Sutil was found guilty of grievous bodily harm

Adrian Sutil has been handed an 18-month suspended jail sentence by a court in Germany.

Sutil received the sentence along with a €200,000 fine after being found guilty of inflicting bodily harm on Eric Lux in a nightclub in Shanghai last year.

The former Force India driver told the court he had apologised and claimed he had only meant to spill his drink Lux on when he wounded him with a champagne glass during the fracas. Lux is the CEO of Lotus owners Genii Capital.

Sutil is without a drive for 2012 having lost his seat at Force India to Nico Hulkenberg last year.

2012 F1 season

• Live: 2012 F1 testing day four – Jerez
• Jerez test day three in pictures
• Mercedes stay on top in Jerez test
• Live: 2012 F1 testing day three – Jerez
• Schumacher quickest on day two of test as Webber leads 2012 runners
• Jerez test day two in 100 pictures
• Live: 2012 F1 testing day two – Jerez
• Raikkonen leads Di Resta on first day of Jerez test
• Red Bull RB8 seen for first time as Jerez test begins
• Williams FW34 launch: First pictures of their 2012 F1 car

Image © Force India F1 Team

Adrian Sutil, Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, Abu Dhabi, 2011

Nico Hulkenberg will return to F1 in 2012 with Force India, the team has confirmed.

Hulkenberg will join Paul di Resta in the team’s race-line up for next season.

The news leaves Adrian Sutil without a race seat having spent the last five years with the team.

Team principal Vijay Mallya said: “Our new line-up means we say ‘goodbye’ to Adrian Sutil, who has been with the team since we entered the sport. He has been an integral part of our success over the past four seasons and we wish him well for the future.”

Mallya added: “In Paul and Nico we have two extremely talented drivers with tremendous potential.

“I think Paul caught the eye of everybody in the pit lane during his rookie season. His speed, maturity and racecraft confirmed that we were right to believe in him and we look forward to working with him again next year.

“As for Nico, we identified him as a rising star at the end of 2010 and chose to evaluate him during the course of this season. Despite having only limited time in the car, he convinced us that he deserved a race seat for 2012.”

Hulkenberg said: “I’m obviously delighted to be staying with Sahara Force India and to be given the chance to race next year.

“It wasn’t easy to watch from the sidelines this season, but I did my best to help the team and show what I was capable of. I’m extremely motivated for 2012 and would like to thank everyone for believing in me and giving me this chance.

“I’m keen to get down to work over the winter to develop our new car and help the team build on this year’s achievements. The first test in Jerez can’t come soon enough.”

Di Resta said: “I’ve said all along that I love being part of this team: they are ambitious, hungry for success and we work well together. I’m really excited about 2012 and there is a real sense of belief that we can continue to push the top teams and take another step forward.”

See the updated list of 2012 F1 drivers and teams.

2012 F1 season

• Live: 2012 F1 testing day four – Jerez
• Jerez test day three in pictures
• Mercedes stay on top in Jerez test
• Live: 2012 F1 testing day three – Jerez
• Schumacher quickest on day two of test as Webber leads 2012 runners
• Jerez test day two in 100 pictures
• Live: 2012 F1 testing day two – Jerez
• Raikkonen leads Di Resta on first day of Jerez test
• Red Bull RB8 seen for first time as Jerez test begins
• Williams FW34 launch: First pictures of their 2012 F1 car

Image © Force India F1 Team

Sutil in action at Monaco

Force India have gradually improved from back-of-the-grid stragglers to among the most competitive midfield contenders since Vijay Mallya took over the team four years ago.

That progress continued in 2011 despite the loss of several top technical staff last year. The team ended the year sixth, their best finish since 2002, when they were still known as Jordan.

And they were just four points shy of Renault in the teams’ standings.

Vitantonio Liuzzi made way for Paul di Resta at the start of the year and the rookie impressed from the beginning of the season, out-qualifying Adrian Sutil in the first three races.

The pair inherited points in Melbourne after the two Saubers were disqualified. That aside it was a slow start to the season for the team, picking up ten points in the first seven races.

