Force India re-signs Sutil and Liuzzi

Date published : 27 Nov 2009 - 12:43:29

Force India has confirmed that it will retain Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi as its two drivers for the 2010 season.Sutil has raced for the Silverstone-based squad since 2007, while Liuzzi stepped up from a third driver role to the race seat when Giancarlo Fisichella moved to Ferrari at Monza this year.Team boss Vijay Mallya feels stability in the driver line-up and other respects will help Force India to build on its 2009 progress and move further up the grid next year.We are very pleased to retain the services of both Adrian and Tonio for another season, he said.We have always maintained that consistency is key at this stage in the team's development and for the first time in many years we will have the continuity of not only the same drivers, but also the same engine and senior management. With this stability now in place I truly believe we have an excellent platform to build on and move forward on our strong 2009 performance.I am sure we have one of the most dynamic line-ups on the grid and I hope this will stand us in good stead in what we all hope will be a transitional year for the team.Sutil achieved his best ever F1 finish of fourth in this year's Italian Grand Prix, where he also secured his first front-row start.The 26-year-old German is setting his sights higher for next season.2010 will be my fourth consecutive year with the team, he said.I feel good here, it feels like family, and when you feel at ease you can focus your energy 100% on getting it right on track.Next season I want to be in the points on a regular basis, maybe even challenging for the podium, and the team has exactly the same goals.We are going massively in the right direction so with our combined energies I'm confident we can achieve even more than last season.Liuzzi is delighted to have secured a full-time race drive for the first time since 2007, when he campaigned for Toro Rosso.It was always my goal to be back racing in 2010 and I've finally achieved it, said the 28-year-old Italian.I feel the five races I did in 2009 were a bit of a warm-up: get back racing, learn the car, get the feeling back.Now I've done that I feel ready to really push next season.We were pretty strong in the last part of the 2009 season so if we pick up where we stopped I think we could be in for a good year.For sure points are the aim and showing everyone what we can do.The team said it would announce its third driver in the weeks following the young driver test, which takes place at Jerez on December 1-3.Mercedes DTM front-runner Paul di Resta and American Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand will drive the VJM02 in Spain, and Mallya has said both can stake a claim for the reserve driver role if they make a strong enough impression.