Gascoyne tips Fisichella to shine in 2008

Fisichella was overshadowed by Fernando Alonso during their time together at Renault, and then endured a frustrating 2007 campaign when the team's drop of form left him unable to show what he could do as a team leader.

After being replaced by a returning Alonso and Nelson Piquet for this season, Fisichella has opted for a new challenge at Force India.

And although on paper the move is a step back for the Italian, Force India's chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne believes that Fisichella will be better able to show what he is capable of this season.

"With the ban on traction control, I always thought Giancarlo would be a good fit with the team," said Gascoyne, who previously worked with Fisichella at Benetton. "He is very unpolitical, he is very easy going.

"I think as a driver he has been accused of being flaky, but if you put him in a high-pressure environment with Alonso alongside him and Flavio (Briatore) on his case, then that is not where he is at his best.

"If you put him in our team, he is experienced, he knows the people and he is very comfortable - and like in 2001 at Benetton in a difficult car he drove fantastically all year.

"If you put him in a comfortable environment then you get the best out of him. It is the right environment for him here."

Gascoyne claims the arrival of an experienced driver like Fisichella has already helped with development of their car - in terms of improvements and set-up characteristics.

And he is expecting Fisichella to have the edge over teammate Adrian Sutil when the season starts in Australia.

"I think at the start of the year I expect Giancarlo to be quicker, and by the middle of the year that is when you expect any young driver to be getting on the pace and matching their more experienced teammate," he explained.

"And that is what I think Adrian will be expecting to do. But I think it is the perfect combination of drivers for us."