Di Resta Has Shark Encounter in Australia

Paul di Resta came to Australia eager to experience the thrill of driving an F1 car during the practice sessions of an actual grand prix. However, once he stepped on the Australian continent, the Scottish driver had an interesting encounter with a... shark. And we don't mean one of the sharks from the F1 paddock, but a real one, hanging around in the waters of St Kilda beach.

While paddling in the shallows of the aforementioned beach, Di Resta spotted the seven-foot shark and pointed it out to teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi. It turned out this was in fact quite the news of the day, as the local media used the story in “national news bulletin coverage around Australia,” as reported by the GMM news agency.

“It was quite big, within about six feet of us. It doesn't give you much confidence to go in the water!” said Di Resta, according to British tabloid The Sun.

In less than one day – about 16 hours, to be more precise – Di Resta is scheduled to grab the wheel of the Force India VJM03 on the streets of Albert Park – partially a street circuit – for the first practice session of the Friday action. He will continue to test the car in the second test session also, before handing it back to Adrian Sutil for the Saturday action.

In a recent media preview of the Australian Grand Prix, Di Resta reiterated his desire to impress the team during the practice sessions in Melbourne – as well as the ones throughout the 2010 season – in order to achieve his goal of securing an F1 drive for the 2011 season.

“This year is about gaining experience on the tracks so if a drive comes up I am in the scenario without thinking of it too much,” said the 23-year old Scot.