We'll be right up at the front - Fisico
Giancarlo Fisichella of the Renault F1 Team is looking forward to the European Grand Prix after a bad home race at Imola for the Italian. The Roman is determined to do better at the Nürburgring. Here follows the interview with Fisico.
"I pushed as hard as possible in the race but from eleventh [his qualifying position], there was not so much I could do. The car was very heavy in the first stint and difficult to drive. The handling came back in the next stints – but there is only so much you can do with the strategy at Imola, and it is hard to make up places. I got stuck behind Barrichello at one point but even so, nearly got sixth place. It is frustrating, but we know we lost the chance of a good finish in qualifying. We made some mistakes, and it won’t happen again."
How hard is it to bounce back from a race like that, where you don’t reach your potential? It must be massively frustrating…"Of course. But you have to keep your concentration, and your motivation. If you lose that, you cannot go on. Behind me, there is a team working at the maximum to support both of the drivers, and giving us the same possibility to win. So I want to win for them as well, to pay back their hard work and their commitment."
Going to the Nürburgring often means rain… is that a worry for you?"Yeah, that’s true – it can be cold and raining too, at some point in the weekend and sometimes in the race. But I don’t think it’s a problem because I feel very comfortable in the conditions and my smooth style works well in the wet. Michelin made a big step on their intermediate and wet tyres last year, so rain won’t be a worry for me or the team."
The Nürburgring looks like a ‘complete’ circuit with a bit of everything – is that accurate?"It is a good circuit, for sure, and one that I enjoy driving. There are a few slow-speed corners, like turns 1 and 6. You have a slow-speed chicane where you jump on the kerbs and the car feels nervous. There are quick curves, some of them you have to attack aggressively, and they link together so you need to get a perfect line to be quick. It is an interesting circuit, and it should suit the R26."
So what are your predictions for the race…?"I think we will be right up at the front. I still have another race on the B spec engine, but we have had excellent reliability on it, so we know the performance will be there. The car was very quick last year at this track – I went from the pit-lane to P6 in the race, so we had strong pace and the Michelin tyres worked well. The R26 will be quick, like it has been at all the circuits. I am sure the competition will be strong too, from the usual teams. But we will fighting for the podium, and to score the maximum points possible."
