Hildebrand & Di Resta to test for Force India

Force India has confirmed that Paul di Resta and JR Hildebrand will be testing for them at the Jerez young drivers test session next week. Both drivers were picked for the test session after impressive performance in the team’s simulator last month.

Team principal Vijay Mallya commented, “We are delighted to have Paul and JR join us for the young driver test.

“Both of their showings in the simulator were excellent and we had no hesitations in offering them some valuable testing. We will be looking at their performance on track very closely and should they perform well, as we are confident they will, we will look at a permanent role for one within the team in 2010, potentially as a test and reserve driver.

“As a young team we are looking for drivers who can grow with us. As we’ve always said, nationality isn’t the primary selection criteria – it’s talent and dedication to the cause and we have seen enough to know that these two have both.”

Di Resta has recently been racing in DTM, the German Touring Car Series, finishing the season in third with one win. He is no stranger to F1 having also tested for McLaren at the end of last year. The Scottish driver was also linked with a race seat within Force India last year, although the team eventually plumped for Fisichella and Sutil. American driver JR Hildebrand is current Indy Lights champion.

The pair are expected to get a full day’s running each, with the drivers alternating between morning and afternoon sessions on the first two days.

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