Career Stats Team Force India Nationality German Podiums 0 Points 1 Grand Prix entered 17 World Championships 0 Highest race finish 8 Highest grid position 19 Date of Birth 11/01/1983 Place of Birth Starnberg

While Lewis Hamilton rewrote the rookie record books with McLaren in 2007, an old friend of his was impressing at the opposite end of the field.

Adrian Sutil responded superbly to being pulverised by Hamilton when they were team-mates in Formula 3 in 2005.

He vowed to learn from the rising British star, and successfully revived his career and earned a Formula 1 chance with Spyker for 2007.

Sutil's speed was obvious from the start, but his predilection for crashing earned the team's wrath.

In his defence, the young German always had to push to the maximum just to get noticed, for the Spyker was firmly a back-of-the-grid car.

He really advertised his potential in Monaco by going fastest of all in wet practice.

Further heroics followed at Spa, where Sutil produced an impressive charge through the field early on, and at Fuji, where he took the team's first point.

Hamilton suggested that McLaren should consider Sutil as a replacement for Fernando Alonso, but the German will stay put for 2008.

But with billionaire new co-owner Vijay Mallya transforming Spyker into Force India, Sutil should have a more competitive package to impress with during his second season.

The early years

Sutil came to racing late in his teens after abandoning ambitions of becoming a pianist.

He certainly didn't look like a future F1 driver when struggling in the midfield with future Spyker boss Colin Kolles' uncompetitive Formula 3 Euroseries oufit in 2004.

But a shock pole position in the wet hinted at Sutil's potential.

When one of champion team ASM's drivers was injured in a road crash, Sutil was summoned to deputise – and took pole position at the first attempt despite not sitting in the car before qualifying.

ASM was impressed and signed Sutil for the full 2005 season.

Unfortunately for the German, ASM also recruited Hamilton…

Although the ASM pair finished one-two in the championship, the statistics showed a vast gulf between the two drivers.

Hamilton won 15 times, Sutil just twice.

But rather than being downcast, Sutil resolved to learn from his hapless season, working with Hamilton to improve his driving and consistency.

The results were impressive and Sutil turned his career around in 2006.

He headed for Japan, and strode to the title in the domestic F3 series.

But it was his performances for MF1 in Friday practice at grands prix that really brought Sutil to the world's attention.

He was 10th quickest at the Nurburgring, and then an amazing fifth and seventh in the two sessions at Magny-Cours.

It wasn't exactly a level playing field – the Friday testers invariably ran with more revs and less fuel than the race drivers, who had to save their machinery for the rest of the weekend.

However, Sutil was just one of half a dozen rising young racers that MF1 tried out during the 2006 season, and he comfortably outshone them all.

His promotion to a full-time 2007 race seat for the renamed Spyker team was well deserved.

View Site Map