52 replies to this topic

[GiancarloF1]

OK, it looks like Fisi's days at F1 are over. There had been many negativity towards him since 2005, so I want a thread for some positive comments about his up and down F1 carreer. Sadly, it didn't turn out to be as successful, as most of us predicted in his really promising early seasons, but we still had seen many great races by him to remember.

Here is my non arbitrary top 10 favourites:

1. Belgium 2009 - as another website commented after his shocking and brilliant pole, it was the "indian summer" of his carreer. With a team which have scored 1 point since 2006, and no legit points since 2004, a pole, and a dominant qualifying in dry conditions was completely shocking and unexpected. His highly rated teammate weren't in the contest, so it was a huge flash in the pan for Fisi. The race was nearly as great as the qualifying, in fact he could have won it without the SC after the messy start. He followed Raikkonen's tail to the end, securing Force India's first points. This weekend is probably my all-time favourite from Fisi's standpoint, and showed how great driver Fisi could have been.

2. Belgium 2001 - Spa has always been one of Fisi's favourite track, and although he had some terrible crashes there, also some anonymous races, it also highlighted his talent the most. In a terrible Benetton, Fisi was ON through the whole weekend, being 4th in the second Friday Practice, then 8th in qualifying, then two great starts. Even if you admit, the Benetton launch control was a dominant one, Fisi secured his podium result through the whole race, gambled well with the tyres, managed to keep a Ferrari and a McLaren in the bay. Like in 97 and 2009, the great belgian result was a last hurrah before a bad move to another team.

3. Germany 1997 - Fisi always loved the old Hockenheim, although he never got the deserved results for his efforts (same happened in the A1 Ring). Despite ended up with no points, Fisi looked to be a real threat that weekend, only matched by the Hockenheim specialist Gerhard Berger. He was very close to win the race, as he trailed Berger closely after the german's second stop, but some debris of Magnussen's car ended his race. At the end, the weltmeister gave a glory ride the young champion in the making.

4. Malaysia 2006 - By this time, Fisi's stock has dropped a lot, and some still say this wasn't a great effort by him after all, but they are wrong. Fisi was very competitive through the whole weekend, and despite Alonso's misfortunes with double fueling, and Ferrari's engine woes, he was on to grab the pole anyway. His first stint in the race was really dominant, and kept the car on bay during the rest of it, and the race ended up his "best" win overall.

5. Monaco 1998 - he was the only guy out there who matched the dominant McLarens during the qualifying, and he looked great in the race too. Despite making an error in the Rascasse, his pace was blistering, and secured second ahead of a Ferrari. Monaco - like Canada and Belgium - has always been one of Fisi's best tracks, pulled out some really great drives there. The one in 98 was the most successful one. Shame he didn't win at least one race there.

without commentary, the rest of my top 10:
6. Brazil 2000
7. Brazil 2001
8. Belgium 1997
9. Canada 1999
10. Australia 2005

Honorable mentions: Britain 2004, Brazil 2003, Spain 2005, USA 2006, Monaco 2007, Hungary 1999, Canada 1998

[Fortymark]

Italy 1997 too maybe?
He beat Villeneuve and Schumacher in that race and qualified 3:rd on the grid.

[potmotr]

Spa 2009, Australia 2005 and Spa 2001.

Such a shame Fisi didn't win in Belgium this year.

[krapmeister]

2 of my favourite Fisi moments were Japan 05 & 09...

[Jackmancer]

Seriously how can Brazil 2003 NOT be on the top of Fisichella's list?

[Johnrambo]

1. Belgium 2009 - as another website commented after his shocking and brilliant pole, it was the "indian summer" of his carreer. With a team which have scored 1 point since 2006, and no legit points since 2004, a pole, and a dominant qualifying in dry conditions was completely shocking and unexpected. His highly rated teammate weren't in the contest, so it was a huge flash in the pan for Fisi. The race was nearly as great as the qualifying, in fact he could have won it without the SC after the messy start. He followed Raikkonen's tail to the end, securing Force India's first points. This weekend is probably my all-time favourite from Fisi's standpoint, and showed how great driver Fisi could have been.

