Vijay Mallya ‘really excited’ for 2011’s line-up
The Force India team boss, Vijay Mallya told the media, earlier today that he is 'really excited' about the driver line-up his team is tailoring for the 2011 season.
Most of the Formula One teams have already announced their drivers for the upcoming season. Almost all the leading teams including, Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have decided to retain their last year’s line-up while many of the junior teams have
already announced the changes they have made. However, besides Toro Rosso, Force India is the only team that is yet to make the official announcement for both its seats.
While talking to the media this morning, Mallya stated that he is looking forward to a very exciting drivers’ line-up for the upcoming season and will be making the final announcement shortly.
As per rumours, Adrian Sutil, whose contract expired this season is expected to be seen with the team once again with a renewed agreement. Sutil has been with the Indian squad for five seasons and last year he performed brilliantly in some of the rounds.
It is also speculated that the team’s test driver Paul di Resta will be taking the second driver’s seat. Vitantonio Liuzzi, who has been seen behind the Force India wheel during the past two years, would not be seen with Force India any longer, as his contract
has also expired now. Although the driver seems quite confident for having his deal renewed for another year, the team has hardly given any hint of this.
Mallya revealed to the team fans earlier this week, “We're currently closing our driver line-up and I'm really excited about what's to come."
With the first ever Indian Grand Prix scheduled for this October, the team is carefully planning which drivers to sign. The team is hoping to give a very strong performance in front of its home crowd, and is also looking forward for getting some big sponsors
from home.
Contrary to what all thought, Mallya has not signed any of the two Indian drivers in Formula One, Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan. When asked about the return of Karthikeyan after a long time in the series with HRT, Mallya said, “I'm delighted that
Narain is able to make his F1 comeback with HRT and I wish him every success in the coming year. India should be proud that it will be fully represented in its inaugural Grand Prix by an Indian team and now an Indian driver."
Tags: