Giancarlo Fisichella

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Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo Fisichella driving the Renault R25 at the 2005 United States Grand Prix
Nationality	Italian
Car #	3
Current team	Renault
World Championship career
Races	180 (178 starts)
World Championships	0
Wins	3
Podium finishes	18
Pole positions	3
Fastest laps	2
First race	1996 Australian Grand Prix
First win	2003 Brazilian Grand Prix
Latest win	2006 Malaysian Grand Prix
Latest race	2007 Australian Grand Prix
2007 Championship position	5th (4 pts)

Giancarlo Fisichella (born January 14, 1973), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He currently drives for the reigning world constructors' champion Renault team and has also driven for Sauber, Jordan, Benetton and Minardi. He was eventually declared the winner for Jordan of the chaotic 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix a week after the event. Until 2005 he had never been in a team with genuinely competitive equipment. Since joining the Renault team he has been overshadowed by world champion Fernando Alonso but has taken two further victories with Renault. Having recently signed a further one year contract with Renault, he will hope to step out of Alonso's shadow as Alonso leaves for McLaren next season. He also runs his own GP2 team, FMS International, currently lead by former Formula One driver Giorgio Pantano.

1 Early career
2 Formula One start
3 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix scoring controversy
4 Onwards to 2007
5 Record
6 Personal
7 Complete Formula One results
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Early career

Fisichella was born in Rome.

Like most current Formula One drivers, he began kart racing as a youngster. In 1992, he competed in the Italian Formula Three series, racing for the RC Motorsport team. He finished runner up in 1993, and in 1994 he won the championship, behind race victories in Monaco and Macau. He left open-wheel racing briefly in 1995, driving for Alfa Romeo in the International Touring Car Championship series.

[edit] Formula One start

In 1996, he made the move to Formula One, racing for Minardi for half the season before being replaced by Giovanni Lavaggi, the team needing a driver with funding. Fisichella, tipped early on to be a successor to greats like Prost, Senna, and Stewart, made his full F1 assault in 1997 with Jordan, scoring his first podium in Canada. That year he outclassed reigning Formula Nippon champion Ralf Schumacher, his team-mate. At Hockenheim he led for much of the race, but was denied the win by an inspired Gerhard Berger and a puncture. A superb second behind Schumacher at Spa in drenching conditions marked him out as a real talent and for 1998 he was snapped up by Benetton.

The timing was unfortunate. Benetton were now without works Renault engines and would not win another race. The first half of 1998 saw some very promising displays. Second places at Montreal and Monaco hinted at a strong season. At Montreal he had been in contention for the win, but gearbox problems slowed him and eased Michael Schumacher's path to the victory. Austria saw a maiden pole, but a clash with Jean Alesi during the race cost him any chance of a good result. For the second half of the year, Benetton's pace dropped off, and only two more points would be added to his score.

1999 was much the same. A few podiums were achieved, but the car was very inconsistent. Heartbreak came at the Nurburgring. Fisichella had been leading and was on course for the win, but crashed out. It would be his last chance of a win for some years.

In 2000 the story was similar. Early season podiums surprised many, but Benetton's now traditional poor second half of the season meant that he failed to score any more points. Since joining Benetton, Fisichella had comprehensively outclassed team-mate Alex Wurz and the Austrian made way for Jenson Button in 2001.

Fisichella driving for Jordan at the 2002 US GP.

Renault now owned the team, but the 2001 car was poor. Experiments with wide-angle engines did not deliver competitive levels of power and for most of the year the Benettons were left to scrap with the Minardis and Prosts. However, the efforts of technical director Mike Gascoyne and his staff saw the car improve. At Hockenheim Fisichella led home a 4-5 finish, whilst at Spa he put in an epic drive to grab the team's only podium of the year. Despite his dominance over Button that year, he found himself forced to leave to make way for Jarno Trulli in 2002. He returned to Jordan, but the team was in decline. The 2002 season saw him take just seven points, but little more was possible. In 2003 Jordan were forced to use Ford engines, Honda having ended their works supply. The car was very uncompetitive, but freak circumstances in Brazil saw Giancarlo take his first victory. Only a seventh at Indianapolis enhanced his score that year.

