Force India’s new technical partnership with McLaren and Mercedes is a big opportunity for Adrian Sutil – and perhaps the young German’s last chance to secure a long-term Formula 1 career.

Though he has impressed in adversity on several occasions, fluctuations in form and a predilection for crashing mean Sutil is rarely listed amongst the potential future champions.

He is best known for two stellar performances in the wet in Monaco – topping the times in practice in 2007, and running a remarkable fourth last year until being rammed by Kimi Raikkonen.

Those drives underlined Sutil’s raw talent, but his failure to assert himself over team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella has raised questions about his ultimate potential, and inconsistency remains an issue.


Career log

Written off after being pulverised by his close friend Lewis Hamilton when they were team-mates in Formula 3, Sutil proved his worth to F1 with some jaw-dropping displays for the Midland team in Friday practice sessions in 2006.

Just one of half a dozen rising young racers that MF1 tried out during the 2006 season, he comfortably outshone his fellow novices and earned a well-deserved promotion to a race seat with the renamed Spyker team in 2007.

Sutil’s speed was obvious from the start, and he easily saw off experienced team-mate Christijan Albers, but the team grew frustrated with his regular visits to the barriers.

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.

Impressed by a charge through the field at Spa and a breakthrough point in Japan, the team retained Sutil for the start of the Force India era in 2008, but progress was slower than hoped and his sensational Monaco drive was a rare beacon of promise in an otherwise anonymous year.


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 F3 Euro Series outfit 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 pair finished 1-2 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 in between the F1 testing outings that earned him a shot at the big time.