Force not with Sutil in 2012

ADRIAN SUTIL has been axed by Force India for 2012 — with reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg taking his seat. Sutil ended 2011 in ninth place in the drivers' championship, his best career placing, and 15 points clear of team-mate Paul Di Resta. But the Silverstone-based team announced today that they would retain Di Resta after his impressive debut season in Formula One and promote Hulkenberg to their starting line-up. Force India took sixth place in the constructors' championship, with Di Resta bagging points in seven of the final nine races. Vijay Mallya, the team principal, said: "In Paul and Nico we have two extremely talented drivers with tremendous potential. "Paul caught the eye of everybody in the pit lane during his rookie season. "His speed, maturity and race craft confirmed we were right to believe in him and we look forward to working with him again next year. "As for Nico, we identified him as a rising star at the end of 2010 and chose to evaluate him during the course of this season. "Despite having only limited time in the car, he convinced us that he deserved a race seat for 2012. "Our new line-up means we say goodbye to Adrian, who has been with the team since we entered the sport. "He has been an integral part of our success over the past four seasons and we wish him well for the future." Hulkenberg was the Force India reserve last season having spent the previous year with Williams. He said: "I'm obviously delighted to be staying with Force India, and to be given the chance to race next year. "It wasn't easy to watch from the sidelines this season, but I did my best to help the team and show what I was capable of. "I'm extremely motivated for 2012, and would like to thank everyone for believing in me and giving me this chance. "I'm keen to get down to work over the winter to develop our new car and help the team build on this year's achievements. "The first test in Jerez can't come soon enough." Williams could be Sutil's next port of call as they are one of the few teams yet to finalise their team for 2012. He is the favourite to replace Brazilian Rubens Barrichello and become Pastor Maldonado's new partner.