Sutil was involved in an incident in a Shanghai nightclub following Hamilton’s victory in that year’s Chinese Grand Prix.

The 30-year-old German had hoped Hamilton would serve as a witness in the trial that followed, but such an appearance never materialised.

Sutil was ultimately convicted of causing grievous bodily harm for assaulting Lotus executive Eric Lux with a champagne glass, incurring an 18-month suspended sentence and a £167,000 fine.

With Sutil returning to Formula One this year with Force India after sitting out last season, Hamilton had suggested in Monaco he wanted “to make sure we get things right”.

Asked by GP Week whether he and Hamilton had yet to discuss their situation, Sutil said: “No, no. For some reason he never contacted me again.

“He always said he is my friend but he wishes to suddenly disappear, he changed his number.

“I saw him in the paddock and he always said ’yeah, we can sit down and talk about it’, but he never arrived.

“So these kind of people I don’t really respect. I respect him as a sportsman here, but in private he’s not on my level and I don’t need to waste time with those people.

“I’m happy I realised what kind of a person he is.

“I have good friends, people I can learn from and this is the most important. I’m happy that I found out earlier rather than later.

“On the circuit, this is business. He’s a great racing driver but we haven’t really spoken about it.”