Adrian Sutil facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Adrian Sutil
Sutil at the 2011 Italian Grand Prix
Born	(1983-01-11) 11 January 1983 (age 42) Starnberg, Bavaria, West Germany
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	German
Active years	2007–2011, 2013–2014
Teams	Spyker, Force India, Sauber
Car number	99
Entries	128 (128 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	124
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	2007 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry	2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Previous series
2022–2023 2006 2005–2006 2004–2005 2003 2002	Ferrari Challenge Europe Japanese F3 A1 Grand Prix F3 Euro Series Formula BMW ADAC Swiss Formula Ford
Championship titles
2006 2002	Japanese F3 Swiss Formula Ford

Adrian Sutil (born January 11, 1983) is a German racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2014.

Adrian grew up in Starnberg, Germany. He started karting when he was 14 years old. In 2002, he moved to single-seater racing in the Swiss Formula Ford series. He won the championship that year.

He then raced in Formula Masters Austria and Formula BMW ADAC. In 2005, he was the runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the Formula 3 Euroseries. In 2006, Adrian went to Japan. He won the All-Japan Formula Three Championship. He also finished third in the Macau Grand Prix.

Adrian joined the Midland F1 test team. Later, he became a race driver for the new Spyker F1 team in 2007. He continued with the team when it became Force India in 2008. He raced for them until 2011. Adrian returned to Force India in 2013. He then competed with the Sauber team in 2014.

Adrian Sutil's Racing Journey

Early Racing Years

Adrian Sutil began his racing career with karting at age 14. In 2002, he moved to Swiss Formula Ford 1800. He won all ten races that season, starting from the front row every time. He also won five races in the Formula Masters Austria championship.

Formula BMW and Formula Three

In 2003, Sutil joined the Formula BMW ADAC championship. He finished sixth overall but did not win any races. The next year, he moved to the Formula 3 Euroseries. He raced for Colin Kolles' team, which helped him later in his career.

Sutil stayed with the ASM team in 2005. His teammate was Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton won more races, but Sutil was a strong competitor. He finished second to Hamilton in the championship. He also came second in the Marlboro Masters of Formula Three race.

Adrian raced for A1 Team Germany in the first A1 Grand Prix series. He competed in three events. In 2006, he raced in Japan and won the All-Japan Formula Three Championship. He also finished third in the Macau Formula Three Grand Prix. He made one appearance in Japanese Super GT.

Formula One Career

Midland (2006)

Sutil testing for Midland F1 Racing in February 2006

In 2006, Adrian Sutil entered the world of Formula One. He became one of the test drivers for the new Midland F1 Racing team. This was thanks to his connection with Colin Kolles, who ran the team.

Sutil drove for the team as the third driver in some races. By his third appearance, the team was bought by Spyker Cars. At the end of 2006, he was promoted to a full-time race driver for the 2007 season. His teammate, Christijan Albers, said Adrian was a good driver and a big talent.

Spyker (2007)

Sutil driving a Spyker F8-VII at the 2007 French Grand Prix

In 2007, Sutil often performed better than his teammate Albers. Albers was later replaced by Markus Winkelhock. Sutil also out-qualified Winkelhock. Another driver, Sakon Yamamoto, then took over the second seat. Sutil performed better than Yamamoto in races.

In the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sutil was the first Spyker driver to beat another classified finisher. This was Honda's Rubens Barrichello.

At the Turkish Grand Prix, Sutil had to start from the pits due to fuel problems. He finished five laps behind. At Monza, the Spykers were not very competitive. Sutil finished 19th, ahead of only his teammate.

Sutil driving for Spyker at the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix

At the Belgian Grand Prix, Sutil showed the car's improvements. He qualified well and passed several cars during the race. He ran as high as 12th before finishing 14th. He received much praise for his efforts.

Two weeks later, at Fuji Speedway in Japan, Sutil almost scored Spyker's first point. He was briefly in 8th place on the last lap. However, Vitantonio Liuzzi passed him. Later, Liuzzi received a penalty for passing under yellow flags. This promoted Sutil to 8th place, earning him one point.

Sutil driving Spyker F8-VII B at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, Spyker's last race

Spyker was not competitive in the last two races. Sutil did not finish either of them. Many people praised Sutil for his 2007 season. Even with a difficult car, he impressed by outperforming his teammates. He also challenged drivers with better equipment.

Force India (2008–2011, 2013)

2008

Sutil driving for Force India at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix

Sutil stayed with the team in 2008. It was now called Force India. The first two races ended with mechanical problems for him.

In Monaco, Sutil was running in fourth place. With six laps left, Kimi Räikkönen hit his car from behind. Sutil's car was damaged, and he had to stop. Force India's technical director, Mike Gascoyne, felt Räikkönen should be punished. No punishment was given.

On October 17, Force India announced Sutil would stay for the 2009 season.

2009

Sutil and Force India hoped for better results in 2009. In Australia, Sutil finished ninth, just outside the points. In Malaysia, he finished 15th in a rain-shortened race.

Sutil driving for Force India at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix

In China, Sutil was in sixth place. But he crashed with six laps left due to aquaplaning. In Bahrain, he was penalized for blocking another driver. He apologized to Mark Webber for the incident.

In Spain, Sutil crashed with Jarno Trulli on the first lap. Both drivers had to retire. In Monaco, Sutil finished 14th. He finished 17th in Turkey.

Sutil leading Fernando Alonso at the 2009 British Grand Prix

In Britain, Sutil had a brake failure in qualifying. He had to start the race from the pit lane. He finished 17th.

