Apr.18 (GMM) Mike Gascoyne has backed Giancarlo Fisichella's recent claim that he feels vindicated by his form for Force India so far in 2008.



The 35-year-old veteran said he feels satisfied that his former team, Renault, has struggled to shine in the wake of his forced departure at the end of last season.



"Fisi has shown that he's fully deserving of a place in F1," Gascoyne, Force India's technical boss and also a former Renault employee, told the website of the American broadcaster Speed TV.



Rome-born Fisichella was replaced at Renault this year by the rookie Nelson Piquet, who has so far struggled to keep up with his teammate Fernando Alonso in the difficult R28.



Referring to the recent Bahrain grand prix, Gascoyne continued: "When he was in front of Nelson Piquet he probably had a little bit of an incentive to stay in front of him.



"He drove a superb race, and he's brought a lot to the team," he added, referring to Fisichella, who has consistently outpaced his highly rated young teammate Adrian Sutil.



Gascoyne said Force India's 2008 form has been a shot in the arm for a team that, in the previous Spyker, Midland and latter Jordan guises, struggled for mere survival.



"Really this team hasn't been racing anyone for a few years, so I think we can be very pleased," he added.