Force India’s Paul di Resta has hit out after being handed a drive-through penalty at the Canadian Grand Prix for his collision with Nick Heidfeld during the error-strewn race.

The Scot had looked set to record his best ever finish in formula 1 to date having navigated his way through a chaotic race that was marked with crashes, safety cars and penalties, before the collision with the Renault driver in the final corner forced him to pit for a new nose.

The rookie was then hit with the penalty for his part in what was deemed an avoidable racing incident,  a decision he described as “ridiculous”.

“It definitely needs investigating,” he told the Daily Record. “This time it was definitely not deserving of a drive-through penalty, which was precious in terms of time.”

“Heidfeld came in front of me yet I still made the corner so I didn’t batter him. It’s not even harsh, it’s ridiculous. I don’t see how I was at fault for that.” He added.

The race got even worse for di Resta after he failed to finish after clipping the wall in the closing laps.

The penalty is di Resta’s second in successive races after he was hit with a similar punishment at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago, while team-mate Adrian Sutil had already retired from the race by the time di Resta pulled up and served his own drive-through penalty earlier in the race after coming together with Nico Rosberg.

“Heidfeld came in front of me yet I still made the corner so I didn’t batter him. It’s not even harsh, it’s ridiculous. I don’t see how I was at fault for that.” – Paul di Resta

Team owner Vijay Mallya was left disappointed after both cars failed to finish the race, and insisted that on another day, it could have been a double-points finish for the Silverstone-based outfit.

“We had a very quick car and both drivers were competitive, but the circumstances of the race did not go our way.”

Both drivers picked up damage to their front wings, without which I’m confident we could have come away with a double-points finish because the strategic calls from the pit-wall were very good today.” Mallya added.

The Force India driver has impressed during his first season in Formula 1, but his performances have tailed off of late, leaving him unable to add to his two championship points since the Malaysian Grand Prix in April.

He will also be aggrieved that neither Jenson Button or Lewis Hamilton were reprimanded for their own similar incidents during the race, with Button handed a drive-through for speeding under the safety car instead, while Hamilton – who at one point had three investigations being held against him – was also cleared of any wrong doing.

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