Paul di Resta to Do Force India Test at Jerez

German car maker Daimler AG might have switched factory support from Woking to Brackley in recent days, but that isn't to mean their policy towards F1 partners Force India has changed. Just like it happened last year, soon after confirming their engine partnership, Mercedes now asked Vijay Mallya to test one of their drivers for a potential seat next year.

With Adrian Sutil looking strong enough for a race seat holder next season, the second spot at Silverstone is still up for grabs. And our guess is that Mercedes Benz would love to see one of their own home-grown talents make the switch to F1 racing in a well-prepared customer team such as the one managed and co-owned by Vijay Mallya.

Last winter, it was McLaren's test driver Pedro de la Rosa who conducted several testing days with Force India, fueling speculations that the Woking based team is trying to interfere with Force India's driver-naming process. In the end, De la Rosa was not offered any deal by Mallya.

This year, we're talking about a Formula One wannabe, in the person of DTM race driver Paul di Resta. The British driver, currently competing for Daimler's works team in the German series, was confirmed for his first ever driving experience in Formula One, the Jerez test in early December, as reported by Switzerland's Motorsport Aktuell.

“He reportedly had a seat fitting at the team's Silverstone headquarters early this week,” suggested the GMM news agency on Thursday.

23-year old Di Resta was runner-up in the DTM last year to Audi's Timo Scheider and this year assisted fellow countryman Gary Paffett in the Mercedes Benz' official lineup. He eventually finished the season in 3rd place overall, winning a single race (at Brands Hatch).