Huh. The guy had easily the fastest and best car of that race and still couldn't transform it into a victory like he should have. This weekend showed more why Fisichella never rose to greatness.

[GiancarloF1]

Congratulations krapmeister and Johnrambo for trolling out this thread. May I go to the Raikkonen rally thread and troll about his latest treehugging actions?

[Fortymark]

Huh. The guy had easily the fastest and best car of that race and still couldn't transform it into a victory like he should have. This weekend showed more why Fisichella never rose to greatness.

I think it´s most fair to talk about his best performances in this thread.
I partly agree, the FI was probably the car to have but where was his teammate?
If both FI were 2-3 one could claim that they had the best car no doubt.

IMO, both Kimi and Fisi showed that they performed clearly above all the other drivers
at SPA 2009. Just becuase Kimi won over Fisi or did even better, that doesn´t take
away the good performance that Fisi did.

[GiancarloF1]

I think it´s most fair to talk about his best performances in this thread.
I partly agree, the FI was probably the car to have but where was his teammate?
If both FI were 2-3 one could claim that they had the best car no doubt.

IMO, both Kimi and Fisi showed that they performed clearly above all the other drivers
at SPA 2009. Just becuase Kimi won over Fisi or did even better, that doesn´t take
away the good performance that Fisi did.

The FI wasn't the car to have. Toyota, BMW and Red Bull were all equally good or maybe even better cars that weekend. With fuel correction, those looked all faster than the FI after the Q. Fisi showed his fire already on Friday, when he was more than 1 sec faster in the rain, than the rest of the guys who didn't have time in dry conditions and apparently than anybody. That was just the first sign that something special comes on this weekend. He didn't win, because the KERS beaten him after the restart, and his car wasn't that much faster to safely overtake the Ferrari.

[krapmeister]

Congratulations krapmeister and Johnrambo for trolling out this thread. May I go to the Raikkonen rally thread and troll about his latest treehugging actions?

Well, you wanted positive comments about his up and down career. The most positive comment I can make about his down moments is too say they are my favourite Fisi memories...

To me though, Japan 05 & 09 sort of illustrate his career.

But feel free to go to the Raikonnen rally thread...

[GiancarloF1]

Well, you wanted positive comments about his up and down career. The most positive comment I can make about his down moments is too say they are my favourite Fisi memories...

To me though, Japan 05 & 09 sort of illustrate his career.

But feel free to go to the Raikonnen rally thread...

OK, thank you for your contributions.

[Jackmancer]

Yeah up and down career. Bit like Melandri in MotoGP, a promise never forfilled.

[wingwalker]

Huh. The guy had easily the fastest and best car of that race and still couldn't transform it into a victory like he should have. This weekend showed more why Fisichella never rose to greatness.

Not really. Kimi overtook him with total ease, just like he did with Kubica on the very same race thanks to Spa being a KERS paradise, one can hardly blame Fisi for that. But hios performance was stellar, had Force Indeed been more confident and fueled him for a bit longer he would have jumped Kimi in the pits, the pace was there to do it.

[Simon Says]

Huh. The guy had easily the fastest and best car of that race and still couldn't transform it into a victory like he should have. This weekend showed more why Fisichella never rose to greatness.

No it wasn't. Were was Sutil then? And the Red Bull's were extremely quick but were stuck behind slower cars most of the race.

edit: and Kimi only won because he gained an unfair advantage by going offroad and deploying his KERS.

Edited by Simon Says, 30 January 2010 - 11:44.

[Hypnotise]

Lol kimi cut the first corner it was an underserved win really

[RodrigoL]

Not really. Kimi overtook him with total ease, just like he did with Kubica on the very same race thanks to Spa being a KERS paradise, one can hardly blame Fisi for that. But hios performance was stellar, had Force Indeed been more confident and fueled him for a bit longer he would have jumped Kimi in the pits, the pace was there to do it.