Unhappy at Jordan's fall down the grid, Fisichella moved to Sauber in 2004. Hopeful of using the team as a springboard to Ferrari, he drove well all year, comfortably outpacing Massa for much of the season. His strong performances rekindled the interest of old team-boss Briatore and for 2005 Fisichella returned to Benetton, which had been bought by Renault during his absence. A win at Melbourne signalled his Formula One breakthrough, but it proved to be a false dawn. Poor luck ruined many of his races and team-mate Fernando Alonso began to dominate him. All too often Fisichella would be in a strong position, before something went wrong. Racing commentator Tony Jardine has suggested that technical problems hampering his season are simply due to resources being directed at team mate (and World Championship leader) Alonso.

Fisichella driving for Sauber at the 2004 US GP.

The gulf in speed between Fisichella and Alonso was noticeable however. Many felt that Fisichella did not capitalise on his chances. A last lap surrender to Kimi Räikkönen at Suzuka cost him the win and prompted many to question his mindset. 2006 started in a similar vein - he won in Malaysia, with a strong performance from the pole position, but he did not maintain the result at the upcoming races. At Imola and Nürburgring Giancarlo has missed the top 10 in qualifying - in the latter Jacques Villeneuve impeded him in his flying lap, and got penalised. With his stall in Melbourne after a strong qualifying, a questionable penalty in Monaco for impeding David Coulthard, and a false start in Canada, his chances were ruined to fight for the World Drivers' Championship with his flawlessly driving teammate Fernando Alonso. In the second half of 2006 he showed more maturity and pace, comfortably beating Alonso in Indianapolis and - until teamorders - in Hockenheim, grabbing podiums in Shanghai and Suzuka, but some weaker performances and teamplay (like giving his position to Alonso again in Shanghai) hindered him to finish the season in form. While Felipe Massa with the much stronger Ferrari topped him at the final grand prix in Interlagos, 2006 was still Fisi's most successful season with 72 points, 1 win, 5 podiums and fourth in the overall standings.

Fisichella at the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix.

Fisichella is one of the sport's fastest drivers, but suffers from a lack of consistency and mental errors. This was perhaps most evident in the 2005 season, where he won the opening round and then crashed out of two of the next three races, and stalled his car on multiple occasions throughout the remainder of the season. ITV's expert Martin Brundle has suggested that Fisichella's problems are mental.

[edit] 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix scoring controversy

Fisichella's win in Brazil on April 6, 2003 didn't come easy. Battling with McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen amidst heavy rain and numerous crashes, Fisichella took the race lead on lap 53, soon before the race was red-flagged. However, he was demoted to second place on the podium, because (per regulations) Räikkönen was the race leader two laps prior to the red flag. Several days later, though, the FIA determined that Fisichella had already begun his 56th lap before the red flag, meaning that he, and not Räikkönen, had been leading the race two laps before its premature end, awarding the man known as "Fisi" or "Fisico" his first F1 victory. For nearly two years, Fisichella was the only F1 driver to have won a race without having stood atop the podium. (See 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix for more race details).

[edit] Onwards to 2007

In 2007 Giancarlo Fisichella will become Renault's team leader after the departure of Fernando Alonso. His team mate will be the young Finn Heikki Kovalainen. The team's test driver is Nelson Piquet Jr.

[edit] Record

Giancarlo has managed three victories in his Formula 1 career, in Brazil 2003, Australia 2005 and Malaysia 2006. He took his first points in 1997 in the Jordan at Imola with 4th place. He took his first podium at Canada that same year in 3rd place, another followed at Spa in Belgium. In 1998 podiums came at Monaco and Canada, where he nearly won. 1999 was a troubled year but he still managed 2nd place in Canada. 2000 was a better year for him, with podiums in Brazil, Monaco and Canada. 2001 was a disastrous year in a poor Benetton, but he managed a podium finish at Spa. For 2002 he moved to Jordan and suffered, no podiums but a string of fifth placed finishes around mid season helped his beat team mate Takuma Sato. 2003 brought Giancarlo his first win at a very wet Brazilian Grand Prix, but the rest of the year earned him only one point. 2004 was spent at the Sauber Team, again no podiums but he did manage a good points haul. 2005 and his big chance came at Renault. He started the year fantastically with a win in Australia, but poor luck after that with problems at nearly every race, and he ended the season 5th in the championship. 2006 started with a retirement at Bahrain, but the next race gave Fisichella his only win for the season in Malaysia. He failed to win again, but he managed to score four 3rd place podiums, eventually ending 4th in the championship with 72 points.

