Sutil not threatened by de la Rosa test

Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya had previously indicated that both Sutil and 2008 teammate Giancarlo Fisichella would keep their drives.

However, at the announcement of Force India's new technical collaboration with McLaren and Mercedes, both parties acknowledged that McLaren were likely to recommend drivers to the team - leading to suggestions that current McLaren test drivers de la Rosa and Gary Paffett, and Mercedes DTM star Paul di Resta, could be in contention for Force India seats.

This speculation intensified when de la Rosa switched from McLaren to Force India for two of this week's three test days.

But Sutil believes the Spaniard's presence at Force India is just part of a fact-finding mission for McLaren as the teams begin their partnership.

"It doesn't worry me at all," said Sutil. "He's a nice guy. He came from McLaren just to have an idea about the car, and everything else we will see in the next weeks, months or in the future.

"I feel safe for myself. The team is happy with my performance and I have my contract here. So I don't have anything to worry about."

He said the experienced de la Rosa's feedback had proved beneficial for Force India.

"Pedro helped quite a lot with his statements and his comments about the car," said the German. "It just gave us a little bit of information about where we have to improve."

Sutil had his first taste of the 2009 rules at this week's test as Force India simulated next year's reduced level of aerodynamic grip, although the team stopped short of running the '09-style wings seen on some other cars.

He admitted that the reduction in grip had initially been hard to cope with, but felt the team made good progress.

"The first day in Barcelona was quite tricky with the new rules for 2009," said Sutil.

"So we had less downforce on the car, the new slick tyres on the car, and it makes it quite difficult to drive. The first impression was a quite oversteering balance and lots of car movements. Also, the track was very green.

"It went better through the day. The grip picked up and the stability of the car got better and better. But we had to get experience, especially with the tyres. We did some set-up work, especially with weight distribution, that ended up very positive."