Symonds tips Fisichella to bounce back

As teammate Fernando Alonso roared to victory at Sakhir, Fisichella continued to suffer from bad luck as a mysterious engine problem hit him in qualifying before hydraulic failure dropped him out of the race.

But despite having been unable to make much of an impact in Bahrain, Renault's director of engineering Pat Symonds is confident that Fisichella can put the misfortune behind him in Sepang.

"It is frustrating but I think Giancarlo is capable of being a strong performer," explained Symonds. "He is a damn good driver and I think he will get a good result in Malaysia and leave there feeling a lot better than he feels now."

The engine problems robbed Fisichella of about 50bhp in qualifying and, despite a full examination of his engine before the race, the problem recurred shortly after the start.

Fisichella himself is determined to keep a brave face on the situation - and hopes the bad luck at the start is a good omen. In 2005 he won the first race of the season in Australia before suffering misfortune for the rest of the year.

"Last year, I won the first race then had a difficult season," he said on Monday. "This year, I hope it will be the other way round - a bad race then a lot of good results."