Home Improvement: Interview with Giancarlo Fisichella

This time last year Fernando Alonso had amassed 36 points, and his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella had scored 10. All of the latter came from the first race in Australia, when the Italian took full advantage of a helping hand from the weather in qualifying to score a well-judged victory.

After such a great start, everything that could go wrong for the Italian did exactly that - a collision with Mark Webber in Malaysia, engine failure in Bahrain, and a suspension failure at Imola. It took him the best part of the season to regain his momentum.

This time around, Alonso again has 36 points after four races, and Fisichella has done marginally better than in 2005, with 15. He had a great win in Malaysia (like Australia 2005 it was achieved in a race where his teammate had to come from behind), but to that he's added just a fifth in Australia, and an eighth at Imola.

Had things gone his way, he should be second in the championship right now, keeping Alonso on his toes. The fact that he has been able to hustle a man rightly regarded as a true superstar says a lot about the Italian's own ability.

But once again he's struggled through a tale of woe that has ensured he has not fulfilled the potential that his qualifying speed has suggested. Malaysia was preceded by an early failure in Bahrain. Just as last year, it could have happened to the other car. The Sepang win was followed by the ultimate frustration of a stall on the grid in Australia, where he'd qualified second.

The team admitted that an overly complex system had caught out the unfortunate driver, but that didn't help. From a pitlane start the safety car periods allowed him to make progress, and a spirited drive earned fifth place on the very last corner. His never-say-die approach provided food for thought for those who think that he loses focus when the chips are down.

"We had a few problems during the race," Fisichella says of that weekend, "Especially with the engine at the start of the race when I stalled. Then we lost the telemetry, and I lost the clutch. It wasn't easy, but considering those problems, to start from the pitlane and finish fifth was a good result, and I did my best. It was good, because it was important to score some points. I was quite frustrated because I did a good qualifying session, I was the second quickest."

For once he did have a little luck when Jenson Button's engine let go, and he was handed a position: "I was a little bit confused! It was the last corner, and I remember already the engine was a bit strange, there was some oil coming out before the last corner, but then everything was completely white, I couldn't see anything, so it wasn't easy.

Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault R26) passes Jenson Button's Honda on the final lap of the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne © Reuters

"Jenson lost a lot of oil, and in the middle of the corner I lost control of the car, then after a few metres the visibility was fine, and Jenson wasn't there. Maybe pushing him like crazy for the last six or seven laps was a good thing for blowing up the engine in the right moment!"

Despite the Australian setback, he went to Imola in buoyant mood. Not only was it one of his two home races, but his earlier Bahrain retirement meant that he received an engine upgrade a race ahead of Alonso, and that had sent his confidence soaring.

It came crashing down on Saturday, when Fisichella failed to make it through to top 10 qualifying. He found himself at the back of an incredibly evenly matched group, and a mere 0.011 seconds would have put him in the top 10. In fact, just 0.038 seconds separated him from his teammate in that crucial second session, but the difference between getting through to the final round and failing to do so is like night and day, especially at a track like Imola, where passing is almost impossible.

From 11th on the grid, even getting up to eighth took some doing. He ran as far as 29 laps on his first tank of fuel - further than anybody else - and did at least set a quicker best lap than fourth placed Felipe Massa. After the race, he was hardly in the mood to celebrate.

"It's not great, considering the grid position compromised the result for me. At the beginning of the race the car was very heavy, but after that, it was a good day. We made an adjustment to the front wings, and the car was better, and I was quicker. Unfortunately I went out just behind Button and Webber. But I'm very disappointed."

It remains to be seen how hard Giancarlo can push his teammate in the coming races. Since he's driving an identical car, he's got as much chance as the likes of Schumacher, Raikkonen and Button of proving the Spaniard with stiff opposition, and the only thing to do is treat each race as it comes, and not get hung up on past problems.

"For me it's better this year. I've already got more points than last year, and I'm sure it's going to be all right. Last year we had lots of problems.

"I knew Renault was the best team at the beginning of the season, but I expected to see it a little bit closer. In the first few races we were stronger than all of them."

Fisichella is certainly in a better situation than he was last year. He's a lot more comfortable in the team, and he has adjusted to the blinding form of Alonso, which came as a shock when he first arrived. He's also much more at one with the R26 than he was with its predecessor.

