Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil to lead team Force India in its debut season.
Liuzzi confirmed for test and reserve driver role for Force India.

The Force India Formula One Team is delighted to announce that Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil will lead the team for its debut 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship campaign. To further strengthen resources, Vitantonio Liuzzi will fulfil a test and reserve driver role for Force India.

Thirty-four-year-old Giancarlo, from Rome, Italy, impressed the team with his strong contribution during Force India’s four-day test in Jerez, Spain, at the end of 2007, while Tonio Liuzzi’s solid feedback and insight stood out over the two days of testing he completed in November and December. Adrian is retained for a second season with the team on the back of his solid 2007 form.

New recruit Giancarlo will bring 12 years of F1 experience to the team following stints at Minardi, Force India’s predecessors Jordan, Benetton, Sauber and most lately Renault. With three wins, three pole positions and 267 points to his credit, he is one of the most successful drivers on the current F1 grid.

Adrian will contest his second year of the FIA Formula One World Championship. In the latter half of 2007 he was regularly pushing more established drivers, which culminated in his, and the team’s, first championship point in the Japanese Grand Prix. Adrian joined the team as the 2006 Japanese F3 champion, and runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the 2005 F3 EuroSeries.

Dr. Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director of Force India F1 Team commented, “The Force India Formula One Team is a serious project and we wanted to make a statement to this effect with our driver line-up. Money is not the issue now: we need drivers who will push the team and give us direction. The race line-up of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil is a very good one, balancing both speed and experience, and Tonio will provide the team with solid support in his testing programme. I think we have a very strong driver line-up for 2008.”

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