86 replies to this topic

[D.M.N.]

I've always thought, even in his early days, that Fisichella had something that made him a future star, a candidate to be one of the best in the sport.

I think that Fisichella is one of those "unlucky" drivers where he has always fallen in at the wrong team in the wrong year, take for instance with his first stint at Benetton, he joined the when they were going downhill, their championship years were beyond them and the team were not doing much with Rocco Benetton at the helm.

Although Fisichella outperformed his team-mate Jenson Button in 2001 in a dire machine, it was Fisichella heading for the door, as he and fellow Italian Jarno Trulli swapped seats - Fisichella heading for Jordan. Just at this time, Benetton (to be renamed Benetton) were moving back up towards the sharp end of the grid, however, Jordan were beginning to become tailenders. The second bad move for Fisichella in his unlucky career, even though he did score a win in the bizarre Brazilian Grand Prix in 2003. Despite this, he only scored a total of 19 points in his 32 races at Jordan. If you remove the "bizarre" win and Fisichella only averaged a point every four races.

After a year in the midfield running Sauber car in 2004, Fisichella scored a win his very first race with Renault in 2005. If you were to look at that, you might think "he has a chance". But no. For the remainder of the year his younger, less experienced team mate Fernando Alonso out-performed Fisichella on most occasions, with the Rome born driver hardly getting a look in. The team gave Alonso the tools while Fisichella was put in a position to "back up" his team mate where it matter - a role the team had employed before back in 1995 where Johnny Herbert backed Michael Schumacher up into winning the title. Fisichella played a backseat in 2006 too; in 2007 after Alonso's departure to McLaren, the teams performance dipped off altogether. There are two possible reasons for this:

1) Alonso made the car "better" than what it seemed.
2) Renault put an excessive amount of effort into 2006.

In any event, Alonso returned in 2008; Fisichella was left in the lurch. He moved to tailenders Force India (formerly Jordan) for the 2008 season.

Fisichella's career could be summed up as a catalogue of missed opportunities, joining teams when on a downwards spiral, leaving teams when they are bouncing back and having new young talent to drive alongside.

So, here's my question: Is Giancarlo Fisichella a talent wasted.

Looking at the above, I'm going for Yes.

I'm not putting a Poll in here, the intent of this thread is to discuss the opening question, it is not intended as a clear-cut answer.

[Clatter]

I'd say no.

I always liked him and often wondered why the bigger teams seemed to ignore him, but I think those couple seasons against FA showed why. Able to produce good results from mid-field cars, but came up short when in a front runner.

[4MEN]

He has got enough time to prove his quality. He is a good driver, nothing more, nothing less. A talent wasted would be Jan Magnussen, IMO.

[Gecko]

Giancarlo Fisichella had a better chance than most; he spent two seasons in a championship winning car, with little to show for it. He is hardly a wasted talent, he simply just couldn't cut it at the very top. Mind you, he is still a very handy driver, much like everyone in F1 these days.

[rolf123]

Hmm...I just don't rate the guy, talent-wise. Who else (other teams) on the grid wants him?

As a person I think he's a cool guy, though. It would be a shame to see him leave F1.

[Shockabuku]

I'd say no as well.

He has the ability to perform magnificently every once in a while, but doesn't seem to be able to reach that high level of performance consistently.

[postajegenye]

I wouldn't blame Renault for this.

I'm sure Alonso got more backing - but only after they were convinced that the Spaniard was the better driver of the two. I remember Fisi getting lots of praise from Flav and other team members before 2005, and in the beginning of the year too, especially after he won the first race in Melbourne. However, it quickly turned out that Alonso had the edge on him, and quite obviously. Actually I think Renault wanted Fisi to do better - no team wants to see one of their drivers finishing 5th in the WDC while the other is taking the title.

I think they liked Fisi at Renault very much. Otherwise they wouldn't have resigned him, and wouldn't have kept him for another two years after his not so great performance in '05.
He had been considered one of the fastest drivers in the field, finally got an offer from a top team and got beaten by his team mate. That ruined his confidence, I think, and after the initial lack of success he seemed to be lost.

