That is the claim of the German driver’s manager Manfred Zimmermann, who has so far failed to secure Sutil a race seat for the forthcoming season after his five consecutive years with Force India.
“We will fight to stay in formula one and we’re still hoping to get a seat for 2012 — even if it is in the course of the season,” he told the Sport Bild magazine.
He played down the impact of the 29-year-old’s grievous bodily harm conviction, insisting there has been “encouragement and support from all sides”.
Zimmermann said that at the very end of last season, Sutil was juggling four concrete options for 2012 that ultimately “slipped like soap” through their fingers.
“Unfortunately in formula one, money is always important,” he explained. “It simply didn’t work out in the end.”
As for the role the assault charge played, Zimmermann conceded: “I can’t really judge.”
However, for Sutil’s career, all is not lost.
“We have had enquiries in the past days from several series such as Indycar and touring cars. In America Adrian is a very highly regarded driver.”
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