But the VJM04s made regular appearances in the top ten later in the year, scoring in all bar one of the final ten races. This was due to a combination of reasons.

They included the progress the team made with the car, Renault’s decline in form, and Sutil taking time to come to terms with the new specification tyres.

Sutil’s form improved around the middle of the season and he increasingly lead Force India’s incursions into the points. He beat Nico Rosberg at the Nurburgring to take sixth place and repeated the feat in the season finale.

Di Resta matched his team mate’s best result at Singapore after gambling on starting the race on soft tyres. But similar daring strategies in India and Abu Dhabi failed to pay dividends and were probably employed by the team in an effort to hold on to their best-ever position sixth in the world championship.

If so, this policy was ultimately vindicated. It’s possible they could have taken fifth, but they probably never expected Renault to do quite as badly as they did in the second half of the year.

Pit stops were another of the team’s strengths. Thought not ultimately as quick as the likes of Red Bull or Mercedes, Force India were among the three fastest teams in the pits on nine occasions this year.

An unfortunate exception was Silverstone, where di Resta was badly delayed when he happened to pit on the same lap Sutil had come in with a puncture.

The team continued its 2010 policy of giving track time to a junior driver on Fridays, Nico Hulkenberg taking over from di Resta or Sutil on alternate weekends. This usually did not disrupt their weekends except in Valencia, when Hulkenberg crashed the car and left di Resta unable to do more than a handful of laps in the second session.

More first-lap woe for Di Resta in Spa

More misfortune afflicted di Resta in Germany and Belgium, where he was hit by rivals on the first lap. But he had a few run-ins of his own doing as well, notably in Canada (with Nick Heidfeld) and Monaco (with Jaime Alguersuari), which earned him his two penalties of the year.

Those indiscretions aside, this was an impressive F1 debut for a driver who spent the last four seasons doing just ten races a year in touring cars, and lacking the experience at many F1 venues enjoyed by the likes of Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado.

It leaves the team weighing up whether to drop either of its drivers – both of which were impressive in their own right – to make way for Hulkenberg, who also clearly belongs in F1. A decision is expected within the next few days.

2011 F1 season review

• The 2011 F1 season: The complete F1 Fanatic review
• Your 2011 F1 predictions revisited
• 2011 F1 statistics part 3: Stats and facts highlights
• 2011 F1 statistics part two: Vettel's domination
• 2011 F1 statistics part one: car performance
• New 2011 rules produced best racing of last four years
• What F1 Fanatics really thought of the 2011 season
• Sebastian Vettel voted F1 Fanatic Driver of the Year
• F1 Fanatic's article highlights of 2011
• Dominant Red Bull join F1's top teams

Images © Force India F1 Team, Pirelli/LAT

Force India drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):

Adrian Sutil

Adrian Sutil, Force India, Interlagos, 2011

Sutil reached Q3 for the fifth time in the last six races, equalling his season-best qualifying position of eighth for the fourth time.

He had a strong run in the race, using a three-stop strategy to catch and pass Nico Rosberg for sixth place: “It completes a great weekend where everything went to plan,” he said.

“I had a good feeling in all the sessions and the team did a brilliant job to give me such a good car today. We also made the right calls with the strategy because we knew there was a chance to beat Mercedes, and that’s exactly what we did.

“So I’m very happy with my sixth place – it’s the best way to end the year and it also means that I move up to ninth place in the drivers’ championship, which was my aim.”

Adrian Sutil 2011 form guide

Paul di Resta

Di Resta was three-tenths of a second off his team mate in Q2 and that was the difference between which one of them reached the final ten. He started 11th.

Force India continued their recent trend of splitting strategies between the two drivers during the race, and not for the first time it didn’t work out as well for Di Resta.

Running two stops to Sutil’s three left him with a particularly slow middle stint. On top of that he was nursing a car problem: “There was a concern with the gearbox around half way through the race so the team told me to just try and bring the car home,” he said.

Di Resta finished eighth: “In the final stint it was just a case of managing the gap to [Kamui] Kobayashi behind me and we had enough to do that quite easily in the end.”

Paul di Resta 2011 form guide

Nico Hulkenberg

Drove Di Resta’s car in first practice.

2011 Brazilian Grand Prix

• Sutil voted Driver of the Weekend for Brazil
• Vettel "definitely affected" by gearbox problem - Webber
• 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix: complete race weekend review
• Vote for Brazilian GP driver of the weekend
• Red Bull: Gearbox glitch hands win to Webber
• McLaren: Button wanted to pass Alonso without using DRS
• Massa makes 100 Ferrari starts but no podium
• Ferrari: Alonso slips back on medium tyres
• Mercedes: Two-stop strategy leaves Rosberg vulnerable
• Force India: Sutil equals best result of the year

Image © Force India F1 Team

F1 pictures

• Jerez test day three in pictures
• Jerez test day two in 100 pictures
• Red Bull RB8 seen for first time as Jerez test begins
• Williams FW34 launch: First pictures of their 2012 F1 car
• Toro Rosso STR7 - first pictures and video of Toro Rosso's 2012 F1 car
• Red Bull RB8 launch - first pictures and video of Red Bull's 2012 F1 car
• Sauber C31 launch - first pictures and video of Sauber's 2012 F1 car
• Ferrari F2012 launch - first pictures and video of Ferrari's 2012 F1 car
• McLaren MP4-27 launch - first pictures of McLaren's 2012 F1 car
• Kimi Raikkonen continues his F1 familiarisation in Valencia

View more F1 pictures

Images © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo, Renault/LAT, Williams/LAT, McLaren, Getty Images/Red Bull, Force India/Sutton, Sauber F1 Team, Team Lotus, Virgin Racing, Motioncompany, Pirelli

F1 pictures

• Jerez test day three in pictures
• Jerez test day two in 100 pictures
• Red Bull RB8 seen for first time as Jerez test begins
• Williams FW34 launch: First pictures of their 2012 F1 car
• Toro Rosso STR7 - first pictures and video of Toro Rosso's 2012 F1 car
• Red Bull RB8 launch - first pictures and video of Red Bull's 2012 F1 car
• Sauber C31 launch - first pictures and video of Sauber's 2012 F1 car
• Ferrari F2012 launch - first pictures and video of Ferrari's 2012 F1 car
• McLaren MP4-27 launch - first pictures of McLaren's 2012 F1 car
• Kimi Raikkonen continues his F1 familiarisation in Valencia

View more F1 pictures

Images © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo, Renault/LAT, Williams/LAT, McLaren, Getty Images/Red Bull, Force India/Sutton, Sauber F1 Team, Team Lotus, Virgin Racing, Motioncompany, Pirelli

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, Interlagos, 2011

Sebastian Vettel put Red Bull on top in the final practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Team mate Mark Webber was third fastest with the McLaren pair second and fourth.

The Renault drivers were out first, Bruno Senna heading the times briefly on his home track before pitting.

The next driver to head the times was Lewis Hamilton, before team mate Jenson Button beat his fastest lap on the harder tyres.

Sebastian Vettel edged Button with his last effort, going just five-hundredths of a second faster than the McLaren.

The Mercedes drivers were the first onto soft tyres, Rosberg getting within a tenth of a second of Vettel’s time.

Webber – still on the harder tyres – beat Vettel’s time by three-hundredths of a second, before Adrian Sutil hit the top of the times with a 1’13.113 on softs.

Fernando Alonso was the next driver to go fastest, lowering the mark to 1’12.765, before Hamilton eclipsed his time by a tenth of a second.

But it was a familiar sight at the end of the session as Vettel set the fastest time once again, then improved it to end up on a 1’12.460.

Button moved up to second, less than a tenth of a second behind the Red Bull, with Webber taking third on a 1’12.597, pushing Hamilton down to fourth.

Sutil’s time was good enough to put him sixth behind Alonso, and ahead of the two Mercedes. Michael Schumacher had a near-miss when he came across a dawdling Massa in the pit lane exit at the end of the session.

Massa ended up tenth behind Paul di Resta. But Sebastien Buemi was unable to set a time after a technical problem on his Toro Rosso.

