First Corner Crucial, Says Fisichella

Fisichella had hoped to move ahead of Trulli and secure a front-row lock-out for Renault in the second race of the season, but tge Italian had to settle for a place on the second row after final qualifying on Sunday.

"It's going to be very important to go through the first corner and I would like to keep my position and if I can overtake Jarno straightaway it is better," Fisichella said. "We are very optimistic to have the right strategy for the race.

"The car balance was still under-steering today, but I think it is good for the race because usually there is a bit of over-steering especially at the end of the race so I am pretty confident and we will see."

World Champions Ferrari are struggling to perform in the high temperatures seen at the Sepang track this weekend and Michael Schumacher will start the race down in 13th position. But Fisichella warned against ruling out the Italian team.

"Maybe they have a lot of fuel and are going to try a very long first stint, because they have good pace to overtake some cars," he said. "I believe they especially [could overtake during] the pitstops, so at the end of the race they are there, they are going to fight for the podium."