143 replies to this topic

[Madras]

Maybe he should have stayed at Force India for the win on Sunday

[Victor_RO]

Maybe. Maybe not. The last few races have been utterly unpredictable from every single point of view when looking at practice form, so... let's see. Early pointers do say so, but... Friday doesn't count.

[Clatter]

He has done 100% the right thing. He is driving for the team that he has dreamed of driving for before he even entered F1.

[Brawn BGP 001]

No, the guy wants to drive for Ferrari.

Edited by Brawn BGP 001, 11 September 2009 - 17:21.

[wingwalker]

What I don't get is he agreed to retire after one of the best and most highlighted drives of his carrer. He mopped the floor with Sutil who is highly rated, went on pole, finished race second with everyone cheering for him to be a test driver next season, even if it's a Ferrari he'll be test driving? It seems really weird, it only makes sense to me if he was planning on retiring earlier and doing so in Ferrari is a perfect opportunity.

[BootLace]

How can following your heart, your passion ever be a mistake?

[Madras]

How can following your heart, your passion ever be a mistake?

True I guess. It's a balancing act though.

[Henrik B]

True I guess. It's a balancing act though.

No, because driving for Ferrari is more important to Fisi than winning Monza. No need to balance. He knew damn well the FI is faster, he could see for himself at Spa. Fisi has won before and he had ONE chance in his lifetime to drive for Ferrari.

[teewoods]

He has done 100% the right thing. He is driving for the team that he has dreamed of driving for before he even entered F1.

He is a fanboy not a real f1 driver who cares about winning. I'd laugh when Sutil and Luizzi trash him for the next 5 races

[plastik2k9]

Fisichella has won races before, he knows what it feels like, and although I'm sure he'd love to feel that again, driving for Ferrari is a dream he had not yet achieved until this weekend. He's probably having the time of his life right now.

[undersquare]

I'm a bit surprised he hadn't learned the steering wheel functions before he arrived at Monza, apparently Rob Smedley had to coach him during the session. If he isn't going to apply himself absolutely 100% then he has made a mistake IMO, he'll look bad compared with Kimi after being a star at FI where everything was familiar.

[expert]

No mistake. These last 2 races are likely to be the only time Force India show such prominence. Fisi had to take the opportunity presented to become a part of the Ferrari family for the rest of his life.

Edited by expert, 11 September 2009 - 17:40.

[Clatter]

He is a fanboy not a real f1 driver who cares about winning. I'd laugh when Sutil and Luizzi trash him for the next 5 races

Laugh all you like, but he will still be doing something you are not even capable of talking about sensibly.

[stevewf1]

His heart rules his head... It's happened to people before.

[DanDectis]

What I don't get is he agreed to retire after one of the best and most highlighted drives of his carrer. He mopped the floor with Sutil who is highly rated, went on pole, finished race second with everyone cheering for him to be a test driver next season, even if it's a Ferrari he'll be test driving? It seems really weird, it only makes sense to me if he was planning on retiring earlier and doing so in Ferrari is a perfect opportunity.

Don't forget, Ferrari have publicly stated that they will not stand in his way if he were to drive for another team next year.

Calling 3rd (or 4th or 5th....) drivers Test Drivers is now something of a misnomer because they do no testing. Reserve driver is a much more apt title. Basically, he's gonna have his cake and eat it too. He'll be their reserve driver, but if someone wants to pick him up (USF1?) then he can go race too and still be employed by his dream employer. that doesn't sound too shaby for a man who was likely out of a race stea at FInida a few weeks ago, does it?

[primer]

The gap between Kimi and Fisi is smaller than Sutil-Liuzzi. Of course, Liuzzi is racing after a long time.

[undersquare]

Don't forget, Ferrari have publicly stated that they will not stand in his way if he were to drive for another team next year.

Calling 3rd (or 4th or 5th....) drivers Test Drivers is now something of a misnomer because they do no testing. Reserve driver is a much more apt title. Basically, he's gonna have his cake and eat it too. He'll be their reserve driver, but if someone wants to pick him up (USF1?) then he can go race too and still be employed by his dream employer. that doesn't sound too shaby for a man who was likely out of a race stea at FInida a few weeks ago, does it?

Presumably it means though that the other team could suddenly lose him back to Ferrari with no notice. Who'd do that?

[Panch]

I'm a bit surprised he hadn't learned the steering wheel functions before he arrived at Monza, apparently Rob Smedley had to coach him during the session. If he isn't going to apply himself absolutely 100% then he has made a mistake IMO, he'll look bad compared with Kimi after being a star at FI where everything was familiar.

I think he know the steering wheel quite good after the many hours he spend in the Ferrari simulator..

[Burai]

His racing career is as good as over so I can sympathise with him letting his heart rule his head at this stage in his life. He's hardly doing an Alesi and throwing away a world championship-capable Williams Renault to sign for a hopeless Ferrari and wasting the best days of his career.

He's already got a Ferrari test contract for next year. This has always been his dream. So why not, eh?