Everyone's talking (again) as if a monkey could have pressed that KERS button and overtaken..

BUT...Where was Badoer in that race? Where were the Macs?

Spa 09 was a perfect illustration of Fisi's capabilities as a driver - i.e. not quite good enough. His restart was absolutely rubbish. Raikkonen got on his tail practically before they'd crossed the finish line.

The overtake was aided by KERS, but as he explained, using up more fuel for tyre warming was the crucial part. It was intelligent driving by Kimi, as the extra laps of fuel wouldn't count against the Force India.

It was a rocket that day, and any decent driver would have won by miles. Just like 05/06. Imagine if it were Fisi/Sutil driving those Renaults..
---

To point out some of Fisi's better ones though: Brazil 03, Aus 05, USA 06, China 06...

[Simon Says]

Well, you wanted positive comments about his up and down career. The most positive comment I can make about his down moments is too say they are my favourite Fisi memories...

To me though, Japan 05 & 09 sort of illustrate his career.

But feel free to go to the Raikonnen rally thread...

Go to the Massa and lewis thread. Lewis beat Kimi in a slower car in 08 and Massa ( who got beaten by Fisi and Heidfeld in the same car ) beat Kimi

[JeffrieNL]

The first thing that i remember of Fisichella whas that he drive some good races in the Canadian grandprix in the late 90's.

[SteF1an]

Best ´drive´ from Fisico...

Edited by SteF1an, 30 January 2010 - 12:06.

[domhnall]

Best Moment by far

[GiancarloF1]

Best ´drive´ from Fisico...

I always loved this.

[JPW]

Good thread

Anyway although I never was much of a fan of Fisi there sure were moments that there was no denying the man's skills.
Spa 1997 comes to mind, of course 2003 Brasil and more recently Spa 2009 a memorable drive in that Force India.
First victory in the Renault I also remember very well and very much respected him for following his heart by choosing to drive for Ferrari the last 5 races this year.

So all in all a very respectable career, maybe didn't fully live up to his potential but F1 would have been worse had Fisi not been in it for the last 15 years, grazie Fisico!!!

Any chance of seeing him drive in an other series again? He did drive DTM at one point or maybe Italian touring cars or maybe Le Mans with Alesi this year.

[ivanalesi]

I think some of his Canada races, he was magnificent there, taking 2nd and then 3rd with the ancient Renault engine in 99 and 2000 was quite an achievement.
Then Italy 97 he was bang on the pace again as at Hockenheim. Nurburgring '99 was also great, but he spun out.
For me, Interlagos 2003 is his best race with Monaco '98 close 2nd! Those were truly special races, he left Schumacher behind in Monaco and at Interlagos he was so amazing, may be the most amazing win of the 2000's.

[Ferrim]

Everyone's talking (again) as if a monkey could have pressed that KERS button and overtaken..

BUT...Where was Badoer in that race? Where were the Macs?

Spa 09 was a perfect illustration of Fisi's capabilities as a driver - i.e. not quite good enough. His restart was absolutely rubbish. Raikkonen got on his tail practically before they'd crossed the finish line.

The overtake was aided by KERS, but as he explained, using up more fuel for tyre warming was the crucial part. It was intelligent driving by Kimi, as the extra laps of fuel wouldn't count against the Force India.

Exactly my thoughts.

The fact that Kimi cheated at the start and that he had KERS has hidden another fact: that Fisi's driving at the restart was hopeless. Even before they crossed the start/finish line, Kimi already was under his tail.

I'm pretty convinced that he would have overtaken Fisichella even without KERS, but we'll never know.

[GiancarloF1]

Exactly my thoughts.

The fact that Kimi cheated at the start and that he had KERS has hidden another fact: that Fisi's driving at the restart was hopeless. Even before they crossed the start/finish line, Kimi already was under his tail.

I'm pretty convinced that he would have overtaken Fisichella even without KERS, but we'll never know.

