Sunday 10 August at 16:40 : Adrian Sutil, the 25-year-old race driver for Force India, says he has chosen to not have a girlfriend during the early phase of his formula one career.

The German, who made his debut for the outfit's previous incarnation Spyker in 2007, wrote in a column for Formule 1 Race Report that - in frequenting the paddock as a grand prix star - it would not be difficult to end his spell as a bachelor.

"Is it easier to get girls if you race in F1? The simple answer is 'yes'. But I don't have a girlfriend at the moment," he admitted.

In contrast, Sutil's closest friend among his F1 rivals, Lewis Hamilton, is a regular in the gossip pages in his native Britain.

Sutil said: "I want to concentrate completely on my job, because I'm at a phase of my career when a relationship, particularly at the beginning, would be too distracting."

Sutil, a talented concert pianist himself, is accompanied to grands prix by his Uruguayan father Jorge, who was a professional musician.