Sutil at the 2009 German Grand Prix

In Germany, Sutil qualified a career-best seventh. He was in second place for a while during the race. But a collision with Kimi Räikkönen after a pit stop meant he had to stop again. He finished 15th. This was the second time a crash with Räikkönen cost Sutil points.

In Hungary, he retired early due to an engine problem. In Valencia, new car upgrades helped him. He qualified 12th and finished 10th, showing the team was improving.

In Belgium, Sutil qualified 11th. His teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, got an amazing pole position. Sutil finished 11th.

Sutil at the 2009 Italian Grand Prix

At the Italian Grand Prix, Sutil achieved his best qualifying result, second place. He finished fourth in the race. He also set the fastest lap of the race, his first in Formula One. This was his best finish in F1.

In Singapore, Sutil retired after colliding with Nick Heidfeld. He was fined for causing the accident.

Sutil during practice for the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix

In Japan, Sutil qualified fourth. But he received a penalty for not slowing down under yellow flags. He started eighth and finished 13th.

In Brazil, Sutil qualified third in the rain. But he retired on lap one after a collision with Jarno Trulli. Trulli blamed Sutil, but stewards took no action against Sutil.

In Abu Dhabi, Sutil qualified 18th. He finished 17th after a difficult race.

2010

Sutil driving for Force India at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix

Force India renewed Sutil's contract for 2010. He qualified tenth in the first two races. But he didn't score points due to a collision and a mechanical problem. Sutil said the team could now score points in dry races. He proved this with a fifth-place finish in Malaysia.

He finished 11th in China. He scored points in Spain (7th) and Monaco (8th). Sutil continued to score points in Turkey (9th), Canada (10th), Europe (6th), and Britain (8th).

2011

Sutil at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix

Sutil stayed with Force India for 2011. His new teammate was Paul di Resta. Sutil finished ninth in Australia. He finished eleventh in Malaysia.

In Monaco, he had his best result of the season, finishing seventh. He retired in Canada after hitting a wall. He finished ninth in Valencia. At his home race, Sutil finished sixth, his best of the season.

He finished seventh in Belgium. He retired at Monza due to a hydraulics problem. He finished eighth in Singapore. In Japan, he finished eleventh. He also finished ninth in India.

At the final race in Brazil, Sutil finished sixth. This moved him to ninth place in the championship standings. Sutil left Force India at the end of the 2011 season.

2013

Sutil at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix

On February 28, 2013, Force India announced Sutil would return. He finished seventh at the first race, Australia. He even led for several laps, showing a strong comeback.

In Malaysia, he retired due to problems with a new wheel nut system. He also retired from China after being hit by another car. At the Monaco Grand Prix, he impressed by passing world champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. He finished fifth in that race.

Sauber (2014)

Sutil at the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix

Adrian Sutil joined Sauber for the 2014 season. For the first six races, Sutil struggled with a slow car. He also made some mistakes that cost him points. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Sutil crashed his car due to aquaplaning. Double yellow flags were waved. The next lap, Jules Bianchi crashed into a recovery vehicle at the same corner. Bianchi later passed away from his injuries. Sutil had the most retirements (DNFs) that season.

In November 2014, it was announced that Sutil would not race in Formula One in 2015.

Williams (2015)

Sutil joined Williams as a reserve driver in 2015. He was chosen because Williams wanted an experienced driver. This was in case their main drivers, Valtteri Bottas or Felipe Massa, could not race.

Racing record

Career summary

Adrian Sutil's Life Outside Racing

Adrian Sutil was born in Starnberg, West Germany. His parents, Monika and Jorge, are both professional musicians. His mother is German, and his father is from Uruguay. Adrian has two brothers, Daniel and Raphael.

Adrian is a talented pianist. He speaks German, English, and Spanish fluently. He also knows a little Italian.

Amazing Car Collection

Adrian Sutil loves cars and has a very large collection. Many people say he has the biggest car collection of any Formula 1 driver, past or present!

Some of the cool cars in his collection include:

• Koenigsegg Agera S
• Koenigsegg CCXR
• Koenigsegg One:1
• Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut
• Koenigsegg Regera
• Pagani Huayra BC
• Pagani Zonda Viola
• Ferrari 488 Pista Spider
• Ferrari Enzo
• Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta
• Ferrari Monza SP1
• Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Centenaire (1 of 4)
• Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport "Soleil de Nuit"
• Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse Rembrandt Edition (1 of 3)
• Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse Black Bess (1 of 3)
• Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport
• Bugatti Chiron Sport 110 Ans
• Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport "Green Rhapsody"
• Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss
• McLaren Senna LM

McLaren Senna LM Incident

On July 30, 2020, Sutil was driving his McLaren Senna LM in Monaco. He lost control of the car and crashed into an electricity pole. His Senna, which is a very rare car (only 35 were made), was badly damaged. The front parts of the car were detached, and the windshield was broken. Luckily, Sutil was not hurt in the crash. Instead of being scrapped, his McLaren Senna LM was rebuilt. The repair process took over two years and was finished in late 2022.

Images for kids

• 

  Sutil at the 2011 Italian Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil testing for Midland F1 Racing in February 2006

• 

  Sutil driving a Spyker F8-VII at the 2007 French Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil driving for Spyker at the 2007 Belgian Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil driving Spyker F8-VII B at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, Spyker's last race

• 

  Sutil driving for Force India at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil driving for Force India at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil leading Fernando Alonso at the 2009 British Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil at the 2009 German Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil at the 2009 Italian Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil during practice for the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil driving for Force India at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix

• 

  Sutil at the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix

See also

In Spanish: Adrian Sutil para niños