Scotland’s Paul di Resta put a string of non-scoring races behind him with a confident run to seventh place for Force India in treacherous conditions at the Hungaroring.
The result represents the best finish of his F1 career to date and comes as his team enters the mid-season shut-down in optimistic mood.
He said: “I’m very happy with the seventh place today. It was quite a mixed race with rain at the beginning, but I made a good start and felt comfortable in the conditions.
“Then it was a matter of which tyres to choose. We went to supersofts for the middle two stints, and then ended the race on the primes. We lost track position at the last stop, but I was able to pick through the cars and get back up to seventh place in the final few laps.
“Finishing seventh is the best way to respond after a series of races where, for various reasons, we didn’t get the results that were possible. So it’s nice to go into the summer break with a smile on my face having scored points that are so important for our position in the championship.”
Team boss Vijay Mallya added: “I am pleased that we have come away with six important points to consolidate our position in the Constructors’ Championship. Paul drove an excellent race, didn’t put a foot wrong and really deserves this result.
“He also made the right call on the tyres when the rain returned because it wasn’t clear whether we should switch to the intermediates. Paul’s decision to stay out on the prime tyres really paid off.
“Overall we can be happy with our performance this weekend and can go into the summer break optimistic for the remainder of the season.”
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