Nothng was hopeless about that drivng. Raikkonen overtook Kubica at the same place laps earlier after the cheating start using the KERS at the proper time. It's quite sad some people, like RodrigoL or Johnrambo, can't be enough fanboys, they had to spread total nonsense about Spa 09, which was largely considered by the critics as one of the best drives this season.

[Seanspeed]

Fisi always seemed to me a guy with above average talent, but lacked confidence under pressure. Which tells me that he'd be valuable to keep around as a test driver. It'd be a shame if he just left F1 forever, but its not unjustified that he's sitting without a race seat right now.

[Seanspeed]

Nothng was hopeless about that drivng. Raikkonen overtook Kubica at the same place laps earlier after the cheating start using the KERS at the proper time. It's quite sad some people, like RodrigoL or Johnrambo, can't be enough fanboys, they had to spread total nonsense about Spa 09, which was largely considered by the critics as one of the best drives this season.

His restart sucked, dude. Kimi didn't 'cheat'( ) on that restart with Fisi, who probably had the fastest car in a straight line. He failed to get a decent gap to Kimi going into and out of La Source, and thats what got him. KERS isn't some miracle button that automatically gives you a place on every race restart. There were plenty restarts where the Macs and Ferrari's failed to gain places.

Dont accuse others of fanboyism when you're doing the same thing. Nobody's saying that Fisi didn't have a great weekend, but 2nd isn't the same as winning, which was arguably within his grasp. I think thats the only point here. Great drive, but not quite spectacular.

[GiancarloF1]

His restart sucked, dude. Kimi didn't 'cheat'( ) on that restart with Fisi, who probably had the fastest car in a straight line. He failed to get a decent gap to Kimi going into and out of La Source, and thats what got him. KERS isn't some miracle button that automatically gives you a place on every race restart. There were plenty restarts where the Macs and Ferrari's failed to gain places.

Dont accuse others of fanboyism when you're doing the same thing. Nobody's saying that Fisi didn't have a great weekend, but 2nd isn't the same as winning, which was arguably within his grasp. I think thats the only point here. Great drive, but not quite spectacular.

Kimi cheated on the start, not the restart. I don't get what was wrong with Fisi's restart. There were 3 better cars than the FI (Red Bull, Toyota, BMW), but Fisi reached the pole and the 2nd place. His teammate was nowhere. The KERS beat him at the restart, and the Ferrari had enough pace to hold on. He was beaten by the same way, as Kubica was in the first lap. FI should have used a more agressive approach with the pitstops, I agree, but the obvious man of the race was Fisi for most people. And not because he is an underdog, but because he had overall better weekend, putting a backmarker team to the position where nobody ever expected.

If you want to search for missed opportunities, just look Sutil's and Liuzzi's races AFTER Spa. A lucky 4th in Monza, and that's all. Now, that Monza performance was not spectacular.

Edited by GiancarloF1, 30 January 2010 - 14:32.

[Seanspeed]

If you want to search for missed opportunities, just look Sutil's and Liuzzi's races AFTER Spa. A lucky 4th in Monza, and that's all. Now, that Monza performance was not spectacular.

Dude, this is about Fisi, not Sutil or Liuzzi. Calm down your fanboy defensiveness and listen for a second:

You said that it was not strange for Fisi to get passed by Kimi at the restart because thats the same place that Kimi got by Kubica at the start. But by your own foolishness, you said that Kimi 'cheated' at the start, which he did not do with the restart with Fisi, which makes the two situations incomparable. Or it should, by your own argument.

My point is that having KERS does not guarantee a pass on a restart, especially when the car in front is the fastest car in a straight line of the whole grid. If Fisi had gotten a better restart(given himself a bigger gap to Kimi coming out of La Source), he could have stopped from getting passed and likely won the race since he was quite obviously in a faster car. Great race weekend, no doubt(OK? for the last time, nobody is saying it wasn't), but he probably should have gone one more and actually won.

Edited by Seanspeed, 30 January 2010 - 14:44.

