Jan.24 (GMM) With an announcement believed to be imminent, it is expected that Adrian Sutil is definitely staying with Force India in 2011.

The Silverstone based team's chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer has admitted that while Sutil is sometimes outspoken, he is among F1's very best drivers.

"He is sometimes almost too honest," Szafnauer, referring to the team's ever-present German racer, told Auto Motor und Sport.

"In terms of driving, he sits directly behind Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel and Kubica among the category of the top drivers in formula one," he insisted.

Force India's team boss and owner Vijay Mallya told the same German publication that he is also happy with 28-year-old Sutil.

"He has grown with the team and contributed to our improvements," said the Indian billionaire.

"He is also developing personally and I expect this upwards trend to continue," added Mallya.

On an outing near his Swiss home with a German reporter and Sutil's TechArt Porsche GT2, the 71-grand prix veteran confirmed Force India's progress of the past years.

"The organisation is better, Mercedes and McLaren have helped us and our design department is working professionally," he said.

And after the team's top form of 2009, Sutil admitted he is hoping to get another chance at securing a place on the podium.

"We were down in the pack and then so suddenly in it to win, and I was so excited and surprised that I didn't manage a perfect lap in qualifying," he rued.

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