Adrian Sutil Arrested for Fraud

Former Formula One driver Adrian Sutil has been arrested in what German media have described as an international raid. Reports from the newspaper Bild state that the forty two year old has been detained on allegations of fraud and embezzlement. Sutil has not issued any public comment regarding the case.

Sutil competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2014 with Spyker, Force India and Sauber. He never reached the podium, although he delivered several strong results, including fourth place in the 2009 Italian Grand Prix and fifth place in the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix as well as the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix. He holds the record for the highest number of race starts without a podium with a total of one hundred twenty eight entries.

In 2011 he was involved in an incident at a nightclub in Shanghai in which Lotus executive Eric Lux sustained an injury caused by a champagne glass. Lewis Hamilton, who was a close friend at the time, was present in the venue and there has never been any suggestion of his involvement. Sutil was convicted of grievous bodily harm in 2012 and received a suspended sentence of eighteen months along with a financial penalty.

Sutil left the sport after the verdict then returned with Force India in 2013. His long friendship with Hamilton dated back to their time as teammates in Formula Three and the relationship deteriorated after the Shanghai incident. Hamilton was summoned as a witness but declined to testify and later changed his mobile number without notifying Sutil. Sutil later described Hamilton as a coward.

Speaking to Die Welt, Sutil said,

“Basically I only had a problem with one person, which was Mr Lux. He has offered me his hand and said that for him, the issue is finished.”

Sutil also said,

“What Lewis Hamilton does is not decisive for my ambitions to get back to Formula One. Just as with defeats, you have to deal with disappointments, it is as simple as that. I think no one should expect to find any friends in the paddock, and I do not look for them there either. I have enough friends outside of Formula One.”

Hamilton acknowledged in 2013 that the friendship had changed. He said,

“Things are different, definitely. We have spoken a couple of times and we have planned to get together at some stage and just have a chat basically.” He added, “We have been great friends for a long time and we have had some of the best times together along the way, especially in Formula Three. You can only really count your good friends on one hand maybe so, as people say, good friends are hard to come by. I want to make sure we get things right.”

Sutil’s father was a respected classical musician in Germany.

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