"I feel comfortable with the car. It's much more stable in braking, the rear end stability is better. There was a good feeling straight away, as soon as I put the car on the ground. Last year it was a bit difficult for me to be quick straight away. I'm just happy about that, and I can improve a little bit more. It's important just to carry on with the development of the car, because all the other teams are really pushing to be competitive like us."

He acknowledges that different driving styles make it hard for the team to please both men at the same time, even if the results on the stopwatch are not too dissimilar.

Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella in the post-qualifying press conference for the Malaysian Grand Prix © LAT

"You can see on the TV he's much more aggressive in turn-in with the steering wheel, and I am much smoother than him. Fernando is a fantastic driver. He's consistent, and he's lucky!

"Sometimes I'm better than him, sometimes I'm a bit slower than him. It's not easy, it depends on the characteristics of the circuit, it depends on the car balance, but in the last couple of races [before Imola] I was there, I was quicker than him in qualifying."

From the outside it would seem that Fisichella has to have to have a better chance than last year. You can't blame the team for focusing on Alonso's title campaign in 2005, but now he's won it, job done. He's on his way to McLaren next year, so there is not quite the same collective desire to put all eggs in the Fernando basket. Giancarlo makes an interesting observation about the off-voiced criticism of Renault's (and before that Benetton's) ability to run two cars effectively.

"In the team, there is a fantastic atmosphere, all the team are happy about this year, and they are pushing on both drivers, they want to win with both drivers. Last year during the season it was a bit difficult with the budget to carry on with both drivers, but this year we have the possibility to go ahead until the last race, and push, give the best with the two cars."

Fisichella's energetic manager Enrico Zanarini confirms that the overall situation is much better this year.

"He really needs everything to go well - like it always happens to Fernando - and he'll be up there," says Enrico. "Being potentially able to win every Grand Prix every time he sits in the car certainly gives him a great feeling. Last year it wasn't quite like that, but this year it's easy for him, really easy for him. The team give him so much, the car gives him so much, and he's very comfortable now.

"Fernando is quick, but Giancarlo is too, and he knows that now the team considers them the same level for speed. That gives him great comfort. The team told him 'we don't think there is anything between you and Fernando this year, and therefore you have absolutely the same treatment'. Giancarlo knows he has to do better than Fernando every time he can in order to gain the lead in the championship. That's his target every time."

Talk of a championship challenge might sound a little optimistic at this stage, but he has the tools to do the job, so why not? Fisichella has to keep his mind on the job at hand while also knowing that there's still a degree of uncertainty over his future.

Had Alonso been staying, it seems likely that he would have been eased out to make room for Heikki Kovalainen in 2007. Naturally, with Fernando's impending departure, Fisichella can claim the experience and continuity vote, but that didn't stop rumours suggesting that the likes of Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya could be on their way to Enstone.

"I'm just concentrating race by race on my job," says Giancarlo. "Sometimes I like to know my future, and the target and my dream is still to have the possibility to race with Renault next year. I think it's possible, because if I do well I cannot see any reason why I cannot stay here one more year.

"Obviously Fernando is going away, and I think it's good to have one reference with one driver, than either another experienced driver or like Heikki, who is quick but maybe hasn't got the good experience."

Flavio Briatore and Giancarlo Fisichella, Grand Prix of Bahrain © LAT

Zanarini plays down any concerns about Giancarlo's future: "Obviously stability is very important for everybody. It's important for us, and it's important for the team. The team has expressed quite positive intentions, and so did we. At the moment we're two people who are almost married, and it only needs a confirmation!

"The great thing about [Renault team chief] Flavio [Briatore] is that he is absolutely straightforward with his drivers, so we know his position. The team faces the necessity of replacing Alonso. They have to decide if they replace Alonso with Kovalainen, or if they're going to replace him with Giancarlo, or whoever. It depends on what is available on the market.

"I think Flavio has said more than once that he's not going to change 100% his drivers. The signs are there, but there is no reason to anticipate the news until it becomes news. We know that performance is important, and it's important for Giancarlo to show everything that he showed so far."

Meanwhile we're heading to the Nurburgring, where Fisichella nearly scored his first win back in 1999. He knows he has to get on top of Alonso there.

"I'm just looking forward. We have good potential to win again. Nurburgring is a good track, and I'm sure it's going to be all right there. It's already a good gap, but we are just at the beginning. It's going to be a long, tough championship."