the highest class of racing, from 2011 to 2013, and again in 2017.

Paul was born in Uphall and grew up in Bathgate, Scotland. He drove for the Force India team in Formula One. Later, he became a reserve driver for the Williams F1 team in 2016. He even raced for them in one event in 2017 when another driver was unwell. Before Formula One, Paul won championships in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) and Formula 3 Euro Series. After his first time in F1, he went back to DTM with Mercedes. He also worked as a reserve F1 driver for McLaren and was a commentator for Sky Sports' F1 coverage.

About Paul's Life
Paul's Racing Journey
Images for kids
See also

About Paul's Life

Paul di Resta was born on April 16, 1986, in Uphall, West Lothian, Scotland. His family has Italian roots, and he grew up in Bathgate. He went to Bathgate Academy and is a big fan of Celtic Football Club. Today, he lives in Monaco. Paul has two cousins, Dario and Marino Franchitti, who are also racing drivers. His step-father, Dougie McCracken, was a Scottish footballer. Paul's half-brother, Jon, plays as a goalkeeper for the Dundee football team.

Paul di Resta got engaged to Laura Jordan in December 2013. They got married on August 28, 2014.

Paul's Racing Journey

Starting in Karting

Paul began his racing journey in karting when he was just eight years old, in 1994. He competed in many karting series until 2002. In 2001, he won the British JICA Championship, showing his early talent.

Moving to Formula Renault

At the end of 2002, Paul moved up to single-seater cars, which are open-wheel race cars. He joined the British Formula Renault Winter Series. In 2003, he raced full-time in British Formula Renault with Eurotek Motorsport. He finished seventh overall and won one race. In 2004, he switched to Manor Motorsport and finished third in the championship, winning four races. He also raced in some Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 events. In 2004, he won the important McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of The Year Award. His cousin, Dario Franchitti, had won this same award in 1992.

Success in Formula Three

In 2005, Paul moved to the Formula Three Euroseries with Manor Motorsport, finishing tenth. The next year, 2006, he joined the ASM Formule 3 team. This was a great year for him! He won the championship with five race wins. He even beat his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, who would later become a Formula One World Champion. Paul also won the 2006 BP Ultimate Masters race at Circuit Park Zandvoort.

Racing in DTM

Di Resta finished runner-up in the 2008 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season.

In 2007, Paul changed from single-seater cars to Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) touring car racing. He raced for Mercedes. He finished fifth in his first DTM season. In 2008, he got a newer Mercedes car. He won two races and finished second in the championship, just four points behind the winner. In 2009, he finished third. Then, in 2010, Paul had an amazing year. He won three races in a row and became the DTM champion!

His Time in Formula One

Paul di Resta tested for the McLaren Formula One team. He was considered for a spot with the Force India team for the 2009 season. This was because Force India used Mercedes engines, just like McLaren. However, Force India decided to keep their current drivers.

Force India (2010–2013)

In December 2009, Paul got a chance to test for Force India again. In January 2010, he became the team's test and reserve driver for the 2010 season. He took part in the first practice session at many races, helping the team prepare.

2011 Season

Paul joined Adrian Sutil as a full-time driver for the Force India Formula One team in 2011. He scored his first championship point in his very first race, the Australian Grand Prix Grand Prix. He earned more points in Malaysia. He had a great race in Hungary, finishing seventh. His best result that year was sixth place in Singapore. He finished the season with 27 points.

2012 Season

Force India kept Paul for the 2012 season, with Nico Hülkenberg as his new teammate. He scored points in the first two races in Australia and Malaysia. In Bahrain, he qualified well and finished sixth, matching his best result. He continued to score points in races like Monaco and the European Grand Prix. His best finish of the year was fourth place at the Singapore Grand Prix. He ended the season with 46 points.

2013 Season

Di Resta at the 2013 British Grand Prix

Paul raced for Force India for a third year in 2013. He started the season well, finishing eighth in Australia and China. He matched his best career result again with a fourth-place finish in Bahrain. He then finished seventh in Spain. Even starting from 17th place in Monaco, he managed to finish ninth. In Canada, he started 17th again but drove a very long first part of the race on one set of tires, finishing seventh.

However, the second half of the season was tough for Paul and Force India. They struggled with new Pirelli tires, and he had several retirements. On December 12, it was announced that he would not race for Force India in 2014.

Williams (2016–2017)

After two years away from Formula One, Paul returned as a reserve driver for Williams in 2016. He continued this role in 2017 while also racing in DTM.

He got a surprise chance to race at the Hungarian Grand Prix Grand Prix. He filled in for Felipe Massa, who was unwell. This was Paul's first F1 race in almost four years! He did an "unbelievable job" in qualifying, even though he hadn't driven the car before. He finished 19th, ahead of another driver. He had to retire from the race after 60 laps.

McLaren (2020–2022)

Paul returned to Formula One as a reserve driver for McLaren in 2020. He was on standby for some races. McLaren kept him as a stand-in reserve driver for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. During this time, he also competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Return to DTM (2014–2019)

di Resta at the Hockenheimring in 2014

In May 2014, Paul di Resta went back to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series. He drove for HWA Team, which runs the AMG Mercedes team in DTM. In 2014, he finished 15th.

In the 2018 season, Paul had a fantastic year. He finished third in the drivers' championship. He won three races at Hungaroring, Brands Hatch, and Misano. In 2019, after five seasons with Mercedes, Paul joined the Swiss team R-Motorsport. He drove an Aston Martin Vantage DTM. He finished 16th that year.

Endurance Racing (2019-present)

Di Resta was part of the winning LMP2 class during the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans

In 2018, Paul di Resta started racing in the Asian Le Mans Series for United Autosports. He won one race and got four podium finishes with his teammate Phil Hanson. They ended up winning the 2018-19 Asian Le Mans Series championship!

After their win, Paul and United Autosport raced in the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship. They achieved a huge victory by winning the LMP2 class at the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans. They finished fifth overall in the famous endurance race, alongside Phil Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque.

On February 8, 2021, Peugeot Sport announced that Paul di Resta would drive their new LMH Hypercar in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship. His teammates were Mikkel Jensen and Jean-Éric Vergne. They competed in the last three races of the season. Paul finished tenth in the Driver's championship that year.

Broadcasting Career (2016–2023)

From 2016, Paul di Resta became a regular part of the Sky Sports F1 channel. He worked as a co-commentator, analyst, and expert during practice, qualifying, and race sessions. He shared his insights alongside other famous drivers like Jenson Button and Damon Hill. He continued this role until January 2023.