Sutil signs with Force India

Adrian Sutil who last drive for the Force India team in 2011, when he was replaced by Nico Hulkenberg for 2012, has apprently agreed terms with the team.

The news comes from Jules Bianchi´s agent, Nicolas Todt, who confirmed the appointment wednesday afternoon. He was not able to confirm is Bianchi was to be retained as a test and reserve driver.

Sutil has driven for the team through its various guises as Midland F1 and Spyker, but lost his seat after the 2011 season, when it became clear he had been involved in a nightclub incident in Singapore. He was fined €50.000 and received a 18 month suspended jail sentence for attacking Genii´s Eric Lux with a champagne glas.

Sutil will partner Paul di Resta for 2013.

The Official 2013 Formula One Update F1 Season Preview 2/3

The second piece of the 2013 preview is here and once again I dive headfirst into all kinds of speculation about the season ahead. But for now it´s all about the nest three teams and how they will shape the upcoming season.

Today I´ll be talking about Mercedes, Sauber, Lotus and Force India, four mid-field teams with great potential, some truly awesome drivers and they could give us some nice surprises.

Mercedes

Mercedes is one of those teams where you never really know what you get. From the formation, and I am not thinking about the classic Silver Arrowsteam from the 1930´s, but the modern version, the team has had a rather low-key status about them. First it was called Tyrrell and they have three titles to their name. Then British American Tobacco got involved in the late 1990´s, then it was a pure Honda team until they pulled out, leaving Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello in doubt. Ross Brawn bought the team for a penny, turned it around and won the 2009 title, then sold the team to Mercedes. Phew.

The team hired Nico Rosberg and seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, but the return of the most winning driver did nothing for the image of Mercedes. 2010 was so-so, Nico Rosberg secured most of the points, and 2011 was a repeat of the previous year, 4th place in the constructor´s championship. 2012 kicked off with AMG as title sponsor, the high performance division of Mercedes, but the performance of the car and driver left much to be improved. Rosberg finished 9th, with Schumacher in 13th and he retired after the season ended.

So how will they do?

Lewis Hamilton, who was looking for some greener grass and after he had spend his teens with McLaren, he decided to sign with Mercedes, to replace Schumacher. Some say it´s a wise decision, because Hamilton is a driver who needs to push himself further and always prove to himself and others that he can adjust to a new team and that his 2008 title isn´t a fluke. Others think that he has made career suicide, but building a team is no easy feat. Lewis will be partnered by Rosberg, who is staying put, and the two of them know each other very well from junior series. I think that Mercedes might be able to push the front runners from time to time, but still need some work.

Prediction

Mercedes only had one win in 2012, in a year where 8 different drivers won a race. Not good enough. But a great driver in a new team takes some adjustment, but Lewis is a quick learner, and bloody fast too, so 4th for Mercedes.

Lotus

The team formerly known as Renault caused the biggest upset of 2012. They managed to sign Kimi Raikkonen, the one-syllable guy who likes to nap a few minutes before a race. In the second race he had the fastest lap time, and he won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The entire season was a truly awesome thing to watch, from the way he can keep the car so tantalisingly close to his rivals, insisting he has the right of way and then gently persuading them to give up. Raikkonen´s style might be one of a tight-lipped, kinda arrogant guy who dorsn´t care about anything, but he is a true racer who cares only about winning.

Lotus also had some issues that wwasn´t all rosy. Romain Grosjean also returned in 2012 for Lotus, after he drove for the previous installment of the team, Renault some years back. Comparing the two drivers may not be entirely fair, since Kimi Raikkonen was the only driver never to retire during a race, while Grosjean did so seven times, most notably during the Belgian GP, where he tried to squeeze Hamilton up against the pitwall, but both lost control. Grosjean was fined €50.000 and received a one-race ban. Oops.

So how will they do?

Grosjean will have spend some time during the winterbreak, to find himself. A driver is only as good as his last race and he almost jumped back onto the F1 scene, making a lot of noise and speculations. 2013 will probbaly be a bit more stress-free for Grosjean and I expect we will see a more mature and easy-going Frenchman. Raikkonen, on the other hand, will do what he is best at. Win. Surprise us. And sleep a little.

Prediction

Lotus finished 4th last year, and I think that the drivers will score more consistently, but on fewer occasions. I predict a few more retirements for Kimi, less for Grosjean, but more scoring in the lower parts of the board, simply due to the increased competition at this level. 5th for Lotus.

Sauber

The Swiss Sauber team has always been a black sheep in a way, but one that was always welcome. The team reminds me of my uncle, who is always able to see the lighter side of things and make a humorous comment about it. Sauber is a very good team, but they have had to say goodbye to their best driver, Sergio Perez, who will be driving for McLaren this year, replacing Hamilton. Monisha Kaltenborn has taken over the day-to-day running after Peter Sauber stepped down last year, and with Force India ousted Nico Hulkenberg and newcomer Esteban Gutierrez, who previously was the team´s test driver.

