Symonds: Fisichella pivotal in title fight

"Giancarlo has a pivotal role to play in the outcome of the constructors' championship. That title is going to go down to the wire, and Fisi needs to be there at every race stealing points off Ferrari," said Renault's head of engineering Pat Symonds.

"His contribution will be fundamental in the next months," added Symonds.

Renault lead the championship by 21 points over Ferrari, but the Italian squad have been the team to beat in the last two races, with Michael Schumacher winning both in Indianapolis and France.

The German has reduced to the gap to Fernando Alonso from 25 to 17 points, with seven races remaining.

So far, the majority of Renault's points have been scored by Alonso, with Fisichella 50 points behind his Spanish teammate.

World champion Alonso will leave Renault at the end of the year to drive for the McLaren team.

Symonds said the Spaniard has been fully committed despite his decision to change teams.

"Fernando has done a fantastic job so far this year. He may be leaving the team at the end of the season, but his relationship is unchanged," Symonds said.

"He has done extra testing for us, he is working hard, and I think he attaches real importance to the idea of winning a second title in a row."