Adrian Sutil may be in Ferrari’s sights

Now official, Adrian Sutil’s eviction from Force India reinforces the rumors sending the German to Grove, replacing Rubens Barrichello, the last available seat – aside from that of HRT.

Unlike his Toro Rosso colleagues, Adrian Sutil cannot claim to be surprised by his employers’ decision, as rumors of his departure were persistent. He has already been able to start discussions with other teams for 2012, as he mentioned last week in Speed-Magazin: « Of course, there have been discussions with many teams for some time, but nothing is signed. Williams is obviously one of the teams with a free seat: unfortunately, I cannot say more about the ongoing discussions, but I hope there will be a decision by mid-December. »

For its part, during the official announcement of Pastor Maldonado as a main driver and Valtteri Bottas as a reserve, the British team assured that it would reveal the identity of the holder of its second available seat – an experienced driver according to Frank Williams’ statements – in due course.

However, a new opportunity is currently emerging for the German, who, according to *Auto Motor und Sport*, is being considered by Scuderia Ferrari to replace Felipe Massa. A replacement as early as 2012 seems very unlikely today, as the team has renewed its confidence in the Paulista, who has a contract until the end of the next season. However, Adrian Sutil is now one of the contenders for the second Ferrari seat for 2013, after recent rumors claimed that Robert Kubica was also in the running despite the uncertainty surrounding him at the moment.

Regarding Sutil, this information is partly based on the German’s desire to sign only a one-year contract with Williams to aim for a more prominent seat in 2013, as the driver market is expected to be more open, particularly at the top of the hierarchy. However, the Grove team wishes for a longer-term commitment, over two seasons, and currently has the option to put Adrian Sutil in competition with the likes of Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna, who are available since Romain Grosjean’s appointment and can bring in a budget if necessary, as well as Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, who have been sidelined by Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Williams could also decide to keep Rubens Barrichello who, according to Auto Motor und Sport, has convinced a group of sponsors to support him with a total of five million euros in order to compete with the backing that Medion has provided Adrian Sutil for years, even though, last May, that sponsor did not rule out the possibility of continuing the adventure with Force India even if Adrian does not drive for the team.

We may not be finished with surprises in terms of transfers.