Paul di Resta to start at 5th position for Belgium Grand Prix

Spa Francorchamps (Belgium): Force India`s Paul di Resta was in sight of a terrific pole position before he was pushed to fifth spot in a scintillating qualifying session at the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix here on Saturday.

The other Force India driver Adrian Sutil will start at 12th position at the grid in tomorrow`s race. The third qualifying race (Q3) started amid rain which died down towards the end of the session. For a long time it seemed that di Resta was about to enjoy his first pole after the team got him out before conditions deteriorated further, the Scot lapping in 2m 02.332s. "Fifth place on the grid is a great result. At the start of Q3 I knew that I wanted to go straight out on the intermediates. It was a brave decision and the team let me go ahead with it, while the others chose dry tyres. I knew it was our best chance to get up towards the front of the grid and it paid off," di Resta said. "It`s a shame that the rain stopped a bit too early because there were only a few cars that were quicker than us in the wet and they just got ahead at the end of the session. The main thing is we are in a strong position for tomorrow and we will come back tomorrow ready to fight," he said. Di Resta qualified in fifth and the British driver looked set for an upset until the drivers came back out on new tyres. He gambled on some parts of the track keeping dry because the unique microclimate in Spa means it can be wet and dry in different places. He stayed out while all the others funnelled back in single file to switch to intermediates. PTI