Should Sutil be Sat?

Today (Thursday 14th January), it has emerged that erstwhile Sahara Force India driver Adrian Sutil, has returned to his former teams factory for a seat-fitting. While it remains unclear whether or not the fitting puts the German in pole-position for the final seat on the 2013 F1 grid, it will, and has, undoubtedly raised many eyebrows.
As is common knowledge now throughout the F1 fraternity, justice is a word not particularly understood within the sport. You only have to consider for example, the prolific names who have found themselves heading for the sports exit-door in recent history; Heikki Kovalainen, Timo Glock, Jamie Alguersuari, Nick Heidfeld, to name but a few. All incredibly talented drivers with a proven speed-credentials in Motorsports' pinnacle class, yet sidelined through above all else, a lack of funding.
Of course, it's not the funding that has caused a stir with the Sutil-Situation, it's strangely enough, his criminal record. Should a man previously convicted of GBH really be given a second chance in the Sport? Many will say no, of course he shouldn't. Formula One in the grand scheme of things, maintains a clean-cut image, with the intense level of sponsorship and role-model occupation of it's drivers, being essential to the very cornerstone of the sport. So with Sutil's tainted reputation, it's a surprise to many that Force India team boss Vijay Mallya is at least considering giving the German a second chance, whether it be merely a pre-season test next week in Barcalona, or a season-long drive back in the big-time.
Now back to the issue of funding... despite not being the do-all and end-all in this conundrum, it does still play a colossal part. As in Sutil's first impressive spell in Formula One, he carries with him significant backing from sponsors such as Medion, Einstein & Newton, and Capri-Sonne, resulting in a sufficient level of pennies to fuel Sutil in Formula One. Dig a little further, and it comes to stand that Mallya's own wealth is somewhat in danger, with his primary buisness interest, Kingfisher Airlines on the brink of folding. Sutil's backing might not only be sufficient for himself, but also a safety net for the team as a whole, one must feel.
Sutil's main rival for the race-seat is Jules Bianchi; a man who himself carries a strong argument warranting him the drive. Having already tested the all-new VJM06, and carrying backing from the juggernaut that is Ferrari, Bianchi is far from an ugly option for Force India. Having displayed raw pace in numerous 2012 Friday test-sessions, the Frenchman is embedded within the team set-up, which must be seen as an important factor considering the lack of time between now and the first race in Melbourne, just over a month away.
With so many variables at play, it's easy to see why the final driver-announcement for 2013 has become a somewhat saga. A man who much Mallya in terms of giving the nod/guidance to fast men, Peter Coe (Seb Coe's father and trainer), once said that one of the biggest factors in being successful in sport, is 'managing the variables'surrounding the event itself. I hope for the teams sake, that such variables don't begin to underpin a successful and well-loved operation, such as Sahara Force India.

Why the Italian Grand Prix Could Prove Crucial

With dramatic Grand Prix weekends becoming the norm so far this season, it's becoming ever harder for teams, driver, the media and fans alike to decipher just what happens and why in the world of Formula One 2012. Whether it be on-track action, off-track rumours, F.I.A stances or just simply coming to terms with yet another Vettel helmet design, this F1 season has been relentless thus far.

 So it was no surprise come late-Sunday afternoon that questions outweighed answers, as the Autodromo Nazionale Monza had as ever played host to another thrilling Italian Grand Prix, with a swarm of questions and debates surrounding the cockpits of practically every driver currently participating in the f1 circus. Why then? In years gone past the timing of Monza's role in F1 shortly after the summer break, has allowed the Italian venue to become traditional platform for teams and drivers to announce their intentions with regards to drivers and staff for the forthcoming season. However, this season more than any other in current memory, that simply hasn't been the case.

