NEW DELHI: Adrian Sutil has no illusion about the unfancied car he drives but the Force India driver reckons he stands good chances of scoring points in some of the wet tracks lining up in this year's Formula One calendar.
The German proved his credential as an excellent driver in wet conditions with a sensational race in the Monaco Grand Prix, where Kimi Raikkonen denied him a career-best fourth place finish when his Ferrari bumped into Sutil's VJM01, wrecking the youngsters hopes of a dream finish.
Sutil admits it's not easy to move up from the back of the grid with an old car but admitted he was fancying his chances in other wet tracks.
"Well, with wet conditions for sure the chances are much better. There will come some tracks like Spa, Valencia, Singapore, and my home GP in Hockenheim, where I do hope to have good results," he said.
Sutil could not finish the race in Monaco but still walked away with the plaudits, and an apology from Raikkonen too. Though he was hailed in the paddock club as the obvious driver of the race, Sutil refuses to indulge in daydreaming.
"... we do have to keep our feet on the ground -- and we should not dream. Chances like this do not come so often," Sutil said.
"And if I'm honest, it will be very difficult for us in the next races. We are the only team that does not have a new car. We still drive with the '07 car. So we will push and do whatever is possible. But it will be difficult this year to have consistently good results," said the youngster, all candour.
Though he is still rankled by the Monaco mishap that dashed his hopes of securing five invaluable points for Force India, Sutil says he has overcome the setback.
"The great response and all the congratulations from almost all the F1 team principals and TV experts made me very proud as it indicates that my drive will help me to go further in F1."
Sutil has already forgiven Raikkonen and said he has not lost his respect for the Ferrari ace.
"Things like this do happen, even with world champions. Kimi had a bad weekend, but he is one of the best F1 drivers and I do have a lot of respect for him. He came to me and gave his apology to me. I'm sure that he is really sorry that he could not avoid the accident," he said.
After a string of poor shows, Sutil's Force India seat seemed under a cloud but the German said he always had the support of the men who matter most.
"My boss Vijay Mallya and (team principal) Colin Kolles gave me all the time and the support that I needed. I never had the impression that my berth in F1 would be endangered. But for sure the Monaco weekend gave me a big push, which hopefully I can translate into a respectable result in Montreal," he said, ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.
