Di Resta wants Force India decision

The driver market in Formula One has probably never been so undecided.

Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, Mercedes and Toro Rosso are the only teams in the Formula One paddock to have committed to their driver line-up for 2014 thus far.

It is thought that McLaren are now edging closer to announcing a deal, while the all important seat at Lotus will start off the domino effect once that deal has been concluded.

That decision at Lotus, not only effects their team for next season, but also effects, Williams, Force India and Sauber.

German driver Nico Hulkenberg, after narrowly missing out on the drive at Ferrari, has been offered contracts by both Lotus and Force India.

The details of the offer from Lotus are not known, but it would appear to be his favoured choice, but it all depends on whether or not the investment in Lotus by Quantum Motorsports is successfully concluded.

If that deal isn’t done, then Lotus are likely to plump for Pastor Maldonado thanks to his reported £30million-a-year sponsorship from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.

If that happens that would leave Felipe Massa to make the move to Williams, while Hulkenberg would leave Sauber for Force India.

That could leave Paul Di Resta out in the cold, as Hulkenberg would take his drive as it is thought that Adrian Sutil’s future is safe.

‘I’ve always said I would like to stay with the team – I would like to stay in F1 more importantly – but if they give me the tools I can deliver,’ Di Resta told Sky Sports after he finished sixth in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

He continued: ‘I will be expecting a decision very soon from the senior management, but I will keep focusing on the races and let the management team do the business in the background.’

The points haul for Force India over the weekend could prove crucial in the Formula One constructors championship.

Force India’s had suffered drop in results which had seen McLaren overtake them for fifth and left them looking over their shoulder towards Sauber.

With the team taking just three points from Germany, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Singapore and Korea, Sauber closed the gap to just 17 points ahead of the Indian Grand Prix.

But with an eighth and ninth place finish in India and a sixth and tenth place finish in Abu Dhabi, with Sauber failing to score at both races, that battle looks a lot more comfortable for Force India.

‘Defending our position against Sauber in the Constructors’ Championship was the main aim, but we went into the race with a car that was much better than it was in qualy – we did a very good job yesterday – but from the strategy guys to the engineer we put everything in place for a good race,’

‘I managed the tyres when I had to, delivered when I had to, but I think more importantly staying ahead of a Mercedes and fighting a Ferrari – what more could you ask for? We finished off the job we should have done in Singapore on tyre wear and hopefully we can take this momentum to Texas.’