Liuzzi gets Force India call-up

Force India has promoted its reserve driver Tonio Liuzzi into the race team to take the seat left vacant by Giancarlo Fisichella's move to Ferrari.

The move brings Liuzzi back onto the Formula 1 grid just under two years after he lost his Toro Rosso drive and switched to Force India testing duties.

"I can't wait to get back into the car in race trim, particularly at my home grand prix in Monza," said Liuzzi.

"I really appreciate the opportunity Vijay has given me, particularly now Force India has a great car that's performing very well.

"I am confident I can carry on our progress.

"I'm very motivated, I'm in good shape and hungry to get some more points on the board.

"Although it's unfortunate that this came about as an [indirect] result of Felipe's accident, this is my opportunity to show people what I can do and I'm really looking forward to it."

Fisichella took a shock second place in what turned out to be his final GP for Force India at Spa, and team boss Vijay Mallya expects Liuzzi to help keep the team near the front.

"Force India is now in a very competitive position and we need a driver who can continue this momentum," said Mallya.

"This will be the chance for Tonio to demonstrate to both the team and the field that he has the commitment, speed and professionalism to perform and I am sure he will seize this opportunity."

Liuzzi initially arrived in F1 in 2005 as a Red Bull protege and with a dominant Formula 3000 title under his belt.

He was set to share the second Red Bull Racing seat with Christian Klien that season, but the team abandoned this policy and ultimately Liuzzi only managed four races.

He was placed with junior squad Toro Rosso for the next two seasons before losing his seat to Sebastien Bourdais and switching to Force India.

While absent from the F1 field for the past two years he still managed a limited amount of racing in the now defunct Speedcar Series in the Middle East and representing Italy in A1GP.