Adrian Sutil has denied that his rookie teammate Paul di Resta’s impressive form so far in 2011 is making him "nervous".
"It’s too early to say that," the veteran German, who has been with Force India since its Spyker days and has rarely been troubled by a teammate, told Auto Motor und Sport in China.
Shanghai is the third consecutive race at which reigning DTM champion di Resta has outqualified Sutil.
The 28-year-old suggested he is still adjusting to the "many new things in F1".
"You would only worry if you did not know what the problem is," added Sutil.
As for impressive Scotsman di Resta’s stirring early form, he answered: "Paul is doing very well and has made no mistakes."
Di Resta, 25 and still with close ties to Mercedes, is quoted as saying: "Adrian should have no fear of me. He has a lot of experience in F1 and generally I’m very happy with my performance.
"I’m very critical of myself but if it continues like this, I’m happy."