© Sutton Images

After a series of solid if not spectacular performances in 2009, Adrian Sutil was linked with a move to McLaren and Williams for 2010. Despite the rumours he re-signed for Force India at the end of November. If they can provide him with a competitive car, he may well be able to demonstrate the talent he showed in lower formula.

A relatively late starter, Sutil began karting at the age of 14 and moved up to the Swiss Formula Ford, where he dominated, winning all 12 races from pole. After a year in Formula BMW with little success, he graduated to the Formula 3 Euroseries, finishing second in his second season behind close friend and team-mate Lewis Hamilton, earning himself a testing contract for Midland F1.

After winning the 2006 All-Japan Formula 3 championship, he was rewarded with a race seat at Spyker, the new name of the Midland team, making his debut at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, scoring 17th place. At Fuji he scored his first point, with an eighth place after qualifying 20th. It was the only point the Spyker team ever won.

At the end of the 2007 season, Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya lead a consortium to buy Spyker, which was renamed Force India. Sutil remained with the team, but did not score a single point in the 2008 season, and failed to finish on 11 occasions.

In 2009 he showed greater consistency despite the car struggling for pace, and at Monza he qualified second behind Hamilton, but despite posting the fastest time of the race, missed out on his first podium, finishing fourth.

In Brazil, he qualified third, but retired on the third lap after a collision with Toyota's Jarno Trulli. Trulli was furious with Sutil and publicly criticised him, believing him to be at fault for the crash, which also brought Fernando Alonso's race to an end. The stewards took no action against Sutil but Trulli was fined for his outburst.

In 2010 Sutil will look to build on the consistency he began to show towards the end of 2009, and 2010 could well see his first podium finish. With a competitive car, Force India would expect Sutil to finish the season with double figures.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Impressively quick over one lap Sutil has shown his natural speed, even in a relatively uncompetitive car. However, a number of collisions this season, have given him a reputation as a dangerous driver.

Career High
Setting the fastest lap during the 2009 Italian Grand Prix after starting on the front of the grid beside former F3 team-mate and good friend Lewis Hamilton.

Career Low
After starting in 18th at the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix, Sutil moved through the field to fourth - his best ever result - only to be shunted out of the race by Kimi Raikkonen.

Quotes
"I want to show what I can do on the track. That shouldn't be too much to ask. It is terribly hard to always end up on the back row when you know that you can do much better. You want to prove yourself, but it is hard if the car doesn't allow that."

"He is a promising young talent for us, but we have to be realistic with where we are at the moment in terms of the car. We are always working on improving it and we need to provide him with better cars to compete against the best teams and drivers. Adrian is a big asset for the future. I believe in the future he will be a big rival on the track to Lewis Hamilton." Colin Kolles, former Spyker team principal

Trivia
He is the son of the Uruguayan violinist, Jorge Sutil, and as a talented pianist himself, was set to follow his father into the concert hall until he discovered karting.

Jo Carter November 2009