Nico Hülkenberg replaces Adrian Sutil at Force India
It had been expected for several weeks, but it is now official: Force India has decided to promote its third driver, Nico Hülkenberg, as a regular driver in place of Adrian Sutil. The former Williams driver will be alongside Paul di Resta, who has been retained thanks to the strong support from the team's engine supplier, Mercedes.
Vijay Mallya therefore waited until the day after the team’s Christmas party (the deadline he had set to decide on his duo of drivers) to make his official announcement. It is Adrian Sutil who bears the brunt of this game of musical chairs.
However, the German was far from undeserving throughout the season, as he finished the season in ninth place in the championship with 42 points, while his teammate only managed to score 27 points, ending his rookie year in thirteenth place. Nevertheless, the team believed that the potential for progression of the Scot was more significant than that of their driver over the past four seasons. The team owner thus declared: «Our new duo means we have to say goodbye to Adrian Sutil, who has been part of the team since we entered Formula 1. He has been an integral part of our success over the past four seasons and we wish him the best for the future.»
The options for the future of the interested party are becoming increasingly limited. The only realistic option remaining for him is Williams. Indeed, all the teams not looking for paying drivers have found their driver pairing for next season, except the team from Grove. This team is overwhelmed with experienced drivers knocking on its door with deep pockets: Adrian Sutil, but also Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna, released by Lotus Renault GP, and even Jules Bianchi…
This decision will allow Nico Hülkenberg to make his return to F1, after a year spent biding his time on the pit wall and only taking advantage of Friday morning free practice to show all his potential. As for Nico, we identified him as a star in the making at the end of the 2010 season and chose to evaluate him during the season. Despite his very limited time in the car, he convinced us that he deserved a race seat for 2012.
With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr
