Adrian Sutil might still return in 2013

2011 Abu Dhabi: Adrian Sutil at his penultimate grand prix weekend for Force India

It seems that Adrian Sutil has not given up hope of lining up on the grid in Australia six weeks from now. With three seats (four if Di Resta is not considered as confirmed) still left to be occupied at Force India, Caterham and Marussia, the ex-Force India driver might still be in with a chance of landing a drive with one of these teams.

There is no doubt that the highest chance of it happening is at Force India with Sutil having driven for them previously and knowing the team inside-out. Till a few days ago Sutil and Jules Bianchi were the front runners for the second seat at Force India alongside Paul Di Resta. The situation started to become hazy for the German when there was talk about Force India thinking of switching to Ferrari engines for 2014, which indirectly implied Bianchi’s candidature becoming stronger and stronger, day by day. Ferrari themselves have announced that they are doing everything to help Bianchi – a Ferrari Development Academy driver – get a seat for this season.

Obviously, Sutil’s management is no match for Ferrari especially because of its prowess and legacy in the sport. But it will be interesting to see how far Ferrari go to help Bianchi on the financial side if Force India are on the lookout for a pay driver.

With only 4 days to go until winter testing begins at Jerez, it looks very difficult for Sutil to take part in the pre-season tests but his manager Manfred Zimmerman is hopeful that Sutil can make it to the Australian GP grid.

“At the moment we are waiting for the final decision, and of course we would prefer it sooner rather than later”, said Zimmerman when asked about Sutil participating in the winter tests. But when asked about Sutil’s chances at the Grand Prix, he sounded more confident “Basically, we still believe in the 2013 comeback”.