The Force India team has confirmed that they will start the 2010 season with the same pairing of drivers they finished 2009 with, after confirming that Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi will remain with the team for next year.
Sutil has raced with the team since he raced for the Spyker team in 2007, after being test driver in 2006 for the team (whatever they were called back then) prior to Vijay Mallya buying out the Dutch manufacturer.
Liuzzi, meanwhile, drove for Red Bull and Toro Rosso through 2005 to 2007, before joining Force India as a test driver in 2008. He made his GP debut for the team at the Italian GP last year, taking over from the Ferrari-bound Giancarlo Fisichella.
Team principal Vijay Mallya grinned that the move meant that the team could maintain "consistency" on the driver front as they look to continue their development into 2010. After a season of backmarking in 2008, the team slowly became halfway-competitive in late 2009, with Fisichella scoring the first podium and pole position for the team at Spa-Francorchamps.
"We are very pleased to retain the services of both Adrian and Tonio for another season," Mallya mumbled, "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, meanwhile, said that the team felt "like a family" to him, and that he was aiming to score regular points finishes in 2010. Good luck with that, Adrian.
"2010 will be my fourth consecutive year with the team," the German counted, "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."
Chubby Liuzzi, meanwhile, took time out from seducing ladies to grin that he had achieved his ambition of returning to the grid full-time in 2010, saying that 2009 was really a test session for him, and he would look to step up his performances for the new season.
"It was always my goal to be back racing in 2010 and I've finally achieved it," Liuzzi laughed evilly, "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."
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