Q & A with Adrian Sutil

The German, who was set for a career as a pianist before falling in love with motor racing aged 14, made a name for himself this season after several impressive performances for MF1 in Friday practice.

Having gone on to capture the Japanese Formula Three crown for TOM'S, and finish third in the Macau Grand Prix, Spyker's interest in Sutil grew stronger after the season - until the race deal was finally signed this week.

Autosport.com caught up with Sutil this morning to find out how it felt to be F1's newest driver.

Q: Congratulations on being confirmed. What is it like being an official grand prix driver?

Adrian Sutil: "Well great, for sure. I think everybody has the same feeling the first time he enters F1 as a driver, but this is a special day and I am really happy to do it with Spyker. I feel good in this team and I had a great time this year, so I am confident for the future. I am in good hands and, with all the progress in the team, I think we could also go more to the front in the next couple of years."

Q: When we spoke to you in Macau you said you felt you had only a slim chance of a race drive for 2007. When did the talks get serious?

Sutil: "Even up to last week I was thinking, 'Okay, I will just be a test driver in 2007'. I was happy about this, though, because I just wanted to be in F1 and do a real test driver's job. But then in the last few days I could feel that maybe there was a little bit of a chance to get the race seat, but I didn't expect it too much. If it didn't work out then maybe I would be a little bit sad, but that was all. Then in the last few days when I heard it was possible, I waited until the end, until we had signed the contract, and then finally at that moment I knew I was in."

Q: How important do you think your strong showings in Friday practice were this year in helping persuade Spyker to take you for next year?

Sutil: "Very important! The Fridays were the only chance to show my potential really. I had just two hours on a Friday and that is not so much driving - plus moving from F3 to F1 was a big step. I gave my best and although it was not easy it was really good - and sometimes I impressed myself too. That was the main reason why they signed me now.

"I did a good job, with no mistakes, and I was able to tell them a lot about the cars, the tyres and everything else they needed. I think that was 90 percent of the reason why I got this drive."

Q: And this is an exciting time to join Spyker isn't it?

Sutil: "Absolutely. The team has a new designer with Mike Gascoyne and he is a really good one. So everything is going in the right direction. We have Ferrari engines, and the team have much better people behind them, so it is a more serious team.

"Last year, with Mr. Shnaider in charge, people had their own thoughts and were not so convinced. Now they are working hard and want to have success. Everyone at Spyker now has pure passion and they love the sport, so it feels really good to be there now."

Q: Two years ago you were teammate to Lewis Hamilton at ASM in Formula Three Euroseries. It is quite fitting that both of you are becoming F1 drivers at the same time...

Sutil: "It is really nice, for sure. I like him. He is a good friend and we spoke all the year together about things. Now he has got the McLaren seat and in the end I got a seat as well. It is nice to see him in F1 again."

Q: How much did you learn during that 2005 campaign alongside him?

Sutil: "I learned a lot for sure. You learn the most if somebody is a little bit better and if he drives faster, so I could learn a lot from him. Especially in the races, I learned a lot. During 2005 I made a lot of mistake and that helped make 2006 my real year.

"My experience from the Euroseries meant I went to Japan a different guy. I had my problems in 2005 but then I was unbelievably consistent and good in 2006. It was also important to work with a professional team and also with a professional driver, which was always the problem in the previous years with not so good teammates or not so professional teams."

Q: Spyker boss Colin Kolles has been a big supporter of you. You must be looking forward to working with him.

Sutil: "It was great to see him again this year, and I like him also. From when I met him the first time (in F3) he really believed in me, and he knew he did not have the best team in F3 but he said always: 'I know you are a good driver.' I am really, really happy to work with him again. He does everything in a very professional manner."

Q: How do you see your relationship with Christijan Albers panning out?

Sutil: "He is a nice guy. I didn't meet him so many times this year on the race weekend, because he was always busy and it hard to find time to talk. But I am happy to be with a really good driver in the team. I think I can learn a lot from him. I will try to learn the most that I can from him, and I am really happy to do that."

Q: What is a realistic target for you this year?

Sutil: "It is hard to say at the moment, because I don't know how the car will be. We don't have testing until now and we don't know how the new car will react with the Ferrari engine. I want to wait until after the first testing before saying what I can expect.

"For sure we will not be in the top 10 in first qualifying, so we have to realistic. I have to say that we will probably start next year from where we finished last year, but we will move forward from there. But we will just work hard and learn a lot."

Q: Germany is obviously looking for a new star to replace Michael Schumacher. Does that make it more important for you to deliver results next year?

Sutil: "I feel no pressure. I always try to do my best, and in the end to maybe be successful and to win - this is what everybody wants. For sure everybody is watching who is the next Schumacher, but everybody tries to give his best and in the end there will be best - if it is a German driver or not we don't know. I will try to be the next Schumacher for sure."

Q: And how vital was it for you to get a long-term deal with the team, rather than a single-year contract where you would need to prove yourself?

Sutil: "This was a really important point. We were always looking for a longer-term contract for the future in F1. Now, I have my time, I can learn a lot and I don't need to push straight away and be afraid to lose this seat. I am in a good position and really good for the next few years to be sure in the team. I can work really well with them and do everything that we can to move forward."