The Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi will replace his compatriot Giancarlo Fisichella at Force India for the remaining five races of the season, the Formula One team has announced.
Fisichella has joined Ferrari for the rest of this season as replacement for injured Brazilian Felipe Massa and will beginning racing for his new team at this weekend's Italian grand prix.
Liuzzi has been the test driver for Silverstone-based Force India since the start of the 2008 season. The last of his 39 grands prix was with Toro Rosso in Brazil two years ago, with sixth place in China his best finish.
Force India's team principal, Dr Vijay Mallya, said: "I'm delighted to give Tonio the opportunity to get back into a race seat, which I know he has been itching to do for the past two years. Force India is now in a very competitive position and we need a driver who can continue this momentum.
"This will be the chance for Tonio to demonstrate to both the team and the field that he has the commitment, speed and professionalism to perform and I am sure he will seize this opportunity."
"I'm very motivated, I'm in good shape and hungry to get some more points on the board," said Liuzzi. "Although it's unfortunate that this came about as an direct result of Felipe's accident, this is my opportunity to show people what I can do and I'm really looking forward to it."