Fisichella at Ferrari
#1
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Fisichella at Ferrari
Force India has announced that it has released Giancarlo Fisichella to drive for Ferrari for the rest of the season.
The news pre-empted any confirmation from Maranello, but the usual protocol in these circumstances is for the team giving up its driver to be allowed to give the news first, albeit only by a matter of minutes.
There was no confirmation as to who will replace Fisichella, but third driver Tonio Liuzzi is expected to take the seat.
A team statement read as follows: ‘Following extensive discussions over the past 24 hours, the Force India Formula One Team has agreed to release Giancarlo Fisichella from his contract to join the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team for the remainder of the 2009 season, starting with immediate effect.’
Vijay Mallya, said: 'Giancarlo and his management team approached me yesterday with the proposal from Ferrari. For any Italian driver, a Ferrari race seat is a long-held dream and for Giancarlo it was no exception. No one should stand in the way of this.
Furthermore the agreement will secure Giancarlo's long-term future with Ferrari and it would be incorrect to jeopardize this, particularly when Giancarlo has made such a vital contribution to Force India.
'We would like to stress that we have not agreed any financial settlement with Ferrari. This agreement has been made in good faith and for the good of Giancarlo and the sport in general. A competitive Italian driver in a Ferrari for Monza is a positive story for FormulaOne, which can only help raise the sport's profile in these difficult times.
'We would like to thank Giancarlo for all his help over the past one and a half seasons and for delivering us our first World Championship points last weekend. He has been an integral part of the team and we owe him a great deal for his input behind the scenes and performance out on track. We wish him all the best for the future.
'For Force India, this sport is a team effort and removing one part, even a major one, will not significantly affect our performance. The competitiveness of the team seen in Belgium was a result of hard work in the factory and wind tunnel and we have further developments coming for the final races, so we are confident this momentum can be sustained. We are now looking forward to a strong finish to the season.'
Fisichella commented: 'I am very grateful to Vijay Mallya for allowing me this opportunity to drive for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team. It is true that it has always been an ambition to do this, and for Vijay to have allowed it to become a reality is very generous. I hope in my turn I have helped Force India grow up and be on the right path to achieve their own ambitions. They are now a very competitive team and I wish them all the very best.'
The news pre-empted any confirmation from Maranello, but the usual protocol in these circumstances is for the team giving up its driver to be allowed to give the news first, albeit only by a matter of minutes.
There was no confirmation as to who will replace Fisichella, but third driver Tonio Liuzzi is expected to take the seat.
A team statement read as follows: ‘Following extensive discussions over the past 24 hours, the Force India Formula One Team has agreed to release Giancarlo Fisichella from his contract to join the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team for the remainder of the 2009 season, starting with immediate effect.’
Vijay Mallya, said: 'Giancarlo and his management team approached me yesterday with the proposal from Ferrari. For any Italian driver, a Ferrari race seat is a long-held dream and for Giancarlo it was no exception. No one should stand in the way of this.
Furthermore the agreement will secure Giancarlo's long-term future with Ferrari and it would be incorrect to jeopardize this, particularly when Giancarlo has made such a vital contribution to Force India.
'We would like to stress that we have not agreed any financial settlement with Ferrari. This agreement has been made in good faith and for the good of Giancarlo and the sport in general. A competitive Italian driver in a Ferrari for Monza is a positive story for FormulaOne, which can only help raise the sport's profile in these difficult times.
'We would like to thank Giancarlo for all his help over the past one and a half seasons and for delivering us our first World Championship points last weekend. He has been an integral part of the team and we owe him a great deal for his input behind the scenes and performance out on track. We wish him all the best for the future.
'For Force India, this sport is a team effort and removing one part, even a major one, will not significantly affect our performance. The competitiveness of the team seen in Belgium was a result of hard work in the factory and wind tunnel and we have further developments coming for the final races, so we are confident this momentum can be sustained. We are now looking forward to a strong finish to the season.'
Fisichella commented: 'I am very grateful to Vijay Mallya for allowing me this opportunity to drive for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team. It is true that it has always been an ambition to do this, and for Vijay to have allowed it to become a reality is very generous. I hope in my turn I have helped Force India grow up and be on the right path to achieve their own ambitions. They are now a very competitive team and I wish them all the very best.'
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#5
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Hmm, I didn't think there was any way Mallya would let Fisi out of his contract, especially after such a stirring performance at Spa but I was sooooooooooo wrong! Good for Giancarlo, his dream to be a Ferrari driver is fulfilled.
#6
6G TLX-S
^^^^^ The reason is simple. Force India still owes Ferrari big sum of money for using the Ferrari engines. Basically Ferrari is writing off that unpaid payment in exchange for Fisi's Force India contract.
#7
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Reminds me a bit of Schumacher's drive at Spa in 91. After debuting in the Jordan with an amazing qualifying, Schumacher jumped to Benetton for the following race! Eddie was ticked off big time by Flavio's poaching. Vijay must be thinking the same way that Eddie did back then.
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#9
Suzuka Master
Maybe kimi might leave and go do his rallying. Wait did he extend his contract to 2010?? If not we might see fisi and massa behind the wheel of the ferrari's. Im sure he would not sign with ferrari just to be a backup for next year. I think he knows that kimi is leaving
#10
Good for Fisi, but what happens at Ferrari next year with Alonso? If Renault is found to have fixed Singapore, will Alonso be in trouble as well? Could it be Fisi and Massa as drivers next year?
#11
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#12
Suzuka Master
Apparently Fisi is gonna be a test driver as of next year for right now. Saw something on autoblog that said that.
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