 Some what appropriately, lets start from the top, and the man single handedly responsible for the stall in the drivers market: Lewis Hamilton. Comments from well-respected BBC F1 pundit Eddie Jordan shortly after the Belgium Grand Prix suggested that Hamilton is set to swap Mercedes power next season for, well, Mercedes power, in the form of the German marque's works team. Jordan went on to exclaim that Hamilton's proposed move would be made all the more harmonious by Michael Schumacher's rumoured imminent retirement. Despite the outspoken audacity of Jordan's comments, the move would make sense from a marketing point of view; since the start of year Hamilton has become the product of the XIX entertainment company, or to put it frankly, a management company driven by making Lewis as rich as possible. From their point of view, and to what is now common knowledge in the paddock, financially speaking Mercedes would be able to offer a much more financially lucrative offer to Hamilton then that of McLaren's contract renewal offer, as the latter attempts to reduce costs in response to the economic downturn. 

 Away from financial wrangles, Hamilton would almost certainly be more competitive in a McLaren next season, with the team being perhaps the sports most established front-runner alongside Ferrari for decades, and on the back of a 2012 season in which their car so far has been jostling for the 'quickest car' title consistently, unlike that of Mercedes' somewhat mediocre WO3 challenger.

With this in mind, and on the back of a dominant win in Italy at a seemingly delicate stage of contract negotiations, could Hamilton now be ultimately convinced to stay with the Woking based team? I'd personally like to think so.

 Despite the intense focus on Hamilton's future of the course of the weekend, it wouldn't be the Italian Grand Prix without the prime focus of course being placed on Ferrari. Come the end of Saturday afternoon, the team and tifosi alike found themselves in a spin, with Championship leader and Ferrari's adopted son Fernando Alonso set to line-up 10th on on the grid, with the massively under-performing and seemingly out-going Felipe Massa an impressive third behind the two McLaren's. A ray of hope for the Brazilian's hopes of staying at the Maranello team beyond this season maybe? 

 That ray turned into a blinding beam come the end of lap one on the Sunday, with Massa up to second having passed Button, and hanging onto the coat-tails of race leader Hamilton. How quickly hopes can be dashed; come the end of the race, Massa found himself in a poor fourth place, having been overtaken by team-mate Alonso, and perhaps more significantly, the man tipped to snatch his seat next season, Sergio Perez...
 Mr.Perez. Many peoples tip to represent the prancing horse alongside Alonso in 2013, despite comments from Luca De Montezemolo earlier this season stating that the Mexican simply has a 'lack of experience' not worthy of his famous race team for the mean time. These comments came as a surprise and continue to echo around the paddock, with Perez having achieved two podiums (one of which came at Monza, in front of the Tifosi, on Ferrari home turf...), displayed a wise head on young shoulders on the track, aswell as demonstrating a spectacular talent at understanding and nursing this seasons' Pirelli rubber time after time, and often gaining big points for himself and Sauber as a result. All these aspects to Sergio Perez are aspects which Felipe Massa of late can simply not claim, So with this in mind, not to mention his position in the Ferrari Young Drivers Program, it is no wonder that Perez continues to impress and be tipped.
 The only other candidates for the seat seem to lie within the Force India set-up, with Nico Hulkenberg and Paul Di Resta being equally impressive throughout this year and seasons previous. Out of the two however, it would be thought that Hulkenberg would be favoured should the phone-call from Maranello reach the Force India motor-home, with Di Resta being tied-up with rival marque Mercedes in terms of career guidance aswell as contractually most probably too.
 Having left Monza then, common sense from a purely sporting point of view would suggest that Hamilton will stay with McLaren, leaving a door open for Di Resta to join Mercedes should Schumacher, as widely expected, walk away from the sport for good shortly after the final race in Sao Paulo.
 As for Ferrari? Well, Monza only went to highlight Massa's inability to perform at the very sharp end of the grid, leaving tails wagging in reference to Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. However, it could well be case of which driver is prepared to accept only a one-year deal, with current World Champion Sebastian Vettel believed to be in-line/agreement for a move to Ferrari come the start of the 2014 season, and the new generation turbo era.
So, all taken into account, one would believe that crucially, Hamilton's win, Perez's perfect performance, Massa's demise and Di Resta's continued pace during the Italian Grand Prix could well be sticking points in the competition for race seats come the end of the remaining eight races, and the start of 2013.