Gerry Convy hopes to give Paul Di Resta an extra edge this season after being appointed as the Force India driver's personal trainer.
Personal trainer to guide British driver through 20-race schedule
Gerry Convy hopes to give Paul Di Resta an extra edge this season after being appointed as the Force India driver's personal trainer over the winter.
Di Resta has hired Convy to keep him in peak condition over the course of this year's 20-race campaign, which starts in Melbourne this weekend.
Convy used to work with 13-time grand prix winner David Coulthard and, after rejecting several opportunities to return, has decided to link up with another Scottish driver in 2012.
Coulthard and Di Resta have trained together in preparation for the season, with the pair following the tough regimes set by Convy.
"I could have come back to F1 for every year I've been out of it, but he is the right guy for me to work with," Convy said.
Influence
"Paul and DC also both know how I work so it makes sense for them to have trained together, and DC has been a good influence on Paul in being around him.
"He's done fantastically well. I've set him training programmes, and his fitness is terrific. He is exactly where I want him to be."
Di Resta enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in 2011, especially impressing over the second half of the season when he scored points in six out of the last nine races.
He will be looking to build on the promising start in the coming campaign and will be counting on Convy to keep him in shape, although the trainer will be careful not to run the 25-year-old into the ground.
"He's a human being as much as anything. He has good days and bad days, so there's no point in killing him," Convy said.
"But he's good, he listens, he wants to learn, and we motivate each other as much as anything. He's always asking me questions, which is great.
Important
"He also does what he is told, which is an important part of it, and as the season goes on it's going to be even more important.
"That's because with 20 races, jetlag etc, you have to be careful and manage your energy right. So once you get that level of fitness right the rest periods and recovery become just as important as the training itself.
"But he's very disciplined in everything he does. His organisation is fantastic, and I like that. That's how I like to work."
He added: "I'm attending all 20 races with Paul which will be brutal.
"But I'm looking forward to it. We'll push through it, and momentum will take us through. Everybody is going to be in the same boat, so my priority is to make sure Paul's energy is right, that he maintains it and keeps his focus."
