Insight: How did Di Resta fare against team mate Sutil at Force India

Continuing our series of analysis of the head-to-head records of team mate pairings, here’s the analysis of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil’s se...

Continuing our series of analysis of the head-to-head records of team mate pairings, here’s the analysis of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil’s season at Force India.

At least one driver, maybe both, will miss out on a seat with the team next year after Force India announced that Nico Hulkenberg will return to the outfit in 2014.

Most people expect ex-McLaren driver Sergio Perez to get the second seat, but with the team breaking with tradition and not naming both drivers at the same time, it seems there is still room for negotiation.

Sutil and Di Resta were first team-mates at Force India in 2011. Sutil spent a year away from the sport last season after the team chose to run Nico Hulkenberg, but returned to partner Di Resta once more as the Scot signed for his third season with the team this year.

The stats show that Di Resta had the stronger season, the Scot out-qualifying his team mate 11 times to eight. He also achieved the team’s highest grid slot of the season – fifth – at Spa, once place better than Sutil’s best which came in Bahrain.

In terms of race performance, Di Resta once again came out on top, with nine points finishes to Sutil’s seven. They both retired from races four times, but when they both took the chequered flag, Di Resta finished ahead nine times to Sutil’s four.

Di Resta had the stronger first half of the season, scoring points in seven of the 10 races to Sutil's four. However, the Scot had a series of retirements in the second half of the season, with his German team mate pipping him three points finishes to two.

Overall, Di Resta finished 19 points clear of Sutil in the drivers’ standings, but that equated to just one position difference. Di Resta finished 12th, with Sutil 13th.

Despite Di Resta beating his team mate across the season, the Scot looks likely to lose his seat at the team and could be out of Formula 1 altogether. Meanwhile, Sutil believes he will stay in Formula 1 and is understood to be talking to Sauber.

Check out the statistics below to see how Di Resta got the upper hand on Sutil this season.

Di Resta v Sutil stats compared (highest respective tally in bold)

THIS SEASON

Qualifying

 Faster qualifying time: Di Resta 11 / Sutil 8 

Poles: Di Resta 0 / Sutil 0

 Front rows: Di Resta: 0 / Sutil 0

Best qualifying finish: Di Resta 5th / Sutil 6th

Races

 Wins: Di Resta 0 / Sutil 0 

Podiums: Di Resta 0 / Sutil 0

 Points finishes: Di Resta 9 / Sutil 7  