Paul di Resta remains Williams reserve driver
Williams has decided to retain Paul di Resta as reserve driver for 2017. But he is unlikely to drive the future FW40.
Last year, Williams decided to entrust his reserve driver position to Paul di Resta. However, his role remained largely honorary, with only a presence at Grand Prix events more as a television consultant than in the team’s engineering meetings.
Thus, when the team was faced with the prospect of Valtteri Bottas leaving, they preferred to recall Felipe Massa, who had been pushed into retirement a few months earlier, rather than calling on the Scottish driver. This can easily be understood as he had never driven a hybrid F1 car, his last Grand Prix dating back to the 2013 season.
This does not prevent Williams from noting that the Mercedes-backed driver would become familiar with all the team’s procedures and operations in case he needs to take the wheel during the season.
This perspective remains nevertheless highly hypothetical. It is therefore very likely that he will have as little driving time as during his first season at Grove.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
