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F1 grid complete

Unveil of Force India's new Merc-engined car completes the 2009 Formula 1 grid

The 2009 Formula 1 grid is now full following the welcome buyout of Honda’s F1 team (now named Brawn GP, and starting well in testing) and the unveil of this, the ’09 Force India car.

Codenamed VJM02, it uses the same Mercedes FO 108W engine as the McLaren MP4-24 and Brawn GP BGP 001 and will once again be piloted by Adrian Sutil and Formula 1 veteran Giancarlo Fisichella, who will line up at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix for the 14th time.

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It is his second season at Force India, the Silverstone-based team competing for the second year in Formula 1 after buying out Spyker F1 in late 2007. Hopefully the team will have a more prosperous season than ’08 – last year saw 18 retirements from its two cars, with Fisichella’s tenth place at the Spanish GP Force India’s biggest success with no points amassed all year.

The F1 season begins on March 29 at Melbourne, and you can read about the competition Fisichella and Sutil face right here.

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