So how will they do?

Kamui Kobayashi was not signed for 2013, a tough decision for many fans. Gutierrez is a talented driver and will need to get his hands on some real race time before we can asess his performance. Hulkenberg has several seasons behind him and will add valuable knowledge to the team, but I don´t expect the leap forward many others do. I expect the team to finish roughly in the same place they did in 2012, mainly because they will not have the same amount of retirements they did last year. Remember, it´s a prediction…2013 will be a transitional year for the team, and it will be very interesting to see if the team´s own predictions about their driver choices will be on the mark.

Prediction

Perez was definitely the best driver the team has had for many years, and it looked as though Kobayashi might be able to finally develop into a brilliant racer. But with new guys on board and a new team manager, I think we should be happy with 6th for Sauber.

Force India

Rumours about Kingfisher´s imminent death, the absence of Vijay Mallya, the future collapse of title sponsor Sahara and a goodbye to Hulkenberg means, that Force India is a joker. They are yet to announce their second driver next to Paul di Resta, but in these very hours, Adrian Sutil´s agent has confirmed that Force India has stated that they want Sutil to race and not, as expected, Jules Bianchi.

So how will they do?

Because of the previous experience of Sutil, the team could collect a lot of points, but everything is up in the air. I honestly have no idea what to believe regarding the rumours we hear, and will not take address them in this article. I will, on the other hand, be carefully optimistic and sprinkle some light points in their general direction, with the odd retirement here and there.

Prediction

No idea. But to be a little more specific, I think they will stay in exactly the same place as last year, like Sauber. 7th place.

Bit of this, bit of that

Williams became the last team to launch their 2013 car, the FW35. Adrian Sutil had had a seat fitting made at Force India, and are testing the new car in Barcelona, while the Kingfisher Airline owned by team owner Vijay Mallya is in deep financial trouble. Mercedes rejects the claims that they are about to pull out of F1 all together, and Lewis Hamilton has beaten Sebastian Vettel´s time on TopGear.

According to two shareholders of Mercedes, Michael Muders form the fund manager Union and henning Gebhardty, of DWS, the foray into F1 has been to expensive for the Daimler group and the yield is not big enough to continue, they say.

“Mercedes has been behind for years, without consequence,” said Muders. “But Formula One is expensive and brings nothing to the (Daimler) group.”

Gebhardt added: “Formula One no longer enhances the image (of Mercedes), especially if we are in countries criticized of human rights violations.”

Truly some good and valid points and they need to be discussed. But is it a carmakers job to deal with human rights issues? Who draws the line between hat is right and what is wrong? Personally, I think the Bahrain story of 2011 and 2012 was a very good example of how a completely different event drew attention to F1, even though the demand for reforms and basic human right has nothing to do with 24 cars screaming around the desert. Of course the carmakers could and should be concerned about what is going on in the world, and yes I do tink that the event in bahrain was controversial. But a carmakers finest task is to build cars and if they wish, to race them. Don´t race cars and then say it costs too much. You´re in or you´re out.

Mercedes´ new chairman Niki Lauda, rejected the claims from the two shareholders, saying that there are more TV viewers today and there is a lot of growth to be seen, as more and more countries are added to the calendar.

Over at Force India, Adrian Sutil is back. Or is he? The German, who has spent his entire F1 career at the team, when it was known as Midland and Spyker, and knows his way around the team. Sutil was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, when he was incolved in a nihgt club incident with Genii´s Eric Lux. Sutil was charged with assault, received a suspended 18 month prison sentence and a fine of €200.000. His career looked to be over. But then, as the teams managed to fill their seats, Force India was the only one left with a vacant seat. The call came and Sutil had a seat fitting last week, and he is today testing the brand new car. But there is still no contract for him to race this year.

So, a team in financial distress, a team owner who has not shown up and taken the bull by the horns, not even trying to explain what is going on in his own team, and a experienced driver who is testing their car. For free, it seems. If Force India does not sign Sutil, they are shooting themselves in the foot. Rumour has it that Sutil has secured a sponsorship package worth €8 million, so the money is clearly there. Just sign it, Vijay…

Lewis Hamilton appeared on TopGear recently, and was eager to beat his own previous time in the reasonably priced car. And not only did he do that, he also smashed Sebastian Vettel´s time, who at the time was the fastest time of F1 drivers past and present, with more than a second. Kudos to you, sir.

Finally, Williams launched their FW35 car. it is blue and white. Four wheels. A steering wheel. Ok, so it looks enormously dull, but Mike Coughlan, you remember, the guy with the spy shit some years back, said that the team had made a great deal of dyno testing to ensure reliability. The work also includes a new gearbox new rear suspension, new radiators, a new floor, new exhausts, new bodywork, a new nose and a significant amount of weight-saving.

