Frustrated Sutil wants some points on the board

Adrian Sutil is desperate to break his points duck after witnessing the potential of this season's Force India-Mercedes. Sutil has qualified 10th in the two opening Grands Prix in Bahrain and Australia, but managed only 12th place in Sakhir before retiring after just nine laps with an engine problem in Melbourne. In contrast, Vitantonio Liuzzi, his teammate has failed to make it into the top-10 shoot-out in qualifying, yet has scored eight points for finishing ninth in Bahrain and seventh in Australia.

Ahead of Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix, Sutil said: "I really want to get some points on board in this race. "I've had two races where I should have scored, so I want to finish the job now." The German driver believes the team have made such strides they are knocking on the door of Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Red Bull-Renault and Mercedes GP at the top of the grid. Yet his early finish in Melbourne was an exasperating one as he said: "It was a bit frustrating as I think it could have been a good race.

"We were in a good position, keeping pace with the leaders, and normally, in these changeable conditions, the car and the team perform well. "Until that point the weekend had been quite good. Again we got into Q3 and I felt I could even have qualified higher, so that's very positive. "It's showing we're pretty competitive across different tracks and not that far behind the big four, so at this point it's very encouraging."

The race takes place in 70 per cent humidity making in one of the hardest races of the season for the drivers and Sutil acknowledged it is a challenge. "It's very tough physically," he said. "You can lose up to four kilos [in body weight] over the race so fitness and concentration is absolutely key. But I feel really good, very relaxed, and confident in the team and the car now, so I can't wait to get back out there."

* PA Sport