When Giancarlo Fisichella signed for Force India in 2008, there were many people (myself included) who thought that it was the only drive he could get after he was dumped by Renault.

Others thought that he was there merely to add some credibility to a small team that would languish at the back, while he picked up a nice paycheck from the billionaire team owner. And while their first season wasn't spectacular, it wasn't a disaster either.

Its clear now, that Fisi wasn't just making up the numbers, and he was giving it his all in a team that was far more supportive to him than Flavio Briatorre at Renault. Certainly the situation that Nelson Piquet jnr described after his sacking there seems to reflect what Fisi went through (although if the legal department are looking at this I'm in no way suggesting that Fisi was ever ordered to crash!!!)

With the promise of a drive in the most famous name in motor sport ahead of him, I'm incredibly impressed at the way that Vijay Mallya has handled this. If he had put his foot down, I'm sure he could have forced his driver to stay, Fisi would have honoured his contract, but the disappointment involved in keeping him against his will would be deep for both parties.

At the Belgian Grand Prix it was clear that Force India were doing everything they could to keep him. In other teams this could have become a spat or a legal nightmare that could have poisoned the team and destroyed much of what they had. The fact that this has been handled so well speaks wonders about the professionalism, honor and decency of the team, Vijay Mallya and Giancarlo Fisichella. They are all class acts in my book

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