Super sub di Resta impresses for Williams

Paul di Resta's frantic Hungarian Grand Prix as last-minute substitute for Felipe Massa may have ended in retirement but having demonstrated his quick adaptation to the Williams FW40 he's 'not too dissatisfied' with the result.

The Williams reserve driver, who was set to be on Sky Sports F1 commentary duties in Hungary, was given an 11th-hour call-up by the British squad when Massa was ruled out of the race weekend after FP3 due to an inner ear infection.

With zero practice laps under his belt and having last raced in F1 in 2013, di Resta impressed in qualifying by setting his fastest lap time 0.7s off of full-time driver Stroll, and ahead of Sauber's Marcus Ericsson, before holding his own during the race before an oil leak 10 laps from the finish prematurely halted his race.

The Scottish driver says he had to think on his feet and adapt to the Williams throughout the weekend as it was his first experience of the 2017 F1 cars and given his lack of preparation time was thrilled to put in an impressive performance.

"It was obviously very exciting, but it was very difficult as well," di Resta said. "Jumping straight in the car with no experience of the different tyre compounds or running on high fuel. I wasn't sure what to expect so I went in with an open mind.

"You have to be very aware of the space around you, and how much downforce you lose when there's traffic around you. So I was cautious and just wanted to keep my nose clean.

"We went a different way on strategy, but the biggest thing for me was just gaining the confidence as the runs went on and I was feeling more comfortable with the car. It would have been nice to finish, without the oil leak. But I'm not too dissatisfied with where I was given how little running I'd had."

di Resta, who has spent the past four seasons in DTM driving for Mercedes, won at the Hungaroring earlier this year and will return to racing in the German touring car series next month.