Fisichella praises new front wing

The French squad introduced the new wing on Saturday, and it inmediately helped Fisichella feel more comfortable with the R27 around the streets of the principality.

The Italian qualified in a season-best fourth place, and then went on to finish the race in the same position.

"We made a good step forward with our new front wing, and it's very encouraging for the future," said Fisichella after the race. "We are going in the right direction.

It's a good step forward in terms of grip, and especially in terms of the consistency of the car. It felt more comfortable, and the level of understeer in mid-corner is much less. That's good. We need another step like that.

"We still have lots of work to do, but I think we are going in the right direction and we know now the areas where we need to really focus. If we have a couple of steps like this, we can make another step forward. "

Renault's performance in Monaco has left Fisichella upbeat, and the Roman reckons the team should be able to do well again in the next race in Canada.

"There will be a different level of downforce - much less downforce, because you have a very long straight over there," he added. "And the car works OK on that kind of level of downforce. At Paul Ricard I was second quickest, so it's very encouraging. "