“What happened to them?” » – Adrian Sutil, or how to age like good wine

There was a time not so long ago when, before taking the names Racing Point then Aston Martin, the Silverstone team was called Force India. First (and for the moment only) Indian team in Formula 1, owned by the sulphurous businessman Vijay Mallya, it was able to find a place in the middle of the pack in the early 2010s. And when we think of Force India, we inevitably think of its two “historic” drivers: if many will have in mind Sergio Pérez with his 99 starts and his five podiums with the Asian team, others will also remember Adrian Sutil!

The German's career is closely linked to the Indian team: after his debut in Formula 1 with Spyker in 2007, Adrian Sutil was retained by Force India at the time of the takeover in 2008. An adventure which will last until 2013 (with a year on the sidelines in 2012, following an 18-month suspended prison sentence for violently attacking Éric Lux, one of the executives of the Lotus team-Renault, during the evening on the sidelines of the 2011 Chinese GP) and where he will compete in 92 Grands Prix.

A career marked by tragedy

An offensive driver, fast but irregular and sometimes too presumptuous, the native of Starnberg is building his reputation in the mid-table. In 2011, he had his best season with a 9th place in the championship. After his year of absence from the circuits in 2012, he returned with fanfare in 2013: during the inaugural Grand Prix in Australia, he played with the leading men and came close to a podium. Above all, in Monaco, he continued to overtake (it was still possible at the time!) and finished in 5th place, his best result in Formula 1.

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Results good enough to convince Sauber to recruit him in 2014: at that time, the Swiss team played against Force India with similar performances. Unfortunately, the turning point for the V6 turbo hybrid is poorly negotiated by Sauber and its engine manufacturer Ferrari and Adrian Sutil suffered the consequences with zero points, his worst score in Formula 1 (he even scored a point with Spyker in 2007). Above all, his season is marked by the terrible tragedy of Suzuka and the fatal accident of Jules Bianchi, who hit the crane coming to clear the car failed by the German at turn 7.

Shaken by this drama, Adrian Sutil hopes to relaunch himself from the 2015 season... but in a contractual imbroglio, Sauber decides to start Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr for the following year, to the detriment of Adrian Sutil who has one year left. CONTRACT ! At 32, the German has no choice but to settle for a role as reserve driver at Williams. An experience that will only last a year, before the two parties separate. This is the last trace of Adrian Sutil in Formula 1, who therefore leaves the discipline through the back door, without victory or podium to his credit (128 Grands Prix without a podium, a record at the time before being beaten by Nico Hulkenberg).

The good wines of Sutil

Since his Force India / Sauber years and his 128 Grands Prix, what has become of Adrian Sutil? At the end of his association with Williams, the now ex-Formula 1 driver is trying to find a seat in other disciplines. From the end of 2014, he did not hide his desire to participate in 24H of Le Mans and turns towardsEndurance to find a way out, or rather an entry point into the discipline. Announced as leaving for Nissan in 2015, Adrian Sutil sees the path falling through with the multiple delays of the Japanese manufacturer and the premature end of the project.

At the beginning of 2016, in complete discretion, Toyota tested him aboard his LM P1 on the Paul-Ricard circuit, but this test had no future. At the same time, he is taking Sauber to court and demanding 3,5 million dollars (or €3,15 million) from the Swiss team for not having respected his last year of contract.

Far from the circuits, Adrian Sutil is also moving away from his racing career and as the weeks go by, his name fades from the media space. Far from the cameras, he launched his own business in the trade of exceptional wines in 2017, “ Sutil's Fine Wines“. A new life which is successful for him and which notably allows him to expand his impressive collection of luxury cars: Bugatti Chiron, Ferrari Enzo, Pagani Zonda and other Koenigseggs of all kinds, everything goes!

But this love of ultra-sporty vehicles backfired in 2020, when Adrian Sutil made headlines in the newspapers again, this time for an accident near Monaco. The German, who was then driving at excessive speed, lost control of his vehicle. McLaren Senna LM, an extremely rare car sold in only 20 units worldwide, and injures a police officer.

An unexpected return to GT

In 2022, surprise: eight years after his last Grand Prix in Formula 1, Adrian Sutil returns to competition in Ferrari Challenge Europe, where he notably faces Dorian Pin, with the Gohm – Baron Motorsport team. At 39, he returned to success by winning the French round at Le Castellet, his first victory since the Formula 3 Japanese in 2006! The following season, in 2023, he won another victory at Mugello.

Congratulations 👏 to A. Sutil and Y. Uchida for winning the #FerrariChallenge Europe Trofeo @pirellisport & Trofeo Pirelli AM Race 1 🏆 at @MugelloCircuit!#Ferrari488ChallengeEvo #FerrariCorseClienti #FerrariRaces pic.twitter.com/mpJR69kkG6

— Ferrari Races (@FerrariRaces) October 26, 2023

Now aged 41, it seems that Adrian Sutil has hung up his helmet for good, ten years after the end of his adventure in Formula 1. If he will remain, despite himself, forever linked to the accident in Jules Bianchi, we must also remember the many successes of the German, whose career could have been very different with more inspired choices, on the track... and off it.

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