Monday 11 August at 16:31 : Force India is likely to field the same race driver lineup in 2009, high profile co-owner Vijay Mallya has said.

Mallya, the billionaire Indian businessman, told F1's official website that he is "happy" with both Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil.

A year ago, Mallya suggested that while his needs for the team's debut year were unique, an Indian driver would "certainly" feature in the 2009 lineup.

Karun Chandhok, an Indian driver in the feeder category GP2, has now suggested he is on the verge of breaking into F1.

But Mallya, despite also possessing the highly motivated Tonio Liuzzi as a test driver, insists: "The experience of Giancarlo is invaluable to me and Adrian has lots of talent. I think he is improving race by race, becoming more consistent.

"I am quite happy with them," he continued.

"More importantly, they have a great attitude that will help me to face the challenges of tomorrow and I think they will be very satisfied driving the 2009 car, which I personally am sure will be a significant improvement and a big surprise," Mallya added.