Adrian Sutil impresses at F1 testing
Making his comeback to the Sahara Force India team, Sutil has posted second-quickest times twice in two days.
Recently appointed to partner Paul di Resta for the second time since the 2011 season, Adrian Sutil has clocked the second quickest time twice in two days of pre-season testing at the Catalunya track in Barcelona.
The 30-year-old Sutil posted the second quickest time after Lewis Hamilton on Saturday - 1min 21.627sec. He was second quickest on Friday too with a time of 1:26.152 which came a day after his official confirmation as the other Sahara Force India driver with di Resta.
The German driver was 11th and 9th in the 2010 and 2011 F1 season respectively before being suspended for 18 months for assaulting Genii Capital CEO Eric Lux. He was also fined a hefty amount for the incident which allegedly involved him making use of a champagne glass as a weapon.
Sutil was replaced by Nico Hulkenberg in the Sahara Force India team for the 2012 season but will now make a comeback after Hulkenberg's move to Sauber for the upcoming season.
While his off-track reputation took a massive hit after the incident with Lux in Shanghai, Sutil continues to be a serious contender on the track. "We felt that Adrian's experience and historic links to the team gave him the edge, and will provide us with the best possible chance of realising our ambitions for the coming season," said team principal Vijay Mallya on Sutil's appointment.
While Sutil himself had said before being confirmed that he had done all he could to reserve a seat in the Sahara Force India team, his performance in testing so far continues to justify his inclusion over Frenchman Jules Binachi - the other driver who was in the race to partner di Resta.
Bianchi was confirmed by Marussia on Saturday.