Fisi sitting pretty at Renault

"It has been an emotional day," Fisichella said. "For me, visiting Enstone is a bit like coming home - the factory is bigger, there are more people, but the atmosphere here is still the same. Most of the mechanics and my engineers are the same people I worked with three years ago so I felt at ease straight away. I am pleased but also very excited to be back."

Fisichella's race engineer Alan Permane reported no problems with the seat fitting and after a few small adjustments the Italian was sitting pretty.

"The seat fit went very smoothly," Permane said. "Within the cockpit, the car has not changed significantly since Giancarlo left the team and of course, we began working from his old settings. It needed some minor tweaks for him to feel fully comfortable, but he soon found a position he was happy with."

The next time Fisichella will sit in the Renault will be for his first test with the team on November 24 in Barcelona.