Sutil Linked to Bloody Fist-Fight with Renault Official

Adrian Sutil appears to have been involved into a fist-fight with an official of Lotus-backed Renault F1 Team after the Chinese Grand Prix, according to a report from the GMM news agency, citing several media in Italy and France. After F1 broadcasters RAI and TF1 had already reported earlier this month that the Force India driver got into a fight in a nightclub in Shanghai, further information on the topic surfaced on Tuesday.

According to Italian website 422race.com, it seems that the very right hand man of Lotus Renault owner Gerard Lopez, Eric Lux, may have been the other party involved in the scandal. The whole thing went down in the M1NT nightclub, where Lux reportedly left the scene bloodied.

“I can confirm that there has been an incident on Sunday after the Chinese GP involving Eric Lux,” a spokesman for the Lotus Renault GP team admitted after the race. Covering the whole thing would have been useless anyway, since Lux was seen in the paddock in Istanbul, 3 weeks later, with scars on his right hand.

“Lotus Renault GP is however not in a position to make any comments, as it is a private matter between Eric and the other person.”

According to eyewitnesses, the fight took place in a VIP room of the aforementioned nightclub, with Lux leaving the premises “with blood streaming down his neck”. The same sources note that Lewis Hamilton was also rushed from the scene by his bodyguard minutes later.

“It is a private matter between the parties involved and we don't have any information on that, so we don't want to make any comment,” confirmed a Force India spokesman. The FIA has launched an own investigation into the matter as well.