And it's not for us to decide whether Force India is a title-fighting caliber team or not, as Sutil himself answered to that question in a recent interview with Autosport. While admitting the immense progress experienced by the team under the guidance of Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, Sutil – who has been with the squad since its Midland days – agreed that fighting for the championship is a too big of a battle for Force India at the moment.
“When Vijay Mallya took over the team, I suddenly had a much better feel. Since then I am absolutely happy here and I believe in the team,” said Sutil about his current collaboration with Mallya and the Silverstone based team.
“I would not say that we can become a winning team. People should be a bit careful, because in my opinion it is not possible to keep up with the top teams. Top five, top six, that's where we find ourselves, in the midfield. We will try to rise up, but that could be difficult.”
“I honestly do not see that we will fight in the coming years for the world titles. That is unrealistic,” added the German driver.
Sutil has been recently linked with a switch to Renault for the 2011 season of F1, where he would partner Robert Kubica. The ambitions of the French manufacturer are set pretty high for the years to come, with the Polish driver announcing – prior to his signed 2-year extension – that he would only stay at Enstone if the team would make a title push in the years to come. Whether that's enough of a guarantee for Sutil – in case he's considering such a move – we'll probably find out in the months to come.
Google News