Giancarlo Fisichella has been released by Force India to join Ferrari with immediate effect, following intensive talks between the two teams over the past 24 hours. Fisichella will become Felipe Massa's second replacement following the Brazilian's near-fatal accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix over a month ago.

The Italian will partner Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari for the Italian Grand Prix, ending Luca Badoer's short two-race career with the team. Badoer was Massa's original stand-in but following two poor performances at the European and Belgian Grands Prix, where he qualified and finished last on both occasions, he has been cast aside in favour of Fisichella, who finished second at the weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

Fisichella is also expected to become the team's official test driver from 2010 onwards as part of the race deal. Ferrari was originally expected to confirm its Monza driver line-up 16.30 CET.

Vijay Mallya, Force India-Mercedes (Chairman and Team Principal):
“Giancarlo and his management team approached me yesterday with the proposal from Ferrari. For any Italian driver, a Ferrari race seat is a long-held dream and for Giancarlo it was no exception. No one should stand in the way of this. Furthermore the agreement will secure Giancarlo's long-term future with Ferrari and it would be incorrect to jeopardise this, particularly when Giancarlo has made such a vital contribution to Force India.

“We would like to stress that we have not agreed any financial settlement with Ferrari. This agreement has been made in good faith and for the good of Giancarlo and the sport in general. A competitive Italian driver in a Ferrari for Monza is a positive story for Formula One, which can only help raise the sport's profile in these difficult times.

“We would like to thank Giancarlo for all his help over the past one and a half seasons and for delivering us our first World Championship points last weekend. He has been an integral part of the team and we owe him a great deal for his input behind the scenes and performance out on track. We wish him all the best for the future.

“For Force India, this sport is a team effort and removing one part, even a major one, will not significantly affect our performance. The competitiveness of the team seen in Belgium was a result of hard work in the factory and wind tunnel and we have further developments coming for the final races, so we are confident this momentum can be sustained. We are now looking forward to a strong finish to the season.”

Giancarlo Fisichella:
“I am very grateful to Vijay Mallya for allowing me this opportunity to drive for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team. It is true that it has always been an ambition to do this, and for Vijay to have allowed it to become a reality is very generous. I hope in my turn I have helped Force India grow up and be on the right path to achieve their own ambitions. They are now a very competitive team and I wish them all the very best.”

Force India reserve driver Vitantonio Liuzzi is expected to replace Fisichella at the team for the remainder of the season. The Italian will conduct a straightline test with the Mercedes-powered VJM02 ahead of the Italian Grand Prix to familiarise himself with the car, having not yet tested it.