[Tenmantaylor]

As far as Sundays result is concerned it definitely looks like it.

[DanDectis]

Presumably it means though that the other team could suddenly lose him back to Ferrari with no notice. Who'd do that?

That is, I suppose, a possibility. However, looking back it's been 10 years since a situation like that occured at Ferrari and could well be another 10 more till it happens again.

That is a valid point though I wouldn't discount a new team signing him for the experience, especially if he is still being paid by Ferrari, a new team might be able to hire him on the cheap. Pure speculation of course

[DanDectis]

As far as Sundays result is concerned it definitely looks like it.

LOOK OUT EVERYBODY THIS GUY HAS A TIME MACHINE

[saudoso]

I thought LB was really out of his league, but now I'm wondering. May be KR and FM are really damn fast and the F60 is really a dog of a car.

But it will take a couple of races to be sure.

GF did the right thing if he has a B plan for 2010. We don't know that.

[mastropiero]

He is a fanboy not a real f1 driver who cares about winning. I'd laugh when Sutil and Luizzi trash him for the next 5 races

Ok, let´s analyze this from an intelligent perspective, shall we? Fisi is at the end of his career. He´s had his share of wins - less than he´d have liked, more than many many F1 drivers -, his share of brilliant races and some not so brilliant ones. He had a fantastic race last week, and perhaps could win this week with the FI. However, would this guarantee him a seat at a top team next year? Impossible, he is past his prime. Best he could get would be another year in a midfield team with hardly any chances of shining on a regular basis. So, it´s not like he is ruining his future by letting his heart rule on this matter. I think he is adding the icing to the cake. He might lose tomorrow to Sutil, Liuzzi, he might even be lapped by the entire field - which I doubt will happen - but he will have fulfilled a life-long dream.

If you think that´s something laughable at, well, I think it is a very sad way to look at things.


Anyway, I hope he´ll be able to get more comfy tomorrow with the car. .8 of a second adrift of Kimi is not all that bad, I reckon.


Forza Fisico! Enjoy your ride!!!

Edited by mastropiero, 11 September 2009 - 18:16.

[Icicle]

This is probably the 2nd best thing that has happened in his racing career.

[ray b]

the man is FOLLOWING HIS DREAM
respect that
as it is something few get to do
friday numbers mean squat on sunday

[DanDectis]

I thought LB was really out of his league, but now I'm wondering. May be KR and FM are really damn fast and the F60 is really a dog of a car.

But it will take a couple of races to be sure.

GF did the right thing if he has a B plan for 2010. We don't know that.

True, his FP2 times were not spectacular, but he was 2 spots ahead of Kimi in FP1 and les than 1 second off in P2. Sure P20 sounds bad but when its 1.8s from top to bottom that's not really that much.

Like you said though it will take at least 2 races to be sure. We will start to see a bit more in Quali tomorrow

[stevewf1]

How can following your heart, your passion ever be a mistake?

That would be a good question for Jean Alesi.

[bankoq]

It depends whether he was offered a contract from Force India for 2010. If he was yes, he made a mistake.

He will probably drive for one of new teams next year.

And 0.5s slower pace than Kimi is IMHO acceptable if if consider that Alonso=Raikkonen=Hamilton more or less.

Edited by bankoq, 11 September 2009 - 18:55.

[Henrytheeigth]

He will probably drive for one of new teams next year.

And take the secrets of Ferrari with him to that new team?

[siggers]

Ok, let´s analyze this from an intelligent perspective, shall we? Fisi is at the end of his career. He´s had his share of wins - less than he´d have liked, more than many many F1 drivers -, his share of brilliant races and some not so brilliant ones. He had a fantastic race last week, and perhaps could win this week with the FI. However, would this guarantee him a seat at a top team next year? Impossible, he is past his prime. Best he could get would be another year in a midfield team with hardly any chances of shining on a regular basis. So, it´s not like he is ruining his future by letting his heart rule on this matter. I think he is adding the icing to the cake. He might lose tomorrow to Sutil, Liuzzi, he might even be lapped by the entire field - which I doubt will happen - but he will have fulfilled a life-long dream.

If you think that´s something laughable at, well, I think it is a very sad way to look at things.

There is also a much more hard nosed way of looking at this. My impression is that Fisi has been very carefully placing himself for life after F1, for example founding a high performance driving school. Whatever he will want to do after F1 with even minimal connection to racing will be very much helped by being a member of the Ferrari family, specially in Italy. As long as he does not do a Badoer, this move will raise his profile and improve his market value. Not saying that he is not following his heart, but in this case I think that is not against the head. Even just being kept on at Ferrari for a seemingly unlimited number of years (like Badoer and Gene) will be quite a nice and presumably reasonably well paid way to pass his time.

[kosmos]

He got a job for the next year, he did the right thing and he is driving a Ferrari right now.

[fum3s]

He's living the dream, and he's not doing it for free, either. Ferrari needed an impeccably credible active driver, so it's not as if he had no leverage in the negotiations, particularly given FI's current form.

