Formula 1 News

Fisichella could sign with Force India for 2008 

Following his first ever test with Force India yesterday at Jerez, Giancarlo Fisichella said he is definitely interested in a contract with Vijay Mallya’s team for 2008 season. Even if Fisichella’s future with Renault remains still uncertain as Briatore’s team hasn’t yet officially announced that Giancarlo won’t be part of the team next year, the test with Force India describes how determined the Italian driver is to keep as many options open as possible to ensure he can stay in Formula One.

“My motivation is my love for this sport and the fact I feel I still have the right approach,” he said in the Force India motor home about the reasons for wanting to race for the team. “I believe I can still give a lot to whatever team I race with. Talking about Force India, the project that was shown to me is a very interesting one; there will be a lot more money available compared to last year, so there are a number of things that make me believe that if I stay with Force India for 2008 I’ll be able to make the team grow up quite a lot. Of course we’re not dreaming of winning races or fighting with the big teams, but I believe we will be able to manage some interesting results when circumstances will be in our side.”

Fisichella faces opposition from Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Ralf Schumacher for the second seat at Force India, although there have been new rumors from Jerez that there could be two seats up for grabs at the team. Although Adrian Sutil has a contract with the team for 2008, speculation suggests that he could be sold on to a rival team.

Fisichella’s hopes of getting a new deal with Renault have hung in the balance while the team courts Fernando Alonso, but the Italian is adamant that he is not 100% out of the frame there yet. “Let’s say that it’s all open, because there’s no final decision on anything yet, ” he said. “I wanted to test with another team to have another road open for me, but it may still happen that Renault calls me back in a couple of days, as it can also happen that they tell me we’re finished. For the moment that’s not on my mind, as I’m focused on testing with Force India and in making the most out of these two days of running.”