Story highlights
Adrian Sutil signed by Sauber for 2014 season
Germany's Sutil has spent his F1 career with Force India
Finished 13th in last season's driver standings
Second Sauber driver still to be named
Germany’s Adrian Sutil has landed a drive with Sauber for the 2014 season, the Swiss Formula One team announced Friday.
The 30-year-old Sutil has spent his previous six seasons in F1 with the Force India team, who had already confirmed Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez as their drivers for the 2014 campaign.
Sutil effectively swaps teams with highly-rated compatriot Hulkenberg, who achieved Sauber’s best finish of 2013, a fourth place in the Korean Grand Prix.
Sauber will look to build on that strong run at the end of last season and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said they had been hoping to sign Sutil for some time.
Read: Hulkenberg returns to Force India
“We have been wanting to work together with him for a while,” she told the team’s official website.
“Adrian is not only very fast, but also brings a lot of experience, which is very important looking at the new regulations for next year,” she added.
Sutil, who has made 109 career starts in F1, said he was delighted to finally seal a deal.
“In the end the negotiations took a bit longer than planned,” he said.
“After six good years driving for Force India, with a lot of highlights, it’s now time to embark on a new challenge,” he added.
Sutil made his debut in F1 in 2007 for the Spyker team, which was sold to the Force India syndicate a year later.
He made the headlines for the wrong reasons in January 2012, when convicted by a German court on an assault charge after being involved in a nightclub incident in Shanghai following the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix.
Read: Sutil seeks F1 return after guilty verdict
The ramifications from the incident meant Sutil missed the 2012 season, being replaced at Force India by Hulkenberg, who had been the reserve driver at Force India.
Sutil regained his seat for 2013 and finished a fine seventh in his comeback race in Australia.
Sauber has not named a second driver for the upcoming campaign although young Mexican Esteban Gutierrez may be retained.
The driver switches have left Scotland’s Paul di Resta, who was at Force India last season, without a confirmed drive for 2014.
