Force India reserve driver Paul di Resta has confirmed that he will be returning to DTM in 2010 to have another crack at the title for Mercedes, combining the championship with his Formula One role.
He told Autosport during the current Jerez test: “It’s a blessing that Force India wanted me racing to keep myself up to standard.
“So I have the blessing from Force India to do that, and from the DTM side they understand that I’ve got a hard programme coming and I have their blessing for the Formula 1.”
He said he anticipated no problems in switching between the two cars and added that the combination of testing and racing should work well to keep him in top form.
Last year the 23-year-old from Uphall, West Lothian, drove for top team AMG Mercedes in the latest-spec car and came third overall in the championship – behind Audi’s Timo Scheider and fellow Brit and F1 reserve Gary Paffett, the highest-placed Mercedes driver.
He said that he found the Force India development plan, which involves him testing regularly at Friday practice through the season as well as two pre-season test days “very attractive”.
He said: “I’m thankful that we went through with it and that we’re moving on. They’re serious about building me up as a racing driver and that’s the challenge that I want.”
And he said he hoped his relationship with Force India would be a long-term one. He is widely tipped to be challenging existing race drivers Adrian Sutil and Antonio Liuzzi for their seats in a year’s time.