Mallya considering Sutil return

22/11/2012

Mat Coch writes:

Force India may have confirmed it will receive £50m worth of investment in recent days but it has yet to announce just who will race for the squad in 2013.

In October, Nico Hulkenberg confirmed his intention to leave the team at the end of the year for Sauber. It's left team boss Vijay Mallya the task of deciding who will race alongside Paul di Resta, with reserve driver Jules Bianchi, and former driver Adrian Sutil, the favourites.

"We are in no immediate hurry because there does not seem to be the kind of quality we need to replace Nico available, either on the current grid or in GP2," the Indian billionaire told the official F1 website.

"We need a driver who is clearly talented, a driver who is clearly quick," Mallya explained. "What we have found amongst our team drivers is that if they push one another it brings out the best in both of them, so it is very important for us to have somebody who is able to push Paul.

"So I am looking at options such as even bringing Adrian Sutil back," he added. "Adrian was always a very quick driver - yes, he was out of Formula One for one year, but I don't think that this would be a major handicap. So yes, I am looking and evaluating very carefully. The driver is very important for the team as a whole and we want to make the right call."

Bianchi has taken part in a number of Friday sessions throughout the season, while the Frenchman also competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, finishing second to the highly rated Robin Frijns.