[beute]

frist: berger is austrian, not german.
second: kimis start wasnt cheating, just like double diffusers were not illegal.
It was mentioned in the drivers briefing that they are free to use the outside of turn1 free of pernalties, on the first lap only of course.
This was implemented to reduce the chance of a heavy crash.

Even one of the commentators of german TV knew it, he instantly said that he will not get punished for this, because it was a legal move.

Fisichella clearly had the faster car, and he only lost the first place because Force India was dumb enough to sent him in the pit the exact same time ferrari did with Kimi, and they did it twice.

THat said, i think that both the red bull and the brawns could have won this race, they just threw it away in the qualifying.
Webber got a penalty, vettel had some big tire problems in the first stints, barichello had a unlucky start and button got knocked out by grosjean.

barichello/vettel/webber had the chance to win it.
at the end, vettel was clearly the fastest guy on the track.

Edited by beute, 30 January 2010 - 14:49.

[min12]

His restart sucked, dude. Kimi didn't 'cheat'( ) on that restart with Fisi, who probably had the fastest car in a straight line. He failed to get a decent gap to Kimi going into and out of La Source, and thats what got him. KERS isn't some miracle button that automatically gives you a place on every race restart. There were plenty restarts where the Macs and Ferrari's failed to gain places.

Dont accuse others of fanboyism when you're doing the same thing. Nobody's saying that Fisi didn't have a great weekend, but 2nd isn't the same as winning, which was arguably within his grasp. I think thats the only point here. Great drive, but not quite spectacular.

+1
Fisi, just like in Japan 2005, left himself to be a sitting duck. He failed to warm up his tyres prior to the restart - see his car bottoming out through Eau Rouge while Kimi was more aggressive and got the pass which ultimately sealed the win. Fisi failed to exploit the car to its full potential and got 2nd while Kimi scored maximum points, end of story.

[GiancarloF1]

Dude, this is about Fisi, not Sutil or Liuzzi. Calm down your fanboy defensiveness and listen for a second:

You said that it was not strange for Fisi to get passed by Kimi at the restart because thats the same place that Kimi got by Kubica at the start. But by your own foolishness, you said that Kimi 'cheated' at the start, which he did not do with the restart with Fisi, which makes the two situations incomparable. Or it should, by your own argument.

My point is that having KERS does not guarantee a pass on a restart, especially when the car in front is the fastest car in a straight line of the whole grid. If Fisi had gotten a better restart(given himself a bigger gap to Kimi coming out of La Source), he could have stopped from getting passed and likely won the race since he was quite obviously in a faster car. Great race weekend, no doubt(OK? for the last time, nobody is saying it wasn't), but he probably should have gone one more and actually won.

OKOK, I know. It was a crappy race. I just tried to list the least crappy races of Fisi in the OP, and this happened to be the first one. Now let's move on, and keep the thread as a Fisi tribute, and about his least crappy races.

Edited by GiancarloF1, 30 January 2010 - 14:50.

[GiancarloF1]

+1
Fisi, just like in Japan 2005, left himself to be a sitting duck. He failed to warm up his tyres prior to the restart - see his car bottoming out through Eau Rouge while Kimi was more aggressive and got the pass which ultimately sealed the win. Fisi failed to exploit the car to its full potential and got 2nd while Kimi scored maximum points, end of story.

He didn't fail to warm up his tyres, he chose that strategy to save more fuel and apparently that's why he had a 2 laps longer stint than expected by the weight calculations. Bu yeah, he sucked, and it was a crappy race. How dared I to list it in a supposedly positive tribute thread.

[wewantourdarbyback]

Well, you wanted positive comments about his up and down career. The most positive comment I can make about his down moments is too say they are my favourite Fisi memories...

To me though, Japan 05 & 09 sort of illustrate his career.

But feel free to go to the Raikonnen rally thread...

You naughty boy!

[Sausage]

Seriously how can Brazil 2003 NOT be on the top of Fisichella's list?

