Sutil wishes Raikkonen well in rallying

New Delhi: Force India driver Adrian Sutil holds no grudges against his bogeyman Kimi Raikkonen and is confident that the Finn, after leaving Formula One for World Rally Championship, would do well in his new venture.

"He's a great driver but somehow I always met him mostly when I was running in the front and racing really well. We had a few contacts, a coincidence probably," Sutil said.

"Coincidence or not, it was always great to race with him. He is a hard fighter and you need drivers like him. I also needed competitor like him because I wanted to test myself against the toughest. I'm proud of our duels but of course there could have been better ending for us," said the German.

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Sutil was on the verge of breaking Force India's points duck in Monaco 2008. Running a fairytale race as high as fourth with just six laps to go, Sutil could only watch haplessly as Raikkonen lost control of his car and rammed his Ferrari into Sutil's vehicle, ending the German's race then and there.

The accident left Sutil in tears and even though Raikkonen did apologise subsequently, it was hardly a solace for the youngster.

"Oh yes, the pain of Monaco stayed with me for quite a while," Sutil recalled. "Even now when I think about the race, I sometimes feel 'Why?'.

"But you cannot do anything about it. The track was indeed treacherous. It was half-wet, half-dry. It can happen with anyone. It happened to me in Shanghai last year when I was sixth with six laps to go when I aquaplaned," Sutil explained.

In last year's German Grand Prix too, Sutil qualified seventh and was running second before his first pit-stop when Raikkonen once again emerged as the villain of the piece.

Just as Sutil was coming out of the pit lane, Raikkonen's car collided with his VJM02, costing him the front wing and effectively Formula One points.

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In the Italian Grand Prix, the order was reversed with Raikkonen in front and the Finn blocked Sutil's faster car even though it was good enough for a fourth place finish for the Force India driver.

"He got in front of me in Monza and would not allow me to go past. For half an hour, he kept blocking me," Sutil said.

For Raikkonen, the 2007 driver's champion, nothing went right last year and did not seem in best of terms with the Ferrari management.

Even though the Finn, monikered 'Iceman' for his unflappable exterior, had an offer from Toyota, Raikkonen subsequently announced joining World Rally Championship for the Citroen Junior Team in 2010.

Sutil wished him well and said Raikkonen would prove a success there too.

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"Probably he didn't enjoy F1 much last year and that's why he is in rallying now. I wish him well and I know he will do well there," Sutil said.