Fisichella interested in Force India deal

Although Fisichella has not yet been officially told that he is out of the running for a race seat at former world champions Renault, his test at Force India this week shows he is determined to keep as many options open as possible to ensure he can stay in F1.

And with new backing from Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, Fisichella thinks there are plenty of reasons to race for Force India next season - even though they were fighting at the back of the field last year.

"My motivation is my love for this sport and the fact I feel I still have the right approach," he said in the Force India motor home about the reasons for wanting to race for the team. "I believe I can still give a lot to whatever team I race with.

"Talking about Force India, the project that was shown to me is a very interesting one; there will be a lot more money available compared to last year, so there are a number of things that make me believe that if I stay with Force India for 2008 I'll be able to make the team grow up quite a lot.

"Of course we're not dreaming of winning races or fighting with the big teams, but I believe we will be able to manage some interesting results when circumstances will be in our side."

Fisichella faces opposition from Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Ralf Schumacher for the second seat at Force India, although there have been fresh rumours out of Jerez this week that there could be two seats up for grabs at the team.

Adrian Sutil has a contract with the team for 2008, but speculation suggests once again that he could be sold on to a rival outfit.

Fisichella's hopes of getting a fresh deal with Renault have hung in the balance while the team courts Fernando Alonso, but the Italian is adamant that he is not 100 percent out of the frame there yet.

"Let's say that it's all open, because there's no final decision on anything yet, " he said. "I wanted to test with another team to have another road open for me, but it may still happen that Renault calls me back in a couple of days, as it can also happen that they tell me we're finished.

"For the moment that's not on my mind, as I'm focused on testing with Force India and in making the most out of these two days of running."

And with traction control and other electronic driver aids banned for 2008, Fisichella thinks that his talent can once again shine through.

"I think that with the new rules, without the electronic aids I'll be able to make the difference," he said. "Maybe someone has made a mistake, maybe some teams have other ideas and plans for other drivers, but I'm confident I can hold my own in Formula One."