According to reports, Sutil reportedly broke a champagne glass and attacked Lux, who suffered cuts to his neck and required stitches. This was following the Chinese Grand Prix, when good fried, Lewis Hamilton won and was celebrating his victory.
"In the view of the recent events which occurred in Shanghai on 17 April, Mr Eric Lux has decided to file a criminal complaint against Mr Adrian Sutil for physical assault and grievous bodily harm,”
said a statement from Lux’s Swiss lawyer.
“As soon as the complaint is registered, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the team Force India will be notified. Furthermore, please note that Mr Eric Lux does not exclude commencing an action against any other persons involved in this matter.”The Lotus-Renault team spokesman stated shortly after:
"Lotus Renault GP is not in a position to make any comments, as it is a private matter between Eric Lux and the other person."Seems reasonable on behalf of the team, as it had nothing really to do with the team but what caught most people by surprise was that also following the incident, official spokesman from the FIA, had stated that they are not investigating the matter and aren't going to take any further action against Sutil.
“In recent weeks Adrian has made several attempts to make contact with Mr Lux with no success,”Manfred Zimmerman, Sutil's manager told the German press.
“Should there be an indictment, we will fight it,”
“Anyone who knows Adrian knows that he would not intentionally hurt anybody. When it comes to this injury, Adrian regrets it very much but it was an unfortunate accident with no intention,”
"Should Mr Lux proceed with his complaint, Adrian will use every available means to clarify his position and clear his name."
So... What Should The FIA Do?
As hard as it is to think about, many people may be forgetting that the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has set standards for the teams and drivers. The International Sporting Code (ISC) and the Code of Good Standings (CGS).
In the ISC under section
47.a) The FIA reserves the right to refuse the issuing of a Super Licence , in particular if the candidate does not satisfy the rules of good standing defined in the FIA Code of good standing appended to the present Code (Appendix B), and shall give reasons for any such refusal.
The Super Licence document remains the property of the FIA which will deliver it to each holder. The suspension or withdrawal of a licence resulting from a sanction excludes its holder from the FIA Championships for the duration of such suspension or withdrawal.The actual Code of Good Standings have no dealings with this type of legal action. They see the driver's as just that, drivers. If a driver has committed a road traffic offence, the FIA has full rights to withdrawal the Super Licence by the International Tribunal.
Understandably, the FIA may withhold their investigation until after any court case / hearing as if Sutil is found guilty, he could be facing a jail sentence (which would remove him from the paddock without any intervention).
But the world over has seen how easy it is for any celebrity to be held above the law and not be given any sort of consequence for a misdemeanor. In Formula One, the figures are even lower. The last time anything like this occurred was when Bertrand Gachot was found guilty of assaulting a London taxi driver with CS gas in 1991. He was incarcerated. But as we had previously mentioned back in January when Fisichella was involved in a rear end collision in Italy, subsequently giving an unconvincing excuse as to how it happened (and receiving no blame).
Can the FIA take it upon themselves to hold Sutil accountable to his actions? The FIA is not a legal body and it is probably in their best interest to presume innocent until proven guilty. If the FIA cannot not hold him accountable on the actions described, should Sutil's team, Force India uphold him to his Social Responsibility? Knowing that Formula One does not have a large presence in Canada, it certainly does in Europe and Asia.
Social responsibility is defined as an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals.Legally, Sutil is innocent until proven guilty and the FIA should have no jurisdiction in the matter. Personally though, Force India has a social responsibility to withhold. They have a driver that is being presented with a criminal complaint that may result in criminal actions and incarceration. It is the teams responsibility to look at the situation from the social perspective. What I believe is that Force India should temporarily suspend their driver until the legal proceedings are over. Whether his actions be dismissed or decided, the public is sure to hear about it.
A fair point Sam regarding Force India's image considerations and social responsibility. They have to think of their team/brand image, and thos of their Vijay corporate sponsor labels.
ReplyDeleteBut.... one has to wonder where this slippery slope would stop if drivers were routinely suspended by their teams for alledged criminal actions or anti-social misdemeanours - prior to proof and convistion by jury of peers or judge.
What temptation would that send out to the morally dubious 'win at all costs' types in F1, if a simple pay-off to a convenient complainant, could effective nobble another teams driver? I don't imagine Flavio B in his day would have been above sending out a back-alley payee to try baiting for a targeted retaliation, seeking course for public suit, just to get a Driver suspended off the F1 season roster.
Adrian Sutil has publically admitted to regrettable actions on his behalf that night, and accidental injury without plan or intent. It is Eric Lux (and his lawyers) who are framing suit accusation of more then that.
I have no solid evidential information what actually transpired. Not sure who does - least of all the media (who rarely care about facts over good juicy scandal by-line anyhow). Adrian may have a case to answer for (ie. not accident, but stupid and dangerous willful injury instead). Only witnesses and people involved really know I'd guess.
Trouble is - if Force India suspend Adrian pending fair trial or judgement; they are effectively punishing him and severely tarnishing his reputation and maketable worth even more, prior to knowing if he even deserves that 'double whammy'.
I don't think I'd be happy if my employer took that view.
It is a complex question - no doubt about it. What to do?
Jack Flash