From what I've seen Rosberg and a number of other drivers including Button, Massa and Alonso were there, though whether or not they saw anything I have no idea. Hamilton sent a statement saying that he couldn't clearly remember what happened that night which to be fair could be true as I'd imagine most people would be drinking a lot if they're out in a nightclub after just winning a grand prix. Back to Sutil though, I think his F1 career may unfortunately be over. With a criminal record it may be difficult to enter some countries plus it will also make it more difficult to find sponsorship to get into a race seat.
Mclaren clearly felt Lewis fulfilling his sponsors obligation was more important than going to the trial. If Lewis did not see anything then he would not be that much help and I don't think he should let it bother him. I am sure Ferrari would have done the same thing to protect their interest. Sutil is just bitter at the moment
I don't know how German courts work, but if you were asked to attend in a British court that would be what you did - Hamilton was on the prosecution's radar http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/16693899 but still managed to get out off it. Very bizarre!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/16952513 Sutil is lodging an appeal.......... The crap that Lewis has to contend with........... is starting earlier this year. I was just reading an old newspaper cutting from Sept 2008 when Lewis & Mclaren appealed against the retrospective 25 sec. penalty at Spa..........( IMO his best win to date). After a grueling five & a half hours in the Paris court, he flew to Singapore for the next race. Hope this Sutil stuff doesn't mess up any of his races.
Of course it won't. If the court date is set in or just before a race weekend or other F1 related event he'll just say he won't be able to make it, just like he did last time. No need to worry.
Looks like Mr Sutil has dropped his appeal http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/...gpupdate&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=news Anyone think he'll ever come back to F1?
Maybe with a backmarker team but I doubt it. I guess he'll end up racing in DTM or some other sportscar series. Who would want to sponsor him though?
I liked Sutil and thought he was a decent racer, but I don't think there are many people within F1 circles that will be pining for his return.
Not sure if any of the DTM manufacturers will want to be associated with him just yet. He should look at a private sportscar team - being generally run by rich enthusiasts they usually don't worry as much about their 'image', and would appreciate the cash if he's still got his personal sponsors.
Hold on a minute, people talking about Sutil trying to get back in a car may be a little premature right now, no matter what level of the sport it is in. For all levels he will need an FIA licence of some description, and if they are talking about giving Vettel a reprimand under the code of conduct for showing the middle finger, do you think a conviction for assault will go down well under the code?
We are talking about the new and improved code of conduct though. This was heavily updated following certain incidences a few years ago and includes clauses about behaviour away from the track as well as behaviour on it. It also references "Bringing the sport into disrepute" due to behaviour in your personal life and criminal records are now considered part of that (Hamiltons conviction for his wheel spin in Aus would have been enough to gain him an official reprimand and potentially a suspension of his licence had the current Code of Conduct been in place at the time). Gachot was back in 1995 and so was not covered under the current rules.
I think if Sutil applied for a licence after his 18 month period of suspended sentence was served and was refused he would have a case of taking them to the courts if a sanction has been served and the conviction has nothing to do directly with the employment in hand then you can't discriminate against them. For instance someone with a fraud conviction can be turned down for a bank job however old the conviction as its directly related. I think they'd be hard pushed to argue that assult in a nightclub would mean it was inappropriate or dangerous to let someone in a race car.
I think after his suspended sentence is served and after his record is cleared then yes he may return, but that may be a little too long out of the spot light for him to make a comeback as well. We are talking this season and 2 more before he will be available at the start of a season, so an effective 3 years out of the sport should be enough to kill most careers other than those who used to be at the very top. If he was an ex-world champ with many records under his belt then yes, he may make a comeback. While I think he had a lot of potential in motorsport he never did anything exceptional as he was never in the right car at the right time in F1 and by the time he can get a licence and start looking for a drive he will have been forgotten in my opinion....
18 months mean he'll be clear is actually July 2013 so middle of next season. I tend to agree that I don't think he'll be back either but it'd be interesting to see if he attempts too. If he puts himself on the market with some heafty money behind him he'll be a hard one for the teams needing pay drivers to resist considering his career record. I could certainly see one of the back of the grid teams taking a gamble on him if he had funds. I'll be interested to see if he bothers though. If I were him I'd move over to the IRL and start a new career.
