Betting tips / Ralph Ellis / 27 October 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

He won't win the race but Force India's Scottish driver could make a value bet for a points finish as the young team develop apace, says Ralph Ellis.

Ask most people to name Britain's Formula One drivers and they'd tell you Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button without a problem. Tell them they'd forgotten someone, and give them a clue that he's Scottish, and they'd say that surely David Coulthard has retired now.

That's the measure of the impact that Paul di Resta has made on the wider public consciousness in his first full season on the grid. Next to none. But there have been growing signs that the 25-year-old from West Lothian has the potential to put that right. And if he's ever going to make an impact, then it's this weekend.

Di Resta has, not surprisingly, been the man in most demand this week from the news media ahead of the Indian Grand Prix. As one of the drivers for Force India, who's better to talk about the first F1 race on the subcontinent? And if there's ever a weekend when his bosses need him to come up with the goods, then this is the one.

He's certainly started by saying the right things. Give Force India time, he's promised, and they could be to India what Ferrari are to Italy. But there are indicators that both he and team mate Adrian Sutil are capable of delivering on the track as well as off it that could make the Scot worth backing for a points finish. He's currently [1.8] in a developing market, but look out for that to be better than even money as the betting intensifies over the weekend.

Di Resta, quite naturally, took time to settle to the regular race pattern of an F1 season, but he's grown with confidence as he's gone along. He's picked up points in four of the last six races now, and the single one he collected last time out in Korea was an example of how he's learned. With a team tyre strategy that had gone wrong he couldn't hold off Sebastien Buemi across the last couple of laps, but he made sure that dropping one place didn't turn into losing two and ending up out of the points altogether.

For good measure the team have been buoyed by the announcement by Subrata Roy, boss of their sponsors Sahara, that an additional 100m dollars of investment is coming into the cars. And by now they have long since shown that their Mercedes engine is reliable enough to give some consistency in performance.

All the early signs suggest the Buddh track is going to be quick - probably the second fastest average speed on the Formula One calendar. And that will suit Red Bull who will be looking to push Mark Webber into a strong finish because they are still eyeing up the 1-2 in the drivers' championship. At the risk of getting boring by reminding you again, Webber remains the value in the winner without Vettel market at [6.0].

But an accent on pace will also suit the Force India team, and perhaps by Sunday night the name of Britain's third Grand Prix star will be a little easier for most people to recognise.

Five things you might not know about the Indian Grand Prix
1. The first plan for an Indian Grand Prix was drawn up in 1997, but that and successive schemes all failed until now. The nearest anybody got was a blueprint in 2003 for a race in Hyderabad four years later. The site for the track is now an industrial estate for technology firms.

2. The drains for the Buddh International Circuit were flown from Germany, while the debris fencing came from Belgium at a cost of $18 a kilo - for several million kilos.

3. The circuit, designed by Hermann Tilke, is just over three miles long (3.194miles to be exact), with 16 corners, and a track wide enough in places to be good for overtaking

4. Unusually for a new F1 venue no government money was committed to building the track. The £205m cost of building it was found by private property firm the Jaypee Group - the first stage of a 'Sports City' that will include a new purpose built cricket ground as well as room for hockey and cricket

5. Swiss born Indian driver Neel Jani was the first to lap the circuit in an F1 car when he was invited to drive one of the Red Bull cars around the track last week.