British racing driver Paul Di Resta has made the expected switch back to Mercedes and the DTM [German Touring Cars].
The 27-year-old Scotsman lost his drive in Formula One at the end of last season, with Nico Hulkenberg making the move from Sauber to Force India and Sergio Perez making the switch from McLaren.
Paul Di Resta has generally impressed during his time in Formula One and has been previously linked with moves to both Mercedes and Ferrari.
He outscored Adrian Sutil throughout the 2013 F1 championship, finishing ahead of him in the final standings, but despite this, Sutil grabbed a drive with Sauber while the Brit was forced out of Formula One altogether.
The fickle world of Formula One casting aside a talent that in the right car, could easily have become a race winner.
He was briefly linked with a move to Indy Car racing, but instead he has opted to return to the German Touring Car Championship.
It’s a big coup for DTM [Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft] as Paul Di Resta is the 2010 series champion and he will be joined by Gary Paffett, a former McLaren test driver and 2005 title holder.
‘Mercedes-Benz has given me a car I can use to fight for the title, I realise that it will not be easy.’ he told the BBC.
‘It feels really good to be back in the DTM and to see so many familiar faces again, Much has changed since my last DTM race in Shanghai in 2010, with new cars, a new set of rules and a third manufacturer, but what has not changed is my enormous appetite for success.
‘My competitors already have two years of experience with the new generation of vehicles but, starting with today’s first test, I’ll be going flat out in order to be capable of winning at the Hockenheim season opener in early May.’
Paul Di Resta profile
2006 – Formula 3 Euro Series Champion
2008 – Two race wins in DTM, series runner-up
2010 – DTM Champion
2011 – 2013: Formula One, 58 races for Force India.
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