Adrian Sutil on Monday said he is "extremely sorry" for hurting Lotus executive Eric Lux last year. The former Force India driver's two-day assault hearing, relating to an incident in a Shanghai nightclub after which Lux needed 24 stitches in his neck, began in a Munich court. "I'm sorry, extremely sorry, I didn't want it to happen," Sutil told the court, according to SID news agency. The 28-year-old German said he tried several times to apologise, but Lux did not take his calls. Lux testified […]

It is a mistake to write off Michael Schumacher. That is the claim of the seven time world champion's countryman Timo Glock, who drives for the back-of-the-grid Marussia team. 43-year-old Schumacher, meanwhile, is looking ahead to the third and final season of his comeback contract, having so far failed to score a single podium with the Mercedes team. "You can't underestimate him in any way," Germany's Sky Sports News quotes Glock as saying. "He is highly motivated and still someone who you always have to […]

Adrian Sutil, and possibly Lewis Hamilton, will be heading to court later this month over a nightclub incident that occurred last April. German Sutil, who has lost his Force India drive and is reportedly now out of the running for the Williams seat, is accused of cutting Lotus team executive Eric Lux with a broken glass at a post-event party in China. The 29-year-old, who celebrated a birthday this week, will defend the Munich court's charge of grievous bodily harm, with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung […]

Ferrari's 2012 car will be ready to roll at the first official test of the winter pre-season. A spokesman for the Italian team told Reuters as well as Autosprint (Italy) and SID news agency (Germany) that the new single seater will be revealed before its Jerez debut in early February. A precise launch date was not specified. "Definitely, the new project is a clean break with the past and a very different one," Luca Colajanni is quoted as saying. Spain's AS newspaper reported that Fernando […]

Nico Hulkenberg did not look like a driver with an uncertain future as the 2011 season closed at Interlagos. When asked by BBC commentator David Coulthard to put a figure on the likelihood he will return to the grid in 2012 after a year as Force India's Friday reserve, the young German grinned widely. "It's a high percentage. Two digits, a high percentage," he said. It is believed Hulkenberg will replace long-time team driver Adrian Sutil, who is hoping to rescue his career by signing […]

Adrian Sutil sounds relaxed about his future as the 2011 season pulls to a halt this weekend at Interlagos. Officially, the German is anxiously waiting to know if he will be retained by Force India, with Nico Hulkenberg tipped to succeed him. But in the background, Sutil's manager Manfred Zimmermann has been in detailed talks for some time with other teams, and the Interlagos grapevine whispered on Thursday that he is close to a deal with Williams. Sutil told SID news agency he is calm. […]

Sebastian Vettel has revealed one of his greatest joys is receiving a "nice trophy" on the formula one podium. Also a collector of his numerous winning helmet livery designs, the back to back world champion admitted on Monday that taking home a new "cup" from a grand prix is better than mere money. "I could give up anything, but not the trophies," said the 24-year-old, who in his 80 F1 races has won 21 times and stood on 35 podiums. "When you've put everything into […]

Nico Hulkenberg on Thursday confirmed rumours his Force India colleagues have been asked to wait longer on the team's decision about 2012. Boss Vijay Mallya hinted this week that, despite scheduling an earlier Abu Dhabi decision about next year's lineup, he is yet to decide which driver out of Hulkenberg, Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta will be left in the cold. Speculation remains rife, however, that Scot di Resta will be paired alongside German Hulkenberg. "We don't know," Hulkenberg, 24, is quoted by the […]

F1's class of 2012 will take some more shape at the F1 Commission meeting this week in Geneva. It was already known that Team Lotus, set to be Caterham next season, and Enstone based Renault - to be renamed Lotus - will likely have their applications rubber-stamped on Thursday. The Sunday Times also reports that Virgin could be set for an official name change. The team is currently known as Marussia Virgin Racing, in deference to its Russian supercar partner, but the chassis continues to […]

The first reports of 'Delhi belly' affecting a formula one team this week have emerged from the McLaren garage. SID news agency reports that the famous British team had to fly in from Woking some replacement staff, who had been placed on standby in case those in India suffered the notorious traveller's illness. The report quoted boss Martin Whitmarsh as revealing that four team members have been affected, with at least two already replaced. Auto Motor und Sport says the affected number is closer to […]

Nico Hulkenberg signed a contract this week to race with the Force India team in 2012, according to reports. The 24-year-old made a promising grand prix debut in 2010, culminating in pole position in Brazil, but he was replaced by Williams with the well-backed Pastor Maldonado ostensibly for financial reasons. Germany's motorsport-total.com reports that the German, who has been Force India's reserve and Friday practice driver in 2011, will make his return to racing in 2012, replacing his experienced countryman Adrian Sutil. The report said […]

Most Germans think Sebastian Vettel will break his countryman Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles. At 24, Vettel is already F1's youngest ever double world champion, and he is signed up with the dominant Red Bull team for at least the next three seasons. SID news agency commissioned the German market research company Promit to carry out a survey as to whether respondents think Vettel will one day be a record eight-time title winner. 59.5 per cent answered yes, with 24.6pc believing 42-year-old Schumacher's […]