Adrian Sutil is confident of holding onto his
Formula 1 seat with
Force India in 2009 despite having generally come off second-best in comparison with experienced team-mate
Giancarlo Fisichella this year, and the existence of a whole host of other pretenders eager to earn a drive with the Silverstone-based squad.
Having impressed enough over the course of his rookie season in the top flight in 2007 to be considered as a potential replacement for
Fernando Alonso at the front-running McLaren-Mercedes outfit this year, Sutil has failed to catch the eye on so many occasions in his sophomore campaign his standout Monaco performance, when he ran in fourth place in the closing stages of the race until being unceremoniously removed from the action by the out-of-control
Ferrari of defending
F1 World Champion
Kimi Raikkonen, obviously aside.
For the moment I am relaxed, the young German told
motorsport-total.com. My contract is valid also for next year.
Sutil has been out-qualified seven-four by Fisichella over the first eleven races of 2008, and rumours are circulating that Force India chairman Dr Vijay Mallya is keen to have a home-grown driver in the team next year possibly Red Bull-backed GP2 star Karun Chandhok, or A1GP race-winner and ex-grand prix ace Narain Karthikeyan.
The man from Starnberg, however, insists he is not fazed by any such speculation.
For the moment I see no danger, the 25-year-old underlined. The contract is firm, and the team has always been very loyal to me. Both of us [current drivers] have done well, so I think there is no reason why the team would want to change.
