Adrian Sutil’s dispute with Eric Lux is now formally over, after the former Force India driver withdrew the appeal against his assault conviction.

In late January, the German was found guilty of grievous bodily harm following a Shanghai nightclub incident that occurred early last year, and was handed a suspended 18-month jail term and EUR 200,000 fine.

Sutil’s lawyers immediately filed an appeal against the Munich court’s penalty, prompting the prosecution to do the same.

But Bild-Zeitung reports that the 29-year-old has now withdrawn that appeal, the German newspaper adding that the prosecution followed suit.

“I am very happy that I have been able to express myself to Eric Lux and don’t have to go to court again.

“I don’t want to have to go through another year like the one past.

“The topic is finished and I want to resume doing what I do best as quickly as possible — racing in formula one,” said Sutil.

Bild said Sutil’s FIA superlicense is not affected by his criminal conviction or his accepting of the sentence.

“We are very pleased that Eric Lux and Adrian have spoken and the topic is now closed,” said his manager Manfred Zimmermann.

“From now on we will concentrate only on the sport and do everything to get Adrian back in formula one.”

Eric Lux has revealed he has forgiven Adrian Sutil for injuring him in a Shanghai nightclub a year ago.
Former Force India driver Sutil received a German criminal conviction and suspended sentence for the incident involving a broken champagne glass, and has been left without a seat on the 2012 grid.

“I forgive Sutil,” Lux, a Lotus team executive, told Bild newspaper in Malaysia.

“I would even be happy for him if he came back to race and had a job to do. For me, everything is past; I don’t have emotions about it anymore,” the Luxembourger added.

Lux still bears a sizeable scar on his neck.

“Whether the penalty was too much or not enough is not up to me,” he continued.

“But if it had been one centimetre different, he would be spending the next 20 years in prison in China,” added Lux.

 McLaren has once again stepped in to prevent Lewis Hamilton from answering a reporter’s question about the Adrian Sutil affair.
At the recent launch of the MP4-27 car, a reporter asked Hamilton about his former friend Sutil’s accusation he is a “coward” for not appearing as a witness at the recent assault trial in Munich.

“We’ve been told that Lewis shouldn’t really go there because it (the conviction) might go under appeal,” the spokesman quickly intervened.

Hamilton smiled: “I’ll listen to him.”

The Briton’s former F3 teammate did indeed file an appeal, but not before Sutil’s father Jorge described Hamilton as “pathetic” in the German press.

Asked about the latest insult from the Sutil camp, Hamilton was once again prevented from answering in the Jerez paddock by a McLaren media minder.

“That question is not permitted,” the spokesman is quoted as saying by Auto Motor und Sport.

The German magazine article read: “We say that Hamilton should have the courage to speak for himself.”

In other courtside F1 news, former Benetton driver JJ Lehto’s attempt to appeal his prison sentence for manslaughter got off to a dismal start, the Swiss newspaper Blick reports.

Finn Lehto’s lawyer reportedly appeared in court to file the appeal but was “immediately arrested himself, apparently because of money laundering”.

The Gribkowsky corruption affair is expected to return to the F1 headlines on Wednesday.
F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone was questioned by Munich prosecutors in April on suspicion of being involved in the mysterious $50 million payment to the jailed German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky.

The affair surrounds the sale of formula one’s commercial rights to CVC some years ago, with 80-year-old Ecclestone insisting that he will ultimately be “exonerated” of “any wrongdoing”.

But it is only on Wednesday that the Briton will learn whether he has been charged and summoned to court, according to the Guardian.

The Times quotes him as saying: “I have done nothing so I have no idea what charges they could bring.

“I have done what I had to do at all times during this investigation and I have cooperated fully with the people in Germany. As far as I am concerned there are no problems.”

If a charge is brought, it would likely relate to ‘aiding and abetting’ the deliberately wrong valuation of the commercial rights by Gribkowsky, who was then the chief risk manager of BayernLB bank.

London’s Telegraph said it believes Ecclestone has been asked to cooperate by supplying evidence about Gribkowsky on the promise of a lighter sentence such as a monetary penalty.

“As long as it’s not too much. I’m only joking,” he said.

The newspaper also asked Ecclestone if he was aware Tuesday was the six-month deadline for either releasing or charging Gribkowsky: “I’ve not heard anything,” he answered.

Jul.5 (GMM)  Willi Weber is back in court and if convicted almost certainly faces jail.

Michael Schumacher’s long time manager, now handling the young career of Williams rookie Nico Hulkenberg, was sentenced to probation and a hefty fine by a German court two years ago.

