Fisichella given Force India drive

MUMBAI, India -- Giancarlo Fisichella will partner Adrian Sutil when Force India make their Formula One debut this season.

The team are in its fourth incarnation having previously started life as Jordan, before becoming Midland, followed by Spyker.

But at the end of last season, Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, in partnership with Dutch entrepreneur Michiel Mol, completed a successful buy-out of Spyker.

After running the rule over a number of drivers in test sessions at Barcelona and Jerez towards the end of last year, Mallya has opted for Fisichella and Sutil, with Vitantonio Liuzzi as reserve.

For Fisichella, who was released by Renault after a disappointing 2007 in which he finished eighth in the drivers' championship, it will be his 13th season in Formula One.

"At the test in Jerez I was very impressed with the team's professionalism and commitment to move forward and I hope that my experience will help them achieve these goals," said Fisichella, who celebrates his 35th birthday on Monday.

"Contrary to what people think, this was not my only opportunity but it was the best one. With new owners and a competitive budget, I really think we can shake things up next year. I feel motivated and ready to help Force India get points on a regular basis."

Mallya, who is chairman and managing director of the team, insists Force India will not be in Formula One next season just to make up the numbers.

"The Force India Formula One team is a serious project and we wanted to make a statement to this effect with our driver line-up," said Mallya.

"Money is not the issue now: we need drivers who will push the team and give us direction. The race line-up of Giancarlo and Adrian is a very good one, balancing both speed and experience, and Tonio will provide the team with solid support in his testing program."

Lewis Hamilton gave McLaren's new car a thumbs up Thursday after clocking the fastest time in his first outing of the season.

The Englishman finished in 1 minute, 19.132 seconds from 103 laps in the MP4-23 car.

"My first impressions are encouraging," Hamilton said. "Considering this is only the second day the car has been on track, I am pretty happy with that. We have a lot of work to do, but now we have a real understanding of where we are starting from."

Teammate Heikki Kovalainen, who replaced Fernando Alonso after he signed with Renault, managed a 1:19.462 from 101 laps around the 2.75-mile Circuito de Jerez.

Hamilton and Kovalainen continue testing Friday and next week. Alonso will get behind the wheel of a Renault for the first time since winning his second straight world championship in 2006. E-mail to a friend