Fisichella ahead of the pack

MUMBAI: With the countdown having begun for Vijay Mallya announcing the second driver for his Force India line-up, Giancarlo Fisichella is emerging as a strong candidate to partner Adrian Sutil.

Though Mallya is tight-lipped, he has been quoted as saying: “I need to balance talent with experience, and I need to find out how the engineers feel on driver feedback. I’ll decide before Christmas — but there won’t be an announcement until New Year.”

Fisichella along with Ralf Schumacher, Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Franck Montagny and Giedo van der Garde had tested during the training session at Jerez, Spain, early this month. Schumacher has since opted out and Fisichella remains the most experienced of the lot.

Having been left out by the Renault team, who will have Fernando Alonso and Nelsinho Piquet on their roster for next year, Fisichella told DNA: “My goal is to race with Force India. I do not see it as a fallback, but a new phase of my career.”

“I know Force India seems difficult when you consider fighting for the last places, but I believe in this team’s potential. They told me they would prefer to have an experienced driver next to (Adrian) Sutil, and I am ready.

I have signed an option with them and will have an answer before Christmas.” Fisichella has three career GP wins in F1 till date and has driven for Renault Sauber, Jordan, Benetton and Minardi.