The case surrounded the moving of money and assets from a merchandise company before it was declared insolvent.

For related matters regarding the fraudulent bankruptcy of the ‘Pole Position Marketing’ company, 68-year-old Weber has now returned to a Stuttgart district court on the charge of embezzling EUR 1.2 million.

German language reports indicate that a conviction of the multiple charges could result in a hefty sentence.

“I believe in justice,” Weber told Bild.  “If I have done something wrong, I stand by my responsibility.”

In the case, 21 court days are scheduled until 28 October.

Italian police have handed back Flavio Briatore’s luxury yacht.

The former Renault boss’ 60-metre boat ‘Force Blue’ was seized a month ago on suspicion of tax fraud.

But according to a report in the Spanish newspaper Diario Sport, Briatore has taken back possession with two conditions.

The first is a deposit of 5 million euros, and the promise that the boat will not leave Mediterranean waters.

The Sunday Times said in May that the evasion of millions in taxes could cost Briatore, expelled from F1 for the 2009 crashgate scandal, EUR 40 million in fines or a six-year prison sentence.

The 60-year-old denies any wrongdoing.

“It was a big television production by the police and completely unfair, so we are fighting them now,” he told the Telegraph.

“That boat was a commercial boat with a 50 million euro turnover in the past four years, but the police seem to think that was all for me.”

Briatore does not deny using the boat, and claims he is supported by seven Italian MPs who have written to the government “to find out what happened”.

“Of course, I use the yacht, because if you are going to own a business, it may as well be one you can enjoy — otherwise, I would have bought a funeral home.”
(GMM)

The first three official test days for the 2010 Formula One World Championship have concluded, and if we had to choose a short sentence to define them it would be, “Ferrari is a step above the rest.”

Even though, they’re just doing tests, the teams need to check-out and take the most advantage possible of the cars so to confirm the actual performance of the single-seaters and carry out the improvements and adjustments that are needed.  That’s what it’s all about.  It’s worth noting that since the first day, the Brazilian, Felipe Massa at the wheel of the Ferrari F10 evidenced the supremacy of the red racing car in the Valencia racetrack (right in these moment), during the second official tests.  We’ll see what happens.

Talking about single-seaters, several options have been seen.  Some quite innovative, as is the case of the Mercedes GP with its “double airbox”; the Toro Rosso’s union of the sharp fin with the rear wing, etc.  Different solutions to the problems that were brought forward to the engineers regarding the cars’ design.

Having said that, Ferrari returns to the leading positions forecasted by the experts.  The F10 looked solid with great rhythm in the long portions, with an exceptional performance of the red racing car driven by the Spaniard, Fernando Alonso, who made his debut today with Ferrari.  Alonso only needed one training session in the Comunidad Valenciana Ricardo Tormo Circuit to show that he was the fastest of all the pilots who have participated in these three days of collective tests.

The pilot from Asturias started out with the intention of making clear that he’s not just a Ferrari passer by, stopping the chronometer in 1:11.470, better time than his team-mate Felipe Massa, who marked the rhythm during the first two testing sessions.

Alonso won seven times Massa’s best time, and he made most of the more than one hundred racetrack’s laps in 1:12, a devastating rhythm.

However, the surprise of these tests has been in charge of the BMW-Sauber, in the hands of his pilots Pedro Martinez de la Rosa and the Japanese, Kamui Kaobayashi.  They have shown options to be on top.  The clear evolution of the BMW 2009 together with Ferrari engine’s performance has resulted in a machine with ambitions.

Both pilots have concluded in second position during the three testing days.  They have followed Ferrari’s wake in sessions that have helped Pedro to recover the feeling of a team’s official pilot.

As De la Rosa, the German, Michael Schumacher has recovered the control of an F1, the Mercedes GP, showing to be a step behind the Ferrari and the BMW-Sauber, during the first contact of the season.

The new and remodeled Toro Rosso has improved from last year, as well as the Spaniard, Jaime Alguersuari who complied with in his debut.  He has only driven one day in Cheste, but it has been helpful enough to show him he can finish among the best.  He got the best fourth time of the session, better than the time of his team-mate, Sebastien Buemi, and try to learn all that he can to continue progressing in the Formula 1.

The most noticeable note in a negative sense was given by the current world champion, Jenson Button who with his McLaren had to be pleased with the fifth best time, far from the Ferrari.  Together with Button, the Renault R30 still does not convince us.  In spite of the innovations and changes, the single-seater has not been able to find the solution.  Let’s hope Kubica can contribute with his experience to improve the car.