Giancarlo Fisichella
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| Giancarlo Fisichella | |
|---|---|
 Giancarlo Fisichella piloting the Renault R25 at the 2005 United States Grand Prix |
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| F1 Record | |
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Car # | 2 |
| Current team | Renault |
| Team for 2007 | Renault |
| Grands Prix | 179 |
| World Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Podium finishes | 18 |
| Pole positions | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| First Grand Prix | 1996 Australian Grand Prix |
| First win | 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| 2006 Championship position | 4th (72 pts) |
| edit | |
Giancarlo Fisichella (born January 14, 1973 in Rome), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He currently drives for the reigning world constructors' champion Renault team and has also driven for Sauber, Jordan, Benetton and Minardi. For most of his career he has consistently outpaced his team-mates, and was eventually declared the winner for Jordan of the chaotic 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix a week after the event. Until 2005 he had never been in a team with genuinely competitive equipment. Since joining the Renault team he has been overshadowed by world champion Fernando Alonso but has taken two further victories with Renault. Having recently signed a further one year contract with Renault, he will hope to step out of Alonso's shadow as Alonso leaves for McLaren next season. He also runs his own GP2 team, FMS International, currently lead by former Formula One driver Giorgio Pantano.
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[edit] Early Days
Like most current Formula One drivers, Fisichella began kart racing as a youngster. In 1992, he competed in the Italian Formula Three series, racing for the RC Motorsport team. He finished runner up in 1993, and in 1994 he won the championship, behind race victories in Monaco and Macau. He left open-wheel racing briefly in 1995, driving for Alfa Romeo in the International Touring Car Championship series.
[edit] Formula One start
In 1996, he made the move to Formula One, racing for Minardi for half the season before being replaced by Giovanni Lavaggi, the team needing a driver with funding. Fisichella, tipped early on to be a successor to greats like Prost, Senna, and Stewart, made his full F1 assault in 1997 with Jordan, scoring his first podium at the Canada. That year he outclassed reigning Formula Nippon champion Ralf Schumacher, his team-mate. At Hockenheim he led for much of the race, but was denied the win by an inspired Gerhard Berger and a puncture. A superb second behind Schumacher at Spa in drenching conditions marked him out as a real talent and for 1998 he was snapped up by Benetton.
The timing was unfortunate. Benetton were now without works Renault engines and would not win another race. The first half of 1998 saw some very promising displays. Second places at Montreal and Monaco hinted at a strong season. At Montreal he had been in contention for the win, but gearbox problems slowed him and eased Michael Schumacher's path to the victory. Austria saw a maiden pole, but a clash with Jean Alesi during the race cost him any chance of a good result. For the second half of the year, Benetton's pace dropped off, and only two more points would be added to his score.
1999 was much the same. A few podiums were achieved, but the car was very inconsistent. Heartbreak came at the Nurburgring. Fisichella had been leading and was on course for the win, but crashed out. It would be his last chance of a win for some years.
In 2000 the story was similar. Early season podiums surprised many, but Benetton's now traditional poor second half of the season meant that he failed to score any more points. Since joining Benetton, Fisichella had comprehensively outclassed team-mate Alex Wurz and the Austrian made way for Jenson Button in 2001.
Renault now owned the team, but the 2001 car was poor. Experiments with wide-angle engines did not deliver competitive levels of power and for most of the year the Benettons were left to scrap with the Minardis and Prosts. However, the efforts of technical director Mike Gascoyne and his staff saw the car improve. At Hockenheim Fisichella led home a 4-5 finish, whilst at Spa he put in an epic drive to grab the team's only podium of the year. Despite his dominance over Button that year, he found himself forced to leave to make way for Jarno Trulli in 2002. He returned to Jordan, but the team was in decline. The 2002 season saw him take just seven points, but little more was possible. In 2003 Jordan were forced to use Ford engines, Honda having ended their works supply. The car was very uncompetitive, but freak circumstances in Brazil saw Giancarlo take his first victory. Only a seventh at Indianapolis enhanced his score that year.
Unhappy at Jordan's fall down the grid, Fisichella moved to Sauber in 2004. Hopeful of using the team as a springboard to Ferrari, he drove well all year, comfortably outpacing Massa for much of the season. His strong performances rekindled the interest of old team-boss Briatore and for 2005 Fisichella returned to Benetton, which had been bought by Renault during his absence. A win at Melbourne signalled his Formula One breakthrough, but it proved to be a false dawn. Poor luck ruined many of his races and team-mate Fernando Alonso began to dominate him. All too often Fisichella would be in a strong position, before something went wrong. Racing commentator Tony Jardine has suggested that technical problems hampering his season are simply due to resources being directed at team mate (and World Championship leader) Alonso.
