Drivers Lineup
Drivers Lineup for Force India F1 Team for the 2008 season
Giancarlo Fisichella
Date of birth : 14 January 1973
Born : Rome, Italy
Weight : 66kg
Height : 1.72m
Martial Status : Married to Luna
Children : Carlotta & Christopher
Giancarlo joins Force India for its debut F1 season, bringing extensive Formula One know-how to the team. A veteran of 12 FIA Formula One World Championship seasons, with three victories and almost 300 points to his credit, his experience will help the team achieve its long-term aims.
Giancarlo, from Rome, Italy, started his motorsport career in karting in 1984. Following success on an international level, he moved to single-seaters in the early 90s – and success soon followed. In 1994 he secured the Italian Formula 3 championship title, which led to a drive with the Alfa Romeo team in the prestigious International Touring Car championship in 1995.
Giancarlo’s form in the championship soon caught the attention of F1 bosses and in 1996 he combined a programme in the ITC with a shortened race season with Minardi in Formula 1. 1997 marked the young Italian’s first full F1 season with Force India’s predecessors, Jordan. After an exceptional year, he moved to Benetton the following year, where he stayed for three seasons. A return to Jordan in 2002 saw Giancarlo record his first F1 victory in Brazil, 2003, but for the 2004 season he joined Sauber.
In 2005 Giancarlo returned to Renault, a move that gave the Roman his most successful period yet in the sport. With 5th place in the championship in 2005 and 4th in 2006, he marked himself out as one of the most consistent drivers in F1, a talent that will be of great benefit to the fledgling Force India team.
Career Stats of Giancarlo Fisichella
Victories : 3 Podiums : 18
Total Number of GPS : 195
Number of GPs In the points : 72
Pole positions : 3Fastest laps : 2
Career points : 267.0
Race Line :
1984 : Italian Minikart championship (60cc)
1985 : Italian Cadets Championship (100cc)
1986 : Italian Cadets Championship (100cc)
1987 : Italian Cadets Championship (100cc)
1988 : Karting International Class (100cc)
1989 : 2nd, European Karting Championship
1990 : 2nd, Karting World Championship
1991 : 2nd, European Karting Championship
1992 : 8th, Italian Formula 3, one win
1993 : 2nd, Italian Formula 3
1994 : Champion, Italian Formula 3, 10 wins
1995 : International Touring Car Championship with Alfa Romeo Junior Team
Minardi test driver
1996 : F1 with Minardi (eight races)
6th, ITC with Alfa Romeo Junior Team
Ferrari test driver
1997 : 8th, F1 with Jordan (20 points)
1998 : 9th, F1 with Benetton (16 points)
1999 : 9th, F1 with Benetton (13 points)
2000 : 6th, F1 with Benetton (18 points)
2001 : 11th, F1 with Benetton (8 points)
2002 : 11th, F1 with Jordan (7 points)
2003 : 12th, F1 with Jordan (12 points, one win)
2004 : 11th, F1 with Sauber Petronas (22 points)
2005 : 5th, F1 with Renault (58 points, one win)
2006 : 4th, F1 with Renault (72 points, one win)
2007 : 8th, F1 with Renault (21 points)
Adrian Sutil
Date of birth : 11th January 1983
Born : Graefeling, Germany
Weight : 75kg
Height : 1.83m
Martial Status : Single
Until the age of 14, Adrian was a very promising pianist and looked set for a career in music rather than motor racing. His father, Jorge, who had migrated from Uruguay to Germany at the age of 28, played the violin in the Müncher Philharmonie for many years and his mother, Monika, was also a talented musician.
Adrian’s first contact with motorsport was when he started karting was at the age of 14. He never looked back to music and, instead, resolved to get to the pinnacle of the sport; Formula 1. In his first season in single-seater motorsport in 2002, he won the Formula Ford Swiss championship with 12 pole positions and 12 wins in 12 races. In 2004 he graduated to the Formula 3 Euroseries, securing four podiums in his maiden season.
In 2005 he finished second in the championship to Lewis Hamilton, with 11 podiums in 18 races and in 2006 moved across to the Far East to race in the Japanese F3 championship. With strong performances throughout the year, Adrian secured his first international title. The same year, Adrian joined the Midland F1 team for three Friday practice sessions. His speed and commitment impressed the team and he was signed on a multi-year race seat contract starting from 2007 when it became Spyker Formula One Team. He remains with the team in its new Force India guise.
Career of Adrian Sutil
2000 : 3rd, German ICA Championship with PCR Germany
2001 : Kart European Championship with Birel Motorsport (one pole)
2002 : Champion, Swiss Formula Ford with SSPT Racing (12 wins, 12 poles)
2003 : 6th, German Formula ADAC BMW Championship with Team HBR Motorsport
2004 : F3 Euroseries withTeam Kolles (two poles)
2005 : 2nd, F3 Euroseries with Team ASM (two poles, two wins, 11 podiums and lap record at Monaco, Spa and Norisring)
2nd, Malboro Masters in Zandvoort
2006 : Friday driver at three Grands Prix, Spyker Formula One Team
Champion, Japanese Formula 3
2007 : 19th, F1 with Spyker (1 point)
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Date of birth : 6 August 1981
Born : Locorotondo, Italy
Martial Status : Single
Vitantonio, or Tonio for short, Liuzzi joins Force India Formula One Team as its new test and reserve driver for its 2008 Formula One campaign. Tonio joins the team with three years’ F1 experience following campaigns with Red Bull and Toro Rosso.
The Italian also has a rich history in the junior formulae. After success in the domestic and international karting championships, he won karting’s equivalent of Formula One in 2001. That same year Tonio also finished second in the German Formula Renault Championship.
During 2002 Tonio contested the German Formula 3 Championship and established his reputation as one of the quickest drivers in the series. Three pole positions, three podiums and a dominant pole to flag victory in the San Marino International Formula 3 race at Imola displayed his true potential.
In 2003 Tonio contested the FIA F3000 International Championship, and again success quickly followed as he finished fourth overall. His 2003 performances earned him the lead drive with that year’s championship winning team, Arden International for the following year. Taking seven wins from a total of 10 starts, including nine pole positions, Tonio stormed to the championship. The Italian holds the joint all-time record for F3000 wins along with Juan Pablo Montoya and Nick Heidfeld.
For the 2005 season Tonio joined the newly formed Red Bull Racing team in Formula 1, and moved to sister outfit Toro Rosso in 2006, where he remained for the 2007 season.
Career of Vitantonio Liuzzi
1991 : Started Karting career
1993 : 1st, Italian Karting Championship
1994 : 2nd, Italian Karting Championship
1995 : Victory in Lonato Winter Cup, 2nd place World Karting Championship, 2nd place Italian Karting Championship, 5th place European Karting Championship
1996 : Graduated to Junior Intercontinental A category with Factory CRG Team
Victory Lonato Winter Cup, 2nd place Margutti Trophy, Parma, 1st Italian Karting Championship
1997 : Entered senior Formula A category, 1st Brazilian Karting Prix, Sao Paulo
2nd Italian Karting Championship, 7th place Karting World Championship
1998 : Formula Super A (Karting’s F1 equivalent), 3rd Overall European Karting Championship, 7th place Karting World Championship
1999 : Victory at Val D’Argenton, second Round European Karting Championship
Victory Ayrton Senna Memorial Trophy (Suzuka), Formula Palmer Audi Test Drive
– Outright Fastest Lap of test
2000 : 6th, Karting World Championship in Braga, Portugal
2nd, Karting World Cup (Montegi)
3rd, 125cc World Championship (Mariembourg)
2001 : FIA-CIK Karting World Champion (conducted over five events)
2nd, German Formula Renault Championship – first car season
2002 : 9th, German Formula 3 Championship
Victory San Marino International Formula 3 race
Tested Formula 1 - BMW Williams F1 Team
2003 : 4th, FIA F3000 International Championship
2004 : FIA F3000 International Champion
2005 : 24th, Formula 1, Red Bull Racing (1 point)
2006 : 19th, Formula 1, Toro Rosso (1 point)
2007 : 18th, Formula 1, Toro Rosso (3 points)