Di Resta to start from 10th in Sunday's Bahrain GP

Manama: Sahara Force India produced a decent show with Paul Di Resta finishing 10th while team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was 13th in Saturday's qualifying session at the Bahrain Grand Prix of the Formula One Championships here.

Di Resta will start in the fifth row at the grid on Sunday while Hulkenberg will line up in the seventh row. Di Resta said he was happy with his performance.

"With our reduced programme yesterday it wasn't easy getting all the work done, but the team did a good job to get the car dialled into the track before qualifying," he said.

Paul Di Resta will start the race in the fifth grid.

"I had a great lap in Q2, just three tenths away from the quickest time, but in Q3 we all took the decision from a strategic point of view to save tyres. I think this will put us in the best shape for tomorrow and I hope we can deliver a strong race," said the Briton.

Hulkenberg said that his team can fight for points on the race day.

"It has been a very busy day for us, but we learned a lot this morning and improved the car all the way through to qualifying where we showed some good speed. My Q2 lap was looking very strong until the final sector where I got some oversteer and ran wide, which cost me a few tenths.

"Otherwise I think we could have had both cars in the top ten. But I'm still pretty pleased and I feel that we can fight for points tomorrow," he said.

On Friday, Sahara Force India withdrew from the second free practice session due to "logistical reasons".

Four members of the team were caught up in a clash between protestors and police on Wednesday night when a petrol bomb exploded close to their car in heavy traffic jams on the main motorway back into capital city Manama. The incident led to two team members returning home on safety grounds.

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)