The gulf in speed between Fisichella and Alonso was noticeable however. Many felt that Fisichella did not capitalise on his chances. A last lap surrender to Kimi Räikkönen at Suzuka cost him the win and prompted many to question his mindset. 2006 started in a similar vein - he won in Malaysia, with a strong performance from the pole position, but he did not maintain the result at the upcoming races. At Imola and Nürburgring Giancarlo has missed the top 10 in qualifying - in the latter Jacques Villeneuve impeded him in his flying lap, and got penalised. With his stall in Melbourne after a strong qualifying, a questionable penalty in Monaco for impeding David Coulthard, and a false start in Canada, his chances were ruined to fight for the World Drivers' Championship with his flawlessly driving teammate Fernando Alonso. In the second half of 2006 he showed more maturity and pace, comfortably beating Alonso in Indianapolis and - until teamorders - in Hockenheim, grabbing podiums in Shanghai and Suzuka, but some weaker performances and teamplay (like giving his position to Alonso again in Shanghai) hindered him to finish the season in form. While Felipe Massa with the much stronger Ferrari topped him at the final grand prix in Interlagos, 2006 was still Fisi's most successful season with 72 points, 1 win, 5 podiums and fourth in the overall standings.
Fisichella is one of the sport's fastest drivers, but after so many seasons with lowly placed teams, perhaps his motivation suffered. ITV's expert Martin Brundle has suggested that Fisichella's problems are mental. He doesn't really cope well with being the second fiddle in his team. He needs to have strong support from them to perform to his maximum. Whether he will get that throughout the 2006 season could determine his future in the sport. However, on June 15 it was confirmed that he will drive for the Renault team in 2007, and his new teammate will be rookie Heikki Kovalainen due to Alonso's leaving to McLaren. His biggest and probably last opportunity to fight for the F1 WDC and get back his earlier reputation will come in 2007. He has to perform better, mentally stronger than in the last two years, and first of all, he convincigly has to beat Kovalainen for the better team support.
[edit] 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix scoring controversy
Fisichella's win in Brazil on April 6, 2003 didn't come easy. Battling with McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen amidst heavy rain and numerous crashes, Fisichella took the race lead on lap 53, soon before the race was red-flagged. However, he was demoted to second place on the podium, because (per regulations) Räikkönen was the race leader two laps prior to the red flag. Several days later, though, the FIA determined that Fisichella had already begun his 56th lap before the red flag, meaning that he, and not Räikkönen, had been leading the race two laps before its premature end, awarding the man known as "Fisi" or "Fisico" his first F1 victory. For nearly two years, Fisichella was the only F1 driver to have won a race without having stood atop the podium. (See 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix for more race details).
[edit] Onwards to 2007
In 2007 Giancarlo Fisichella will become Renault's team leader after the departure of Fernando Alonso. His team mate will be the young Finn Heikki Kovalainen. The team's test driver is Nelson Piquet Jr..
[edit] Record
Giancarlo has managed three victories in his Formula 1 career, in Brazil 2003, Australia 2005 and Malaysia 2006. He took his first points in 1997 in the Jordan at Imola with 4th place. He took his first podium at Canada that same year in 3rd place, another followed at Spa in Belgium. In 1998 podiums came at Monaco and Canada, where he nearly won. 1999 was a troubled year but he still managed 2nd place in Canada. 2000 was a better year for him, with podiums in Brazil, Monaco and Canada. 2001 was a disastrous year in a poor Benetton, but he managed a podium finish at Spa. For 2002 he moved to Jordan and suffered, no podiums but a string of fifth placed finishes around mid season helped his beat team mate Takuma Sato. 2003 brought Giancarlo his first win at a very wet Brazilian Grand Prix, but the rest of the year earnt him only one point. 2004 was spent at the Sauber Team, again no podiums but he did manage a good points haul. 2005 and his big chance came at Renault. He started the year fantastically with a win in Australia, but poor luck after that with problems at nearly every race, and he ended the season 5th in the championship.
