SPORT LD FISICHELLA 2

"We would like to stress that we have not accepted any
financial settlement from Ferrari. This agreement has been
made in good faith and for the good of Giancarlo and the sport
in general. A competitive Italian driver in a Ferrari for
Monza is a positive story for Formula One, which can only help
raise the sport's profile in these difficult times," Mallya
said.

"We would like to thank Giancarlo for all his help over
the past one and a half seasons and for delivering us our
first World Championship points last weekend. He has been an
integral part of the team and we owe him a great deal for his
input behind the scenes and performance out on track. We wish
him all the best for the future," he added.

Mallya also dismissed suggestions that Fisichella's exit
would weaken the outfit which tasted its first Formula One
points in Belgium, courtesy Fisichella's second place finish.

"For Force India, this sport is a team effort and
removing one part, even a major one, will not significantly
affect our performance. The competitiveness of the team seen
in Belgium was a result of hard work in the factory and wind
tunnel and we have further developments coming for the final
races, so we are confident this momentum can be sustained. We
are now looking forward to a strong finish to the season," he
said. (More) PTI AY
ANU