Paul Di Resta says Jules Bianchi made the wrong decision in not letting him past
Force India driver lines up 15th for Korean GP after being impeded
By Mike Wise in Yeongam
Last Updated: 07/10/13 9:35am
It was crunchtime for Di Resta when he closed up behind the Frenchman's Marussia as the clock ticked down in Q1. But with the pressure on, the Scot was forced to back off when Bianchi held the racing line as he started a flying lap.
Di Resta appeared in danger of dropping out early for the second race running but ultimately scraped through ahead of Williams pair Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado.
Even so, Force India's lack of qualifying pace meant that he made little progress thereafter - Di Resta lining up 15th on the grid right behind team-mate Adrian Sutil.
"I was impeded more than anything. It was just the risk of being vulnerable and going out in Q1 because we're struggling a bit in qualifying as it is just now," he said.
"The lap I was on would have put me in front of Adrian. Unfortunately, it let me be the first car that didn't go out of Q1 where it should have been the other way - we should have been much further up.
"It's harsh, but at the end of the day it was a car that was impeding and that should have got out of the way.
"You've got to make a split decision very quickly and he chose to push on with his lap and compromised my lap."
Bianchi - who had been informed over the radio that Di Resta was approaching - was later penalised by stewards and must start the race from 22nd and last on the grid.
Although Force India have been struggling over a single lap, Di Resta believes the more competitive turn of speed they showed during longer runs in Friday practice means that points are possible.
"Yesterday showed that for long-run pace we were far closer. There was no real surprise where we are in qualifying as a team and we definitely are struggling for the outright performance," he added.
"We will be in the mix of scoring points. Whether it's achievable from where we start we'll see.
"Because of the way I think the strategy will pan out, I don't think there will be too many surprises. But if you've got that extra little bit to be quick at the right points and choose your track position, that may be the difference."
