Giancarlo Fisichella Q&A

Fisichella remains a curiously underrated driver, and while others in the paddock live on reputations, he has a portfolio of solid results that should speak for itself. He's a racer par excellence, and Spa was merely the latest in an extraordinary string of podium finishes that will surely one day culminate in a victory. Whether that will come with Jordan is the big question. He has a three-year deal with the team, which will take him to the end of his ninth season in F1.

He'll still be young enough to find a seat at Ferrari or McLaren, but to date, the top teams have never shown any serious interest in him. Adam Cooper spoke to the Italian ace.



"More or less yes, because in 1997 I was driving for Jordan Grand Prix. It was nice and the team was very friendly, especially Eddie Jordan. It was one of my best years in F1, and we were very competitive, so I'm very confident for the future. I'm very disappointed to leave this Benetton team, because after four years there's a very good feeling with the engineers and the guys. But that's life!"



"Yes, very good memories, like my first podium in F1 in Canada, and second in Spa. I was leading the German GP. I hope to do the same next year."



"You know Eddie. Sometimes he's crazy, but he's very funny, very friendly. Sometimes you need his support when he pushes you - it's very important for an F1 driver."



"To be honest I have a three-year contract, but I've got quite a few options if I want to leave the team. But I'm very confident that I'll stay with them in the future."



"Yes, the car is very competitive, even this year. Maybe the reliability is not fantastic, but I'm sure next year's it's going to be better."



"It's still very hard. We expected it to be much easier, and to be much more competitive, but it wasn't like that. Now I'm still pushing and doing my best. I've done a couple of good results, and I've got three races to go. We're confident for Monza, which is more or less the same circuit as Hockenheim. I'm going to do my best, and after that I'll be in yellow overalls."



"Unfortunately I didn't win my first race in F1 yet, but I did a quite good job. I still have a chance to win because we're a few races from the end, but you have to be realistic! It's going to be nearly impossible..."



"Yes of course, but I'm going back to Jordan, and they're another family that I met in 1997."