Flying Scotsman Paul di Resta’s forward surge as a Formula One star of the future in a front-running team with its inevitable accompaniment of millions in the bank, has been slammed into reverse.

And the fast-rising star who promised so much that Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren were all keeping a close eye on him, finds himself shunted on to the grand prix sidelines, offloaded by Force India and unwanted by any other team.

He is a victim of the F1 money-go-round that so ruthlessly casts aside any driver not of proven genius rating who cannot bring, say, massive financial sponsorship money to a team and instead relies solely upon his burgeoning talent to enjoy a place on the grid.

That is what has happened to the 27-year-old. He had little or no money to inject into any team when the likes of Adrian Sutil, Mexican Sergio Perez and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, all up for grabs, could boost the resources of any team in a cash-strapped condition with their sponsorship deals worth fortunes. And they grabbed seats at Sauber, Force India and Lotus respectively.

To a certain degree, the rather reticent and terse Di Resta lost out when it came down to up-front presentations of a personality that resounded with dour outpourings from a rarely-smiling face in televised paddock interviews.

And his sometimes brusque criticisms of his team both behind the scenes and over the car-to-pits radio when errors not of his own making have occurred will not have boosted his popularity.

Force India’s deputy boss Bob Fernley claimed that the team members and backroom boys were not troubled by those issues, though I doubt it, and he added: “In today’s world you’ve got to have two sides...in and out of the team. In the corporate world, I don’t think it would go down well and could limit opportunities.”

Nonetheless, in his three years in the top flight, Di Resta’s promise as a driver to be earmarked for the future, despite his loquacious setbacks, dull image and shortfalls outside the car, was both heartening and hopeful.

What a difference a year makes.

His pedigree as a youngster making his way through the lower ranks of motor racing was impeccable even to the point of regularly beating his teammate, later to become four-time world F1 champion, Sebastian Vettel and taking the F3 Euro series title in 2006.

It didn’t stop there. He monopolised the German touring car title chase in 2010 as the crown holder. And now that looks like his next stop — a return to the DTM series.

If those lower end, financially-stricken teams had not been forced into luring drivers with money and chanced instead for flair on the go, then Di Resta would most certainly have been stepping into a third season in F1.

As it is, the man tipped to be a winner by no less an authority than legend and three-time champion Sir Jackie Stewart, has sadly been abandoned by the sport over which he could well have reigned.

— The writer is a motorsport expert based in the UK