Adrian Sutil has said that he "did everything" he could to settle his falling-out with Group Lotus co-owner Eric Lux, on the first day of a hearing in German over allegations that he assaulted the businessman last year.
Sutil took to the stand on Monday as his two-day trial over the charges began at a court in Munich.
The German driver is charged with attacking Lux in a Chinese nightclub last year, as various F1 names celebrated Lewis Hamilton's victory in the Chinese Grand Prix.
According to the allegations, Sutil injured Lux in a fight at the club, leaving the Lotus co-owner requiring stitches to a wound on his neck.
Speaking in court on Monday, Sutil said that he had already made repeated efforts to settle this issue with Lux, including offering to support a charity project in Africa being run by Lux.
"I did everything to try to settle this row," he was quoted as saying during the hearing by the Reuters news agency.
He added: "I am really sorry, extremely sorry. I never wanted for this to happen."
But Lux, who also spoke in court on Monday, argued that he felt the efforts made by the driver to apologise had not been enough.
"I would have expected him to come to Luxembourg and apologise to me, he was quoted as saying, "A phone call is not good enough."
Lux and the prosecution are requesting a one year suspended sentence for the former Force India driver as a punishment for the incident.
Sutil himself is currently out of work after losing his drive with Force India, and failing to secure a drive with Williams, partly thanks to the court case issue hanging over him.
The German has admitted that he is in for a transition year in 2012, and has been linked with a reserve driver role at Ferrari in recent weeks.
The trial is set to continue on Tuesday in Munich, with a verdict expected at the end of the day.
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