Di Resta finishes fourth in Bahrain

Sakhir, April 21 (IANS) British Formula 1 driver Paul di Resta of Force India missed the podium by 2.2 seconds as he finished fourth in the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit here Sunday.

Triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel won the 57-lap race in one hour and 40 minutes from Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean, who clinched the last two podium places, respectively.

Di Resta, who started the race in fifth place, was not just in contention for the podium but also led the race for a few laps. However, he could not hold on to the Lotus' onslaught and settled for fourth, equalling his best ever finish, bringing home 12 points.

The last time he finished fourth was at the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix.

Teammate Adrian Sutil, who started sixth, finished 15th after an having a minor accident with Felipe Massa's Ferrari in the opening lap of the race. The German could not recuperate and had to settle for a non-points finish.

After the race, Di Resta and Sutil are eighth and 12th in the drivers' standings with 20 and six points, respectively. While in the constructors' standings, Force India are fifth with 26 points ahead of heavyweights McLaren.