Because from a Fisi pov, it was a big farce. I remember well being baffled by the result they made on the podium, it was so obvious. Look at the video:



We can even see Fisi and Kimi crossing the finishline in 1-2 and afterwards crossing the webber wreckage going to the finish, it was so dumb. It was fixed a few days later but it was still stoopid. So stupid in fact there were a lot of conspiracy theories in the days after involving Tag Heur, sponsor of McLaren etc. But likely was that the stewards were just an incompetent bunch

Edited by Sausage, 30 January 2010 - 15:21.

[min12]

He didn't fail to warm up his tyres, he chose that strategy to save more fuel and apparently that's why he had a 2 laps longer stint than expected by the weight calculations. Bu yeah, he sucked, and it was a crappy race. How dared I to list it in a supposedly positive tribute thread.

OK, what was smarter, to save fuel and get two extra laps and sit on Kimi's tail all race unable to pass or keep the track position and use the car's speed to open up a gap and get the win? It wasn't a crappy race, at least not as crappy as Suzuka was but his old nemesis got him again.

[GiancarloF1]

Because from a Fisi pov, it was a big farce. I remember well being baffled by the result they made on the podium, it was so obvious. Look at the video:



We can even see Fisi and Kimi crossing the finishline in 1-2 and afterwards crossing the webber wreckage going to the finish, it was so dumb. It was fixed a few days later but it was still stoopid. So stupid in fact there were a lot of conspiracy theories in the days after involving Tag Heur, sponsor of McLaren etc. But likely was that the stewards were just an incompetent bunch

Good race, but never been my favourite. Luck helped him a lot that day. His drives in 2000 and 2001 @ Brazil were more impressive from the driver's perpective. In 2000 he spent 50 laps before the first pitstop, which was IMHO a stunning performance, given that it was all dry, no safety cars interrupted it etc. Too bad the second half of the 2000 season wasn't nearly as successful as the first half.

[Seanspeed]

Good race, but never been my favourite. Luck helped him a lot that day. His drives in 2000 and 2001 @ Brazil were more impressive from the driver's perpective. In 2000 he spent 50 laps before the first pitstop, which was IMHO a stunning performance, given that it was all dry, no safety cars interrupted it etc. Too bad the second half of the 2000 season wasn't nearly as successful as the first half.

Ah, so *you're* allowed to 'downplay' certain races listed, but when somebody else does it, you get all over-defensive about it?

I see how this thread works now.

Goodbye.

[GiancarloF1]

Ah, so *you're* allowed to 'downplay' certain races listed, but when somebody else does it, you get all over-defensive about it?

I see how this thread works now.

Goodbye.

Do you see the difference between "never was my favourite" and "any decent driver could have won by a mile", don't you?

[BlackCat]

in 1996 he was really good in DTM - almost as good as Franchitti iirc - but imho F1 was too much for him.

[sopa]

What a shame this thread is so massively negative. Even drivers like Sato, Davidson, and so on, get more appreciation than Fisichella these days.

[GiancarloF1]

What a shame this thread is so massively negative. Even drivers like Sato, Davidson, and so on, get more appreciation than Fisichella these days.

Well, all I wanted to make a normal thread about the highlights of his carreer. But it was a mistake.

[Ghostrider]

The first thing that i remember of Fisichella whas that he drive some good races in the Canadian grandprix in the late 90's.

Agree, Fisi was always great in Canada.

I think Fisi peaked around 2001-2002 something, before that point he did a lot of great races in not so excellent machinery. For example, he was always great in Monaco with almost whatever car he had. Monaco, Canada, Spa always seemed to bring out the best in him, some other tracks were more difficult.

Fisi always outclassed his teammates, until he faced Alonso and I think Alonso made Fisi realise that there were faster guys than him, and I think that kind of removed some of Fisi's confidence and faith in his ability.

Fisi was never top top driver, but he was just behind, and I rate him higher than Button, Massa etc, whom he beat when they were teammates.

