Sutil will stand trial in a German court later this month

[Bagwan]

F1 : Angry Formula 1 driver Sutil labels former friend Lewis Hamilton a coward


is it just me or is this starting to get weird

Not just you .

Sutil is upset with Lewis .
This must mean that he feels that the testimony would have helped his case .
This begs the question as to why Lewis , his friend , formerly , didn't attend .
Clearly , planes fly fast enough that Lewis would have been able to attend both the trial and the new car launch , so , why wasn't he there ?

Lewis's father sent a message , but Lewis , himself , went so far as to change his number .
Dad , seemingly , was not "in the loop" .
This is very curious , as Sutil calls him out as "not a man" in the quote , perhaps alluding to some kind of pressure from someone or somewhere to not show up .

Earlier reports about the upcoming trial stated that Lewis would be there , so they were either false , or something changed Lewis's mind .
From Sutil's tone , it seems to have been at the last minute .

So , who's pulling the Lewis strings , and what is providing the pressure point that made him abandon his friend ?

[Malbec]

Sutil is upset with Lewis .
This must mean that he feels that the testimony would have helped his case .
This begs the question as to why Lewis , his friend , formerly , didn't attend .

So , who's pulling the Lewis strings , and what is providing the pressure point that made him abandon his friend ?

I'm not surprised at all Lewis didn't attend and put distance between himself and his 'friend'.

Anyone famous needs to be associated with someone accused of stabbing another in the neck like a hole in the head. It would have been PR suicide for Lewis or anyone else with a reputation that could be damaged to have been involved.

Its not nice, its not pleasant but there's a level in society above which friendship won't survive one of the parties being accused of a violent crime. In this case Lewis was advised well.

Having said all that I do get the feeling that after the court case we the public know little more than we did before it.

[Bagwan]

Now , I just read that Hamilton , at the launch , was asked about Sutil's words , and was interrupted by a "handler" , who said he shouldn't answer , as the case could come under appeal .

So , as presumably Lewis was there in support of Sutil , who was convicted of the offence , what could the reason be to not react to the comments ?
Surely , cowardice implies that it must have been more than being afraid to stand before a judge .

It must mean one of two things .
Could it be that Lewis was going to lie about the situation to the judge ?
Or , could it be that Lewis was being pressured by someone to not attend ?

If it was pressure , who from ?
Clearly , Sutil believes he knows which one it was .
And , clearly , he would not be bringing up the subject if it was about Lewis lying , as this would not help in any appeal .

Lewis was also asked about this being his year to renew his contract , and spoke about how he expected to have talks around two or three races into the season , to clear things up .
Sutil's comments coming at him during the new car launch can't feel good .

Somehow , I don't think this will remain as quiet as some wish it would .

[Bagwan]

I'm not surprised at all Lewis didn't attend and put distance between himself and his 'friend'.

Anyone famous needs to be associated with someone accused of stabbing another in the neck like a hole in the head. It would have been PR suicide for Lewis or anyone else with a reputation that could be damaged to have been involved.

Its not nice, its not pleasant but there's a level in society above which friendship won't survive one of the parties being accused of a violent crime. In this case Lewis was advised well.

Having said all that I do get the feeling that after the court case we the public know little more than we did before it.

Good PR would have , and did have , up until we had this turn-around , Lewis looking good , supporting his friend in this "accidental event" .

Now he is branded a "coward" and not reacting to the moniker .
Sure , you don't show up for OJ , but not for your friend ?
And , not just to be able to say it was , in your view , an accidental occurance ?

How would this put you in a bad light ?
Sutil was there to celebrate the Lewis victory .

There's more to this , and they are afraid , it's seems true , that it will stick to Lewis .
I believe they will summon Lewis to the appeal with a more mandatory tone .

[Bagwan]

I don't think Lewis was ever going to be put in a position where he would feel obliged to lie to a judge. He said at the time this incident happened that he didn't actually see the incident so it makes you wonder what else he could add to the case other than to supply the jury with a character witness. The worrying thing here is the fact Lewis appears to be getting more coverage in this case than the convicted man which I think is unacceptable. The story concerning Lewis only broke today so its natural he was asked not to comment as he may not know the full details behind it. Its all abit over the top really and something that really shouldn't be aimed at Lewis IMO.

I don't think he was going to lie either , but why is Sutil so upset if he was only to be a character witness ?
Surely , Lewis could have supplied that much with a statement .

Sutil seemed angry enough that he felt that Lewis being there would have made all the difference .
His choice of the word "coward" says he was wronged , and that Lewis was not brave enough to testify .

My question is , "why" ?

[ArrowsFA1]

Oh good. Another opportunity to have a dig at Hamilton There's nothing new under the sun.

[Bagwan]

Oh good. Another opportunity to have a dig at Hamilton There's nothing new under the sun.

If your comment was directed at me , just let me say that I would be interested in finding out why Adrian is so mad , even if it was Jacques instead of Lewis who had backed out of testifying .

And , if it wasn't , I apologise , and ask why you might think Sutil was calling out a coward here .

Rather than roll your eyes , why not contribute in a more constructive way ?

[Bagwan]

I don't think it was a case of Lewis being afraid to testify. It wouldn't be the first time Lewis has found himself infront of a judge and I don't think he feared it. I doubt we'll find out the reasons Sutil is angry with Lewis unless he reveals more about it to the press, but then again Lewis is a busy man and doesn't need to get involved in this right now. I think Adrian was annoyed at the verdict of an incident he didn't intend to go the way it did and Lewis not being there may have given him an avenue to vent his frustration. It will be sad if their friendship is ended because of this, but we don't know the background leading up to this as yet.

Your interpretation here certainly points to Sutil being the loose cannon that the trial paints him as .

But Adam Cooper , having seen the CCTV footage seems to paint it as Sutil being "rail-roaded" .
And , Sutil seems rather more than mad about his friend abandoning him because it didn't go the way he wanted .
He seems to be saying , from the intensity , the Hamilton testimony could have been crucial .

Am I bashing here ?

[Nikki Katz]

This case really is getting strange. I really don't know which side to believe - did Hamilton not witness it or is he just trying to save bad publicity and drop his friend right in it? How on earth did Sutil end up bottling a Genii exec anyway???

I'm not a Hamilton-basher by the way, he's certainly no saint but I think he's come in for more flack over various things than he was really due. But whatever Sutil did that night, something doesn't sound right about him avoiding the court!

[CNR]

OK i hope this is not another liegate for lewis

Sutil bats off Lux questions, 'concentrating on the racing' | Page 2 | F1 News | May 2011 | Crash.Net
It has also been revealed that McLaren-Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton – who was similarly present in the nightclub as he celebrated his Chinese Grand Prix victory, his first of the F1 2011 campaign – could be summoned by the prosecution to give evidence in an eventual trial. The Briton would concede only that 'I've been advised not to say anything'.

F1 driver Sutil brands Hamilton a coward

former world champion Hamilton did not give evidence in the trial on Monday and Tuesday. Instead, the Briton provided a written statement to say he did not see the incident.