Fisichella: China Drive Vindicates Me

The Italian missed out on a podium finish in Shanghai after being penalised for holding up Raikkonen on the entry to the pitlane during the second Safety Car period, but did enough earlier on in the event to feel satisfied with his performance.

And that drive was exactly what Fisichella needed after facing widespread criticism for losing victory so late on in the Japanese Grand Prix.

"For sure this race helps me going into the winter, but in my mind there was never any doubt I had done my best in Suzuka," he said.

"For sure there was a lot of criticism, but as I've always done in my life I didn't get down because of that and tried to answer with facts, with the result of the next race, to show what I can do when I have a good car."

Fisichella's performance in China was helped by the new E-spec Renault engine - which he claims would have helped him 'easily' win in Japan if he had had it there.

"I did a very strong race, easily keeping both McLarens behind him. I had a great car this time, I could push hard and leave them behind whenever I wanted, but I was just staying in front of them to manage the situation in the team's best interests.

"I was going slower than I could. The entire race, until the drive through, I was using less 500-700 revs than what I could do.

"At the end, when I was told to push, because of the drive through, I could do 1m33.5s/1,33.6s, which was a great pace, so that shows what I could have done earlier.

"But in the end I missed third place by a whisker and that's a real shame because it would have been great to celebrate with Fernando and Flavio on the podium. But we got what we wanted to get today, won the World Championship for Constructors' too and I did a great race, managing the situation to perfection.

"Just ask (Flavio) Briatore what he thinks of my race and you'll see what he has to say. I gave my best contribution to the team's result and I guess this was one of my best races for the team. I didn't even sweat today."