Adrian Sutil was among the legion of wide-eyed, awe-struck Germans who spent their teens admiring Michael Schumacher but the Force India driver cannot wait to unhorse the idol of his teens in this year’s Formula One championship.
Sutil was just being ushered into the go-karting world by his elder brother when Schumacher joined Ferrari and went on to become, at least statistically, the best F1 driver ever before quitting in 2006.
Sutil welcomed the seven-time world champion’s return to Formula One grid with Mercedes and felt it would be a great incentive for all other drivers to compete against, and possibly outrace, the German legend.
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“Michael’s return is great news for Formula One, us and Michael himself,” Sutil said during his interaction with PTI journalists here.
“He is a genius, a hero of racing and we all admire him. So it’s nice to have him back. But at the same time, it’s every driver’s dream to beat him once and prove that they are better than him! He is a hero for me as well.
“But at the end of the day, you have to fight for your position and doesn’t matter who’s your hero and who’s driving. You want to be in the front, at any cost. How it happens, at whose cost, doesn’t matter,” said the lanky German, who scored his maiden points for Force India in the Italian Grand Prix where he came fourth.
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