Will Ron Dennis dictate who drives for Force India next year?

Force India have signed a five-year deal to use a McLaren Mercedes drivetrain (plus KERS system). The deal effectively means that Force India are now - for want of a better phrase - McLaren’s bitches. As such, it seems Ron Dennis and co. will have a say in who drives for McForce next year. McForce boss Vijay Mallya said:

“They (McLaren) will recommend what they believe to be in the best interests of my team and I have to decide. And I would be hard pressed to ignore their advice.

“The first thing is building the car. If we don’t have a car then there’s no point having a driver… It’s already pushing the envelope a little bit, so we need to focus on the car. The driver comes next and we will have these conversations.”

In other words, Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella - neither of whom scored a point in 2008 - might get the boot, if McLaren wants to impose its own driver choices. Rumours abound that highly rated Scottish driver Paul di Resta may yet replace Sutil. McLaren’s experienced test driver, Pedro de la Rosa, who is viewed as a safe pair of hands, could also be in line for a drive.

Which driver line-up do you think McForce should opt for in 2009? Vote below:

Gridcrasher rates each driver based on their performance in 2008

Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India)

Best finish: 10th (Spain)
Best qualifying: 12th (Italy)
Total points: 0

The story of his season: No points, seven retirements, just one finish in the top ten - 2008 has been a washout for Fisi, who no longer enjoys the luxury of a seat in a competitive car. Force India have decided to keep the Italian for another year, but you wonder what either party stands to gain from the partnership - Fisi’s heart doesn’t seem in it these days.

With just one race to run, Gridcrasher rates each driver based on their performance in 2008. To kick-off, we evaluate the man with the gayest run in F1

Adrian Sutil (Force India)

Best finish: 13th (Belgium)
Best qualifying: 16th (Canada)
Total points: A big fat 0

The story of his season: There’s no doubt that Force India have the weakest package in the paddock, so it’s difficult to judge Sutil’s true pace and potential. His undoubted high point of 2008 was Monaco, where he drove brilliantly and was set for a fourth-place finish until Kimi Raikkonen ran into the back of him with just six laps remaining. It was a cruel retirement which left the sensitive Sutil in tears. His problem is that F1 is so damn competitive these days - the only way Force India can hope to get near the points is if other teams have mechanical problems, or a host of drivers crash out - that just hasn’t happened this year. Monaco apart, Sutil has struggled both in qualifying and during grands prix.

Backmarker teams up with frontmarker

Force India, F1’s current undisputed backmarker, is set to team up with McLaren in 2009. It’s a technical partnership which may also include a customer-car contract. The deal is not 100% done, simply because the FIA’s cust-cotting measures have muddied the waters, but both parties are in agreement and ready to do business.

According to German newspaper Express, Gerhard Berger revealed: “As I understand it, Force India has secured a customer car from McLaren for the coming year.”

McLaren boss Ron Dennis claims the teams are still working on the deal. Big Ron told Autosport:

Handsome Force India star doesn’t want a girlfriend, runs like a girl. You do the maths

Racing drivers are naturally very attractive to the opposite sex. They don’t struggle to find hot women - even the uglier drivers have good-looking WAGs. So when Adrian Sutil - who is one of the best-looking drivers currently in F1 - wrote in a column that he doesn’t have a girlfriend, nor does he want a girlfriend, it set tongues a-wagging.

Apart from the lack of a WAG by his side, there is another clue that Sutil may drive on the other side of the road: he runs in a very, very camp fashion. Oh, and in his spare time he likes to play the grand piano (really), a bit like, er… Liberace. Proof, if proof be need be.

F1 teams test on Gloucestershire runway, neighbours not amused

McLaren tested on a runway at Kemble Airport near Cirencester last week - it was a simple, routine shakedown ahead of this month’s European GP - even during the August break, teams are permitted to conduct short shakedowns and aero tests. However, not everyone was happy with the test. Six - yes, six! - locals wrote letters of complaint about the noise from the McLaren’s engine.

“I have written to the airfield letting them know how many complaints we got this week and last week,” said environmental health officer Ray Brassington.

Ferrari overhaul McLaren on final day at German track

Under-pressure Felipe Massa restored confidence at Ferrari by setting the pace on the third and final day of testing at the Hockenheim ring (which sounds like some disgusting German sausage, but isn’t).

Massa was the only driver to dip under the 1:15.00 mark yesterday. After completing 109 trouble-free laps, the Brazilian claimed he was happy with the team’s progress:

“It was a good day’s work… We did a lot of kilometres and I have to say the car felt well balanced. This can only mean we should also be competitive at this track, which is also the case for our main rivals.”

Honda will be encouraged by Jenson Button’s performance. The British driver was second-fastest, with Heikki Kovalainen in third for McLaren.

Full timesheet below:

McLaren prodigy leads the pack for second day in a row

Lewis Hamilton can’t be touched at Hockenheim. He was the only driver to dip under 1:15.00 at the German track yesterday, in a McLaren that featured a new front-wing design. Nico Rosberg put in a solid stint for second place, perhaps a consequnce of Williams now placing more emphasis on this year’s car, rather than the 2009 development programme. World champ Kimi Raikkonen was third for Ferrari, less than half a second off McLaren’s pace.

In a brief interview after Tuesday’s session, Lewis admitted that he was NOT thinking about sacking his dad (despite what Marca thinks), and that he believes the 2008 championship will go down to the last race of the season. The British driver also revealed that after his stunning win at Silverstone, he was in bed by 11pm after a celebration dinner with his family - not exactly the behaviour of F1’s greatest ever playboy.

Full timesheet below…