And, just to be wicked, it's a win-win situation for him: either he does a decent job, or he ends up being the nice guy who single-handedly saved Badoer's reputation.

[Ruud de la Rosa]

I'm a bit surprised he hadn't learned the steering wheel functions before he arrived at Monza, apparently Rob Smedley had to coach him during the session. If he isn't going to apply himself absolutely 100% then he has made a mistake IMO, he'll look bad compared with Kimi after being a star at FI where everything was familiar.

they are quite complex, ever seen one? they asked him to change 4 settings at once, so a little help doesn't hurt.

[Henrytheeigth]

they are quite complex, ever seen one? they asked him to change 4 settings at once, so a little help doesn't hurt.

Yes he needs 100% support from Ferrari as well. So happy for him!

[David M. Kane]

It is his decision, not ours that counts.

[Mandzipop]

According to this he is very happy with the car

http://www.crash.net...sible_in_q.html

[ZZMS]

no, he didn't make a mistake. He's living his dream. Just like Lewis.

[Jedi_F1]

How can following your heart, your passion ever be a mistake?

[Alonzo]

I said this before it happens.

Was better for Fisichella to stay in FOrce India.

[noikeee]

He already knows how it feels to win a race. Now he wants to know how it feels to race a Ferrari.

Can't blame him.

[RodrigoL]

He already knows how it feels to win a race. Now he wants to know how it feels to race a Ferrari.

Can't blame him.

He doesn't know what it feels like to win at Monza, and this was probably his last chance to do it.

[h-tomek]

I think this was good decision. If I were him I'd do the same. In the end, Ferrari is something special.

[wewantourdarbyback]

He has done 100% the right thing. He is driving for the team that he has dreamed of driving for before he even entered F1.

QFT

If I was in a lowish team who were coming good and Williams came along, even if it meant possibly dropping in performance a bit I'd be off like a flash.

Edited by wewantourdarbyback, 11 September 2009 - 19:58.

[ZenSpeed]

He has done 100% the right thing. He is driving for the team that he has dreamed of driving for before he even entered F1.

That's all there is to it, really. Had Fisi never won a GP before, then maybe his thinking could have been different. But between winning one odd GP with Force India or race 5 GPs in a red racing suit, we all know what Fisi's most burning desire was.....

Besides, tomorrow, he won't be last and it has to be seen whether Force India can keep the Macs, the BMWs, the Renaults behind

[ZenSpeed]

What I don't get is he agreed to retire after one of the best and most highlighted drives of his carrer. He mopped the floor with Sutil who is highly rated, went on pole, finished race second with everyone cheering for him to be a test driver next season, even if it's a Ferrari he'll be test driving? It seems really weird, it only makes sense to me if he was planning on retiring earlier and doing so in Ferrari is a perfect opportunity.

He will be 37, he was going to retire anyway in 2011 the latest. But now he can work for Ferrari for years

[ZenSpeed]

How can following your heart, your passion ever be a mistake?

Beautiful post, sir

[ZenSpeed]

I'm a bit surprised he hadn't learned the steering wheel functions before he arrived at Monza, apparently Rob Smedley had to coach him during the session. If he isn't going to apply himself absolutely 100% then he has made a mistake IMO, he'll look bad compared with Kimi after being a star at FI where everything was familiar.

SOmetimes some posts like this are so naive. What do you mean not apply himself 100%? he has been at Maranello for days working with the technical staff. Of course he memorized all the functions, but using them is different than knowing what a button does. He also had to learn to know when it's best to use something. He had also never used movable front wings. So Rob, if you read interviews, was coaching him in FP1, but already was ok in FP2

[ZenSpeed]

friday numbers mean squat on sunday

Exactly, many point at Fisi being .7" behind Kimi, but Button and Rubens then are done for the title race........ It's Friday, different fuel loads, tires, different runs.

[teewoods]

Ok, let´s analyze this from an intelligent perspective, shall we? Fisi is at the end of his career. He´s had his share of wins - less than he´d have liked, more than many many F1 drivers -, his share of brilliant races and some not so brilliant ones. He had a fantastic race last week, and perhaps could win this week with the FI. However, would this guarantee him a seat at a top team next year? Impossible, he is past his prime. Best he could get would be another year in a midfield team with hardly any chances of shining on a regular basis. So, it´s not like he is ruining his future by letting his heart rule on this matter. I think he is adding the icing to the cake. He might lose tomorrow to Sutil, Liuzzi, he might even be lapped by the entire field - which I doubt will happen - but he will have fulfilled a life-long dream.

If you think that´s something laughable at, well, I think it is a very sad way to look at things.


Anyway, I hope he´ll be able to get more comfy tomorrow with the car. .8 of a second adrift of Kimi is not all that bad, I reckon.


Forza Fisico! Enjoy your ride!!!

I came to watch people race to win, not fanboyS happy to show up and dream about driving a certain car. Fisi is the type of sportsman who would say its taking part that matters not winning. MakeS me more convicned he did not do enough to take the fight to Kimi at Spa. Good riddance to him, hope we see less drivers like him in F1!