Force India owner Vijay Mallya was left "in a state of shock" after seeing his team claim a place on the podium in Belgium.
Tycoon insists no deal has been done with Ferrari over Fisichella
Force India owner Vijay Mallya was struggling to take it all in after seeing Giancarlo Fisichella claim his team's first points in Belgium.
The Italian followed up his shock pole position at Spa by finishing Sunday's race in second place, just 0.9 seconds behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
The success for the Formula One newcomers comes ahead of schedule, with Mallya originally having aimed to register a podium finish by the time of the Indian GP in 2011.
However, in just their 30th race they have managed to break their duck - leaving their normally ebullient owner in a state of shock.
First year
"As you well know, this is our first real year in Formula One as Force India," remarked Mallya.
"Last year all we did was race the Spyker car because we bought the team at the end of 2007, and in 2008 it was the same Spyker package, the same management team, the same engineering.
"Then we revamped everything and designed and built this car, and I think since Australia it's fair to say we haven't been the laggards at the back.
"We've been a good midfield team and improving all the time, and we went into this race again hoping for points.
"Then when pole showed up we were ecstatic, and clearly we are ecstatic today with the podium finish."
He added: "I'm in a bit of a state of shock actually. We are still a small team, but obviously we are a good enough team to be on the podium and score some points, so obviously I am very happy."
However, Mallya could now find himself losing the driver who put Force India on the board in the 2009 season.
Fisichella, 36, is being heavily linked with a switch to Ferrari as a replacement for Luca Badoer, with the move likely to happen before the next race.
But Force India have rejected reports by an Italian television company that a deal has already been done.
Speculation
"Ferrari hasn't come to me, Fisi hasn't come to me, his manager hasn't come to me," insisted Mallya.
"This is all speculation, something I should not be commenting on at all because as far as I am concerned the proposal doesn't exist.
"Fisi is a very valuable member of my team and I'm sure he's very proud and pleased with his own performance today and the car that we have given him to drive."
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali also played down the speculation, adding: "Giancarlo is a driver that seems to be very fast, and he had a great race.
"But I cannot say whether the speculation is true or not."
