Sutil wants 'amicable' solution to Lux affair

Adrian Sutil's manager has admitted he is seeking an "amicable" solution with Eric Lux amid a scandal that could cost the Force India driver his Formula One career or even his freedom.

Adrian Sutil, Force India F1 Team

Photo by: xpb.cc

Lux, chief executive of the Renault team owner Genii Capital, said this week he is planning filing criminal charges after he was cut on the neck with a broken glass at a post-race nightclub party in China last month.

But Manfred Zimmermann, 28-year-old Sutil's German manager, told reporters in Barcelona on Thursday that Lux has not actually filed those charges yet.

"We are still looking for an amicable solution between ourselves," he is quoted as saying by Auto Motor und Sport.

A successful charge of "physical assault and grievous bodily harm" - the complaints mentioned by Eric Lux's Swiss lawyer - could result in a jail term for Sutil.

And Force India has only committed to honouring the German driver's contract for the Spanish grand prix this weekend, despite Monaco taking place just a week later.

Another potentially explosive element is the possible involvement of Sutil's friend Lewis Hamilton.

The McLaren driver was whisked away from the M1nt nightclub by his bodyguards shortly after Lux fled with wounds that required more than a dozen stiches at a nearby Chinese hospital.

Lux's lawyer had warned that he might take action against "other persons involved in this matter", but on Thursday Hamilton was not talking about Shanghai.

"I've been advised not to say anything," the Briton is quoted by the Mirror.