Spyker Formula One Team Test, Silverstone, 7th February 2007, The new 2007 Spyker-Ferrari F8-VII, Driver Adrian Sutil (GER) drives the car for the for time.

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• Adrian Sutil

Spyker new boy Adrian Sutil is confident the time is right for his entry into Formula One, though he insists he is keeping his expectations firmly in check as to what the team can achieve in 2007.

The young German will be making his grand prix bow when the season blasts into life in Australia in just under five weeks' time, after sweeping all before him to lift the Japanese F3 laurels last year - Sutil also making a promsing debut for Spyker as its third driver.

"I'm really looking forward to it," said Sutil, who also finished runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the 2005 F3 Euro Series. "It will be my first season in Formula One and I can't wait for the first grand prix in Melbourne! It will be a great moment for me.

"Last year I was happy just to get the test driver job. I didn't expect to be in Formula One this quickly as a grand prix driver, so for sure now I'm pleased to be here and I'm looking forward to every single day."

The 24-year-old participated in three Friday testing sessions for the squad in its former guise as Midland MF1 at last season's European, French and Japanese grands prix.

And Sutil believes this experience, as well as that gained during his year in the Far East, will stand him in good stead for the task that now lies ahead of him.

"I would say now I'm really prepared for Formula One," he asserted confidently, "and I think now it's the right time for me to come into it.

"It will be a big step for sure, but I raced (in Japanese F3) with a really professional team in Toyota Team TOM's and got a lot of experience in the championship during the year.

"Also, with the Friday tests with Midland I could step slowly into this team which gave me an idea of Formula One and has proved very helpful.

"That means I've known all the guys since last year and I like the people very much. They have good engineers and good management, and (Spyker team principal) Colin Kolles is someone I've known for a long time. He is a very good person and he helped me into Formula One."

One boost Sutil will benefit from in 2007 is having Dutch star Christijan Albers alongside him on the driving front.

The two men have already established a strong working partnership, and Sutil is convinced Albers' speed and experience can only help to bring him on as a driver during what will be undoubtedly be a challenging year.

"It's great to have him there," he stressed. "Christijan has a lot of experience and has been a professional racing driver for a long time. It's always good to have a strong team-mate, because he can push you and you can push him which in the end will make both of you more successful.

"As a young driver in Formula One you always need somebody beside you to show you things too. It's very important to learn about the car, the tracks and all the technical aspects of the job."

Looking at the broader picture, Sutil agreed with more senior team members that there would be no miracle cure to haul Spyker up the grid, but was confident of making steady progress in the second half of the campaign.

"The first season is always a learning season," he acknowledged, "but I want to try to make as few mistakes as possible and finish the races. We have to see where the car is after testing, and then we will know if we can aim by the end of the season to get into the top ten and maybe score some points.

"That's the more long-term goal, but I think to begin with we will be at the back of the grid and shouldn't raise expectations too high."