Paul di Resta will begin his bid to become the first driver to claim the coveted ‘triple crown' of the F3 Euroseries, F3 Masters and F3 Macau Grand Prix titles from fourth place after a frustrating qualifying race ahead of the all-important final.
One of the undisputed favourites for the legendary race having proved the dominant force in arguably the world's most revered Formula Three series, di Resta has improved throughout the weekend and qualified fifth place for the qualifying race to remain in contention of that goal.
However, any hopes of victory were dashed as the lights went out when he was baulked by the stalled Signature car of Romain Grosjean directly in front of him, forcing di Resta to lose momentum, as well as a few places.
Still, the Scot would fight his way back past the fast starting Kodai Tsukakoshi, only to spend the remainder of the race unable to find a route past the slower Kohei Hirate for a place on the podium and a shot at the front row starting position for the final.
“I had a good start, but my progress was stopped after Grosjean stalled in front of me. Then I was stuck in fourth place behind Hirate, who was slower, but I decided to settle for fourth rather than taking any unnecessary risks. I definitely wanted to finish.”
