Fisichella ready to rebuild season
Giancarlo Fisichella is confident he can bounce back this weekend in Canada after a torrid three months have left his world championship dream in tatters.
The Italian held an early advantage in the title race when he won for Renault in Australia, but since that impressive performance he has struggled.
Two accidents and car problems in Bahrain and Monaco have restricted Fisichella to just seven points in the six races since his Melbourne triumph and he has fallen 42 points off the pace of team-mate Fernando Alonso in the standings.
His championship dream may almost certainly be over for 2005 but Fisichella is ready to issue a timely reminder of his talent in Montreal this weekend, where he hopes to return to the podium.
He said: “I am feeling very confident. Renault were quick there last year and, personally, I have had four podiums at this circuit, and even last year with Sauber I finished in fourth position. Looking at qualifying, I will be going out near the end of the session which means we will have some more options with the strategy, so things are set up for a good race.
“As long as the preparations are trouble-free, I think we will have a good enough car to be aiming for at least the podium.”
Fisichella has enjoyed only two trouble-free races this season and has been forced to watch with growing frustration as Alonso has demonstrated Renault’s potential with four wins.
Fisichella had hopes of a top-three finish at the Nurburgring two weeks ago but they vanished before the race even got under way when he stalled on the grid.
He was able to recover to claim sixth but feels he missed an opportunity, saying: “For me, the feeling when I finished sixth was frustration, because I know it could have been a lot better.
“If I had started from my original position in ninth, the podium could have been a possibility with the package we had at the Nurburgring. Unfortunately, the problem with the car dropped me to the back of the grid and I had to fight my way through and get three important points.
“But as I have said before, I know that the team is working hard for me and Fernando, and that it is important for us to get both cars in the points, and in good positions, at every race.
“So far, the season since Australia has been frustrating, but I am driving well and maybe just need some more luck.”
Renault’s engineering chief Pat Symonds is keen to praise Fisichella’s performances this season and acknowledges car trouble has been behind most of his problems.
He said: “It is a preoccupation for us. However, I don’t think it is correct to view this as a trend. It has been a sequence of isolated incidents and, from our point of view, they are reliability problems that we need to solve, because they could as easily have affected both cars and left us in a weaker championship position.
“But looking at the races Giancarlo has driven, I think they have been some of the best of the year – the drives in Spain and at the Nurburgring were fantastic, and full of character.”