[edit] Personal

Fisichella is engaged to Luna and they have two children, Carlotta and Christopher. After finishing third in the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, he dedicated the result to his best friend, Tonino Visciani, who died of a heart attack on the Thursday before the race. ^[1]

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Team	WDC	Points
1996	Minardi	AUS ret	BRA	ARG	EUR 13	SMR Ret	MON Ret	ESP Ret	CAN 8	FRA Ret	GBR 11	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN				Minardi	19th	0
1997	Jordan	AUS Ret	BRA 8	ARG Ret	SMR 4	MON 6	ESP 9	CAN 3	FRA 9	GBR 7	GER 11	HUN Ret	BEL 2	ITA 4	AUT 4	LUX Ret	JPN 7	EUR 11			Jordan	8th	20
1998	Benetton	AUS Ret	BRA 6	ARG 7	SMR Ret	ESP Ret	MON 2	CAN 2	FRA 9	GBR 5	AUT Ret	GER 7	HUN 8	BEL Ret	ITA 8	LUX 6	JPN 8				Benetton	9th	16
1999	Benetton	AUS 4	BRA Ret	SMR 5	MON 5	ESP 9	CAN 2	FRA Ret	GBR 7	AUT 12	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 11	ITA Ret	EUR Ret	MAL 11	JPN 14				Benetton	9th	13
2000	Benetton	AUS 5	BRA 2	SMR 11	GBR 7	ESP 9	EUR 5	MON 3	CAN 3	FRA 9	AUT Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA 11	USA Ret	JPN 14	MAL 9			Benetton	6th	18
2001	Benetton	AUS 13	MAL Ret	BRA 6	SMR Ret	ESP 14	AUT Ret	MON Ret	CAN Ret	EUR 11	FRA 11	GBR 13	GER 4	HUN Ret	BEL 3	ITA 10	USA 8	JPN 17			Benetton	11th	8
2002	Jordan	AUS Ret	MAL 13	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	ESP Ret	AUT 5	MON 5	CAN 5	EUR Ret	GBR 7	FRA DNS	GER Ret	HUN 6	BEL Ret	ITA 8	USA 7	JPN Ret			Jordan	11th	7
2003	Jordan	AUS Ret	MAL Ret	BRA 1	SMR 15	ESP Ret	AUT Ret	MON 10	CAN Ret	EUR 12	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 13	HUN Ret	ITA 10	USA 7	JPN Ret				Jordan	12th	12
2004	Sauber	AUS 10	MAL 11	BHR 11	SMR 9	ESP 7	MON Ret	EUR 6	CAN 4	USA 9	FRA 12	GBR 6	GER 9	HUN 8	BEL 5	ITA 8	CHN 7	JPN 8	BRA 9		Sauber	11th	22
2005	Renault	AUS 1	MAL Ret	BHR Ret	SMR Ret	ESP 5	MON 12	EUR 6	CAN Ret	USA DNS	FRA 6	GBR 4	GER 4	HUN 9	TUR 4	ITA 3	BEL Ret	BRA 5	JPN 2	CHN 4	Renault	5th	58
2006	Renault	BHR Ret	MAL 1	AUS 5	SMR 8	EUR 6	ESP 3	MON 6	GBR 4	CAN 4	USA 3	FRA 6	GER 6	HUN Ret	TUR 6	ITA 4	CHN 3	JPN 3	BRA 6		Renault	4th	72
2007	Renault	AUS 5	MAL	BHR	ESP	MON	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	JPN	CHN	BRA			Renault	5th	4

[edit] See also

Famous Italians

[edit] References

^ F1-Live.com article, retrieved October 8, 2006.

[edit] External links

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Giancarlo Fisichella

Constructors and drivers competing in the 2007 Formula One championship
McLaren	Renault	Ferrari	Honda	BMW	Toyota	Red Bull	Williams	Toro Rosso	Spyker	Super Aguri
1 Alonso 2 Hamilton	3 Fisichella 4 Kovalainen	5 Massa 6 Räikkönen	7 Button 8 Barrichello	9 Heidfeld 10 Kubica	11 Schumacher 12 Trulli	14 Coulthard 15 Webber	16 Rosberg 17 Wurz	18 Liuzzi 19 Speed	20 Sutil 21 Albers	22 Sato 23 Davidson