Former Force India driver Adrian Sutil has been handed an 18-month suspended jail sentence by a court in Munich, after being found guilty of the assault charge levelled against him by Lotus co-owner Eric Lux.
Sutil was found guilty of the charges levelled against him by Lux and the prosecution, following a court hearing in Germany.
The verdict emerged on Tuesday morning after the court had heard evidence from both Sutil and Lux earlier on Monday.
According to press reports from the court, he was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to Lux after an altercation in a Chinese nightclub last April.
Along with his 18-month suspended sentence, Sutil has been fined 200,000 Euros by the court.
Reports before the trial began suggested that the prosecution had only requested a 12-month suspended sentence for the driver, but in actual fact they were pushing for a 21-month punishment.
Presiding over the case in court, Judge Christiane Thiemann confirmed the punishment and said that the fine would be paid to charitable causes.
Sutil and Lux clashed in the oddly-named M1NT nightclub in Shanghai during celebrations for Lewis Hamilton's win in the Chinese GP earlier that day.
The Lotus co-owner required a reported 'two dozen' stitches to a cut on his neck caused by broken glass.
Speaking in court on Monday, Sutil had insisted that he was sorry for the incident, saying: "I did everything to try to settle this row. I am really sorry, extremely sorry. I never wanted for this to happen."
But Lux told the court that he had not received an apology to his face from Sutil.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency after the verdict was handed down, Sutil admitted that with no F1 drive for 2012, he was now looking to do "something completely different" this year.
"Maybe I will take some time out now," he was quoted as saying, "Maybe I will do something completely different, think about things in peace."
He added mournfully: "At least I shook Mr Lux's hand. That's a good thing."
Sutil is currently out of work for the coming having been dropped by the Force India squad at the end of the 2011 season.
His efforts to secure an alternative drive at Williams were reportedly stymied by the ongoing legal case against him, and the only remaining available seat for 2012 is at backmarkers HRT.
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