Adrian Sutil says he will take time to reflect and consider his next career move after receiving a suspended sentence for assaulting Lotus team co-owner Eric Lux.
Sutil was given an 18-month suspended sentence and a 200,000 euro [$263,000] fine, which will be given to charity, for injuring Lux in an incident in a Shanghai nightclub following last year's Chinese Grand Prix.
The 29-year-old German does not currently have a Formula 1 seat for 2012, having been replaced at Force India by Nico Hulkenberg and seeing Bruno Senna taking the last major vacancy at Williams.
"Maybe I will take some time out now," Sutil told Reuters as he left the court in Munich. "Maybe I will do something completely different, think about things in peace."
Sutil had argued in court that he had tried to settle the row afterward, and hoped that this had now been achieved.
"At least I shook Mr. Lux's hand," said Sutil. "That's a good thing."