As I said, I believe Renault was backing Alonso in his two WDC years, but Fisi still should have done better. Ferrari was certainly backing MS and still, Rubens was able to finish just behind Michael so many times. Renault had his only one-two finish in Malaysia 2006, and Fisi could barely finish on the podium, let alone winning races. He won twice, in Australia '05 where Alonso was starting from 13th (rain in quali, Fisi was lucky to do his lap on dry track), and in Malaysia the following year Alonso started from 7th (fuel problems in quali), while Fisi started both races from pole.

All in all, I think if we had to search someone who is responsible for Fisi's lack of success, it's Giancarlo himself. He got the opportunity, couldn't make the best out of it. I'm sure Renault would have backed him if he had been faster.

[Atreiu]

Nops.
Remember 2006?

[Hippo]

Originally posted by Gecko
he spent two seasons in a championship winning car

This. His teammate had the talent and utilized it. GF didn't. He was an OK backup. I think that's why Flavio employed him.

[undersquare]

This is a defining moment...

Sukuza 05

Two or three times he took the slow defensive line into the chicane, but he didn't need to Kimi wasn't close enough to challenge. On the last lap that allowed Kimi to brake later on the clean line, take more speed in, catch up and exit the chicane right behind him, giving him a tow. If he'd kept his nerve he'd have won, that's what annoyed Flav. He doesn't have a champion's head.

He's perfect where he is now, driving well without being a top dog.

[juary]

I definitely agree with you, Fisi during his best years was between the 3/5 top driver, probably not the best driver during a whole season, but in his best days he could fight with everyone. All the drivers comments, Hakkinen first of all, showed how rated Fisi was. Probably he missed a decent car during 1997/2004, probably the best Fisi years.
I really don't know why Fisi lost the Renault chance, but i think that is not just Fisi fault. Alonso is a top class driver, between the best 5 drivers of the decade, no doubt about it, and the Flav team management probably didn't need equality inside his team. So during the Reanult years Fisi worked out to evaluate and help the Alonso talent, nothing more.
I have a reason for this waste of talent, a real bad management in the early Fisi F1 years.
I'm afraid that we'll remember Fisi just for his unique style and not for a WDC, but this is life....
I would like to see Fisi for others seasons in F1, and deliver with slick tyres with Force India...is not the maximum but could be a nice F1 career's end....

[DarthWillie]

I was a fan before he entered F1, thought his first year with Jordan was great and I still don't understand what went wrong. With all due respect for Button, but Fisi destroyed him in the Benetton.

I still believe the talent is there, he just doesn't seem to be able to channel it on a constant level. The biggest problem seems to be psychological. He's the kind of guy who will perform better in a midfield team where there is not a lot of expectations.

So yes, it's a talent wasted.

[eoin]

No.
When i signed for this forum i had Schumacher and Fisi as my favourite drivers. I was delighted to see him land the Renault drive when he did, but then he went and blew it! I am sure he had more speed than he showed, but sport is about been able to deliver when it matters and Fisi couldn't, for whatever reason. If he had gone without getting into a top team, or having a proven team-mate at least, then you could say that his talent was wasted, but it wasn't. Renault gave him the chance and he just didn't have what it took.

[Bernd Rosemeyer]

I think Fisi is a fast driver, but he is not consistent enough to be top level. Another Montoya or Ralf Schumacher. Close to the top yet something's missing. Not a wasted talent if you ask me.

[Nitropower]

He didn't waste anything, he showed what he got. He had it the tools to be on top but he was beaten consistently, not only by his team mate but other drivers. He couldn't keep Kimi or Schumi back and that told a lot about him. He found it harder to overtake than other drivers having a good car.

So no IMO there were too high expectations on him but he was not able to reach them.

[Raelene]

I'd say no

I'd say lucky to have kept his seat so long. I don't rate him at all

He couldn't keep Kimi or Schumi back and that told a lot about him. He found it harder to overtake than other drivers having a good car.

that's exactly my take on him - too much of a pussy trying to overtake and too easily ovetaken!

[howardt]

Once upon a time I would have agred but as someone said earlier, the Renault years showed him in a poor light. He wasn't just beaten by Alonso, he was 40-50 points behind over a season. And people are saying that Kimi and Heikki are underperforming! If he had been in a Ferrari and so far behind his teammate, he would have struggled to last even one season.

[Slyder]

I'd join the majority here. Fisi supposedly was this great talent wasted in inferior machinery. When he moved to Renault, he moved at the right time, and I expected him to finally start kicking butt, and I thought he was going to do so after his win