[edit] Personal
Fisichella is engaged to Luna and they have two children, Carlotta and Christopher. After finishing third in the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, he dedicated the result to his best friend, Tonino Visciani, who died of a heart attack on the Thursday before the race. [1]
[edit] Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Team | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Minardi | AUS ret |
BRA |
ARG |
EUR 13 |
RSM Ret |
MON Ret |
ESP Ret |
CAN 8 |
FRA Ret |
GBR 11 |
GER |
HUN |
BEL |
ITA |
POR |
JPN |
Minardi | 19th | 0 | |||
| 1997 | Jordan | AUS Ret |
BRA 8 |
ARG Ret |
RSM 4 |
MON 6 |
ESP 9 |
CAN 3 |
FRA 9 |
GBR 7 |
GER 11 |
HUN Ret |
BEL 2 |
ITA 4 |
AUT 4 |
LUX Ret |
JPN 7 |
EUR 11 |
Jordan | 8th | 20 | ||
| 1998 | Benetton | AUS Ret |
BRA 6 |
ARG 7 |
RSM Ret |
ESP Ret |
MON 2 |
CAN 2 |
FRA 9 |
GBR 5 |
AUT Ret |
GER 7 |
HUN 8 |
BEL Ret |
ITA 8 |
LUX 6 |
JPN 8 |
Benetton | 9th | 16 | |||
| 1999 | Benetton | AUS 4 |
BRA Ret |
RSM 5 |
MON 5 |
ESP 9 |
CAN 2 |
FRA Ret |
GBR 7 |
AUT 12 |
GER Ret |
HUN Ret |
BEL 11 |
ITA Ret |
EUR Ret |
MAS 11 |
JPN 14 |
Benetton | 9th | 13 | |||
| 2000 | Benetton | AUS 5 |
BRA 2 |
RSM 11 |
GBR 7 |
ESP 9 |
EUR 5 |
MON 3 |
CAN 3 |
FRA 9 |
AUT Ret |
GER Ret |
HUN Ret |
BEL Ret |
ITA 11 |
USA Ret |
JPN 14 |
MAS 9 |
Benetton | 6th | 18 | ||
| 2001 | Benetton | AUS 13 |
MAS Ret |
BRA 6 |
RSM Ret |
ESP 14 |
AUT Ret |
MON Ret |
CAN Ret |
EUR 11 |
FRA 11 |
GBR 13 |
GER 4 |
HUN Ret |
BEL 3 |
ITA 10 |
USA 8 |
JPN 17 |
Benetton | 11th | 8 | ||
| 2002 | Jordan | AUS Ret |
MAS 13 |
BRA Ret |
RSM Ret |
ESP Ret |
AUT 5 |
MON 5 |
CAN 5 |
EUR Ret |
GBR 7 |
FRA DNS |
GER Ret |
HUN 6 |
BEL Ret |
ITA 8 |
USA 7 |
JPN Ret |
Jordan | 11th | 7 | ||
| 2003 | Jordan | AUS Ret |
MAS Ret |
BRA 1 |
RSM 15 |
ESP Ret |
AUT Ret |
MON 10 |
CAN Ret |
EUR 12 |
FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER 13 |
HUN Ret |
ITA 10 |
USA 7 |
JPN Ret |
Jordan | 12th | 12 | |||
| 2004 | Sauber | AUS 10 |
MAS 11 |
BAH 11 |
RSM 9 |
ESP 7 |
MON Ret |
EUR 6 |
CAN 4 |
USA 9 |
FRA 12 |
GBR 6 |
GER 9 |
HUN 8 |
BEL 5 |
ITA 8 |
CHN 7 |
JPN 8 |
BRA 9 |
Sauber | 11th | 22 | |
| 2005 | Renault | AUS 1 |
MAS Ret |
BAH Ret |
RSM Ret |
ESP 5 |
MON 12 |
EUR 6 |
CAN Ret |
USA DNS |
FRA 6 |
GBR 4 |
GER 4 |
HUN 9 |
TUR 4 |
ITA 3 |
BEL Ret |
BRA 5 |
JPN 2 |
CHN 4 |
Renault | 5th | 58 |
| 2006 | Renault | BAH Ret |
MAS 1 |
AUS 5 |
RSM 8 |
EUR 6 |
ESP 3 |
MON 6 |
GBR 4 |
CAN 4 |
USA 3 |
FRA 6 |
GER 6 |
HUN Ret |
TUR 6 |
ITA 4 |
CHN 3 |
JPN 3 |
BRA 6 |
Renault | 4th | 72 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ F1-Live.com article, retrieved October 8, 2006.
[edit] External links
- The official website for Giancarlo Fisichella
- Giancarlo Fisichella profile and statistics
- Giancarlo Fisichella statistics
| Constructors and drivers competing in the 2007 Formula One championship | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren | Renault | Ferrari | Honda | BMW | Toyota |
| 1 Alonso 2 Hamilton |
3 Fisichella 4 Kovalainen |
5 Massa 6 Räikkönen |
7 Button 8 Barrichello |
9 Heidfeld 10 Kubica |
11 Schumacher 12 Trulli |
| Red Bull | Williams | Toro Rosso | Spyker | Super Aguri | |
| 14 Coulthard 15 Webber |
16 Rosberg 17 Wurz |
18 Liuzzi 19 Speed |
20 Albers 21 ? |
22 Sato 23 Davidson |
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