Fisichella: Renault may back one driver

The Italian had to play a supporting role to former teammate Fernando Alonso over the past two seasons after losing ground early in the campaign, and he thinks Renault will think about adopting similar tactics again.

That is why he is determined to make the most of every opportunity that comes his way at the start of the year, so that he will be the one who benefits if Renault choose to throw their weight behind one driver.

"The important thing is to start very well already at the first Grand Prix and to carry on even better by always scoring points," Fisichella said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Then we'll see if Renault decide to concentrate on one driver to take him to the title.

"That's the way it's been in the last two years, and the strategy worked. However, for an infinite number of reasons, the chosen one wasn't me.

"Let's put it this way: after three or four races, if one of us will be in a better position than the other, Renault will decide."

Renault have not been pace-setters in pre-season testing, but Fisichella remains confident that new aerodynamic parts due to come onboard before the start of the season will lift their performance.

"We still don't have the same race pace as the best. But the R27 will be completed only in time for the last six days of testing, the most important ones: the tests in Bahrain," he said.

"It's still not clear where we are compared to the others. At Montmelo we were slower than Ferrari, even though a new wing improved the performance. But analysing the tests is tricky: you can only understand a bit of the competitors' capabilities.

"To know how much fuel the others have on board each time is hard. And besides, at Valencia Ferrari struggled while McLaren were scary, they were unreachable, while at Montmelo McLaren had the same pace as us and Ferrari were ahead."