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F1: Force India to retain drivers for 2009

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Khatir Soltani
From GMM

The Force India Formula 1 team is likely to field the same race driver line-up in 2009, high profile co-owner, billionaire Indian businessman Vijay Mallya has said.

Mallya told F1's official website that he is "happy" with both Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil.

A year ago, Mallya suggested that while his needs for the team's debut year were unique, an Indian driver would "certainly" feature in the 2009 lineup.

Karun Chandhok, an Indian driver in the feeder category GP2, has now suggested he is on the verge of breaking into F1.

But Mallya, despite also possessing the highly motivated Tonio Liuzzi as a test driver, insists: "The experience of Giancarlo is invaluable to me and Adrian has lots of talent. I think he is improving race by race, becoming more consistent.

"I am quite happy with them," he continued.

"More importantly, they have a great attitude that will help me to face the challenges of tomorrow and I think they will be very satisfied driving the 2009 car, which I personally am sure will be a significant improvement and a big surprise," Mallya added.
Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
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