It will be interesting to see how well Williams will fair this season, considering their improved form last year.

Sutil drops appeal

Adrian Sutil has dropped the appeal over the sentence he received last year follwing the nightclub incicent involving Genii Capital´s Eric Lux, who were injured in the neck by a broken glass.

Sutil was given a suspended 18 month jail sentence and a fine of €200,000 for his role in the incident. The former Force India driver and eric Lux has since discussed the issue and Sutil is now focusing on getting back into F1.

“I am very happy that I could talk with Eric Lux and not be brought to trial again,” Sutil is quoted as saying by Bild. “I do not want to go through a year like the last one again. I want to do what I do best as quickly as possible, which is to race in Formula 1.”

Sutil´s manager said:

“We are very pleased that Eric Lux and Adrian have spoken and this topic is now closed. From now on we will concentrate on the sport and do everything that we can to get Adrian back in Formula 1 as quickly as possible.”

POLL: Who should replace Massa at Ferrari

If we consider that Ferrari are considering to replace Felipe Massa, after the Italian press made minced meat of the Brazilian driver Wednesday, for his performance in the opening race in Australia, then who would you most like to see him replaced by?

Sutil appeals

Adrian Sutil recently received a 18 month suspended jail sentence for his involvement in the incident at a Shanghai nightclub, where he allegedly cut the neck of Eric Lux, one of the Lotus team´s co-owners. But Sutil have decided to appeal the sentence.

Sutil´s attorney Mannfred Zimmermann said, that he was“convinced” the judge would overturn the verdict, adding that the CCTV footage had “not been properly considered”.

“Not asking one of the witnesses to court and other important circumstances have not been considered as well,” he said.

Nicole Selzam, the state prosecution attorney, has also appealed the verdict, going for a tougher sentence. It is believed she is demanding the sentence to be 21 months suspended and €300,000 (£252,000) fine.

News Round-up 3/4

Adrian Sutil has been found guilty of grievous bodily harm against Eric Lux in Munich court on Tuesday. And one of the persons who could have saved him, or at least given his side of the story, is now former friend Lewis Hamilton.

The 2008 world champion Hamilton has been friends with Sutil for a number of years, and was invited to give testimony in the courts, but declined. Hamilton was with Sutil during the time of the incident, though it is still unknown how much Hamilton did see, if any. Despite the invitation to appear in court, Hamilton declined to appear as a witness and wrote to the courts that he saw nothing. And this has made Sutil furious, slamming Hamilton.

After receiving the verdict, 18 months of suspended sentence and a fine of £165,000, Sutil commented on Hamilton´s behaviour.

“Lewis is a coward, I do not want to be friends with someone like that,” Sutil told German daily Bild. “As far as I am concerned, he isn’t a man. Even his father sent me a text message and wished me luck for the trial. “There was nothing from Lewis. He has changed his phone number and I cannot reach him anymore.”

Today Hamilton was with Jenson Button to unveil the McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27, pictures elsewhere, and when asked by a member of the press at the official launch of the car, about the remarks from Sutil, a McLaren spokesperson stepped in and denied Hamilton a chance to answer.

“We’ve been told Lewis shouldn’t really go there because it might go under appeal, so can we move on to the next question”, to which the 27-year-old Hamilton added: “I’ll listen to him.”

News Round-up 1/4

Forgive me. In the past couple of weeks I have been absent, well at least absent-minded from time to time, and the blog hasn´t received the attention it needed. This has provided you, the reader, with a ? in terms of what is going on in the world of F1. The short answer is: Nothing much. Of course that´s not entirely true, but the stories have only been mildly interesting, some have even been re-runs of old stories, but a few have made it to the top. And I will now give you a run-down of the biggest headlines from the past week or so.

Adrian Sutil has been found guilty of grievous bodily harm against Eric Lux. Yoy may remember that a story surfaced some time during the 2011 season, and apparently Sutil was celebrating Lewis Hamilton´s win in the Chinese Grand Prix at a nightclub called M1nt, in the middle of the hottest district in Shanghai. Sutil was accused of throwing a champagne glass at Eric Lux, who is one of the owners of Genii Capital, the former owners of the Renault team. What happened between the two, we don´t know, but Lux had to be taken to a nearby hospital, where he received several stitches to his throat area. In the meantime the papers were filed and Sutil appeared in a Munich court on Tuesday, where he received a 18 month suspended jail sentence for his involvement. Exactly why the court had to be held in Germany, since the event took place in China, is unknown, but it is likely the lawyers have made a deal to trial Sutil in Europe.

Nevertheless, Sutil´s career in F1 is almost certainly over. The once so promising star has faded dramatically, he did rather well at Force India, and in my eyes he deserved a seat, either there or some place like Williams. It is yet too soon to speculate what Sutil would like to do now, but unless he will/can sign for the remaining seat at HRT, it´s goodbye Adrian Sutil.