[ryan86]

I think Fisi's reputation suffers because of his two years alongside Alonso. It's not that he got beat, because coming second to Alonso is no disgrace, it's the fact that he actually got completely pulverised by Alonso. What the reasons are for this I don't know, but I mentioned in my first few weeks on the forum, that Renault never appeared to have two drivers at the top of their game since Trulli and Alonsoi were paired together. Even in 2007 Fisi dominated the first half of the season, then it switched on it's head and he couldn't score points for love nor money, whilst Heikki consistently racked up a couple each race. Was it the car? The atmosphere? Was Alonso just that good, that he's twice as good as Fisi?

So, I tend to look upon him as a just above average driver, who two or three times a season would throw something magic in there that made you think if he could do that every weekend, he'd be a world champion, but he couldn't.

However, even if his career doesn't have the highs it could have, at least he got those wins, and he got to stand on top of the podium.

[krapmeister]

You naughty boy!

Sometimes I just don't know what comes over me...

Well, all I wanted to make a normal thread about the highlights of his carreer. But it was a mistake.

Seriously though - did you really think you would get away with that on here? Don't take it personally, it wouldn't matter whether it was Alonso/Kimi/Hammy/Vettel/Webber/Button/Schumi etc etc - you would get the same mixed response. Especially when you want to discuss the ups and downs of someones career...

I think Fisi's reputation suffers because of his two years alongside Alonso. It's not that he got beat, because coming second to Alonso is no disgrace, it's the fact that he actually got completely pulverised by Alonso. What the reasons are for this I don't know, but I mentioned in my first few weeks on the forum, that Renault never appeared to have two drivers at the top of their game since Trulli and Alonsoi were paired together. Even in 2007 Fisi dominated the first half of the season, then it switched on it's head and he couldn't score points for love nor money, whilst Heikki consistently racked up a couple each race. Was it the car? The atmosphere? Was Alonso just that good, that he's twice as good as Fisi?

So, I tend to look upon him as a just above average driver, who two or three times a season would throw something magic in there that made you think if he could do that every weekend, he'd be a world champion, but he couldn't.

However, even if his career doesn't have the highs it could have, at least he got those wins, and he got to stand on top of the podium.

Edited by krapmeister, 31 January 2010 - 00:13.

[F1 Tor.]

Japan 05 and Belgium 2009 stand out for me. I always thought Giancarlo was a good driver but I never considered him to be in the top group of guys. I just can't see how you can. I think he is intelligent, well spoken and on his day he was super quick and GiancarloF1 has pointed some of those out. Not to get into it too much, one can't escape his failings at Ferrari last year. To say he could have done better is an understatement. I liked Giancarlo as a person and he seemed like a great family man but I have to be honest and say I probably won't miss him all that much as a driver, but that's just me.

[ZenSpeed]

in 1996 he was really good in DTM - almost as good as Franchitti iirc - but imho F1 was too much for him.

He did outdrive Jenson Button for a whole season in the same car.....

[FigJam]

Fisichella....good solid driver. Particularly when the machinery was average and expectation was non existent. Did have some very good drives....but they were rare given the length of his career.

However as soon as some pressure was applied to his situation, he'd basically crumble. Be it a certain race (Japan 05 for example, even Brundle noted how terribly Fisi handled the occasion) or expectation before a season, like when he joined Renault. That seat was gold for 05/06 and Fisi was basically nowhere 90% of the time.

Solid driver....but not really a racer if you get my drift. Still a decent enough F1 career.

[GiancarloF1]

Seriously though - did you really think you would get away with that on here? Don't take it personally, it wouldn't matter whether it was Alonso/Kimi/Hammy/Vettel/Webber/Button/Schumi etc etc - you would get the same mixed response. Especially when you want to discuss the ups and downs of someones career...

Believe me, I hate those cheater/Felipe baby/liar threads as well, just don't spend as much energy into them.

[V8 Fireworks]

Lol kimi cut the first corner it was an underserved win really

Correct.


Fisi super drives:

Mega performance in the FI
Massive performance in the Benetton

Poidums in back marker cars!!!!


Little coincidence that Belgium is a drivers track, Fisi a true superstar