Combined practice times

2011 Brazilian Grand Prix

• Sutil voted Driver of the Weekend for Brazil
• Vettel "definitely affected" by gearbox problem - Webber
• 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix: complete race weekend review
• Vote for Brazilian GP driver of the weekend
• Red Bull: Gearbox glitch hands win to Webber
• McLaren: Button wanted to pass Alonso without using DRS
• Massa makes 100 Ferrari starts but no podium
• Ferrari: Alonso slips back on medium tyres
• Mercedes: Two-stop strategy leaves Rosberg vulnerable
• Force India: Sutil equals best result of the year

Image © Red Bull/Getty images

F1 pictures

• Jerez test day three in pictures
• Jerez test day two in 100 pictures
• Red Bull RB8 seen for first time as Jerez test begins
• Williams FW34 launch: First pictures of their 2012 F1 car
• Toro Rosso STR7 - first pictures and video of Toro Rosso's 2012 F1 car
• Red Bull RB8 launch - first pictures and video of Red Bull's 2012 F1 car
• Sauber C31 launch - first pictures and video of Sauber's 2012 F1 car
• Ferrari F2012 launch - first pictures and video of Ferrari's 2012 F1 car
• McLaren MP4-27 launch - first pictures of McLaren's 2012 F1 car
• Kimi Raikkonen continues his F1 familiarisation in Valencia

View more F1 pictures

Images © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo, Renault/LAT, Williams/LAT, McLaren, Getty Images/Red Bull, Force India/Sutton, Sauber F1 Team, Team Lotus, Virgin Racing, Motioncompany, Pirelli

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Interlagos, 2011

The drivers who shared the front row of the grid for the last race were quickest in the second practice session in Brazil.

Lewis Hamilton headed the times in an uneventful session. He was followed by Sebastian Vettel, with the other Red Bull of Mark Webber in third.

Hamilton led the running early in the session on the harder tyres. Michael Schumacher briefly took over at the top of the times after switching to the soft compound.

Hamilton quickly returned to the top but Schumacher’s best effort remained within three-tenths of a second of the McLaren.

The Red Bull drivers were unable to beat Hamilton’s best time and Fernando Alonso took fourth.

Behind Schumacher were Felipe Massa, Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg. The two Force Indias completed the top ten, Adrian Sutil ahead of Paul di Resta.

Shortly before the end of the session Sergio Perez came to a stop at Juncao, telling the team he had a gearbox problem.

Image © McLaren

Mark Webber, Red Bull, Interlagos, 2011

Mark Webber headed the first practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull pilot was just 14 thousandths of a second quicker than Jenson Button.

The McLaren and Red Bull cars swapped fastest times during the session. Lewis Hamilton was third quickest ahead of Sebastian Vettel, the world champion wearing a new helmet-mounted camera during the session.

The two Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were next. Alonso’s session came to an end when his engine failed five minutes before the chequered flag came out.

Romain Grosjean, driving Vitaly Petrov’s car, also came to a stop before the end of the session with a technical problem on the Renault.

Several other teams ran one-off drivers during the session. Nico Hulkenberg was eighth-quickest for Force India behind Michael Schumacher.

Jean-Eric Vergne was 18th for Toro Rosso, Luiz Razia 20th for Lotus and Jan Charouz last in the HRT.

Kamui Kobayashi had a minor spin during the session but didn’t hit anything and ended up 15th-fastest.

2011 Brazilian Grand Prix

• Sutil voted Driver of the Weekend for Brazil
• Vettel "definitely affected" by gearbox problem - Webber
• 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix: complete race weekend review
• Vote for Brazilian GP driver of the weekend
• Red Bull: Gearbox glitch hands win to Webber
• McLaren: Button wanted to pass Alonso without using DRS
• Massa makes 100 Ferrari starts but no podium
• Ferrari: Alonso slips back on medium tyres
• Mercedes: Two-stop strategy leaves Rosberg vulnerable
• Force India: Sutil equals best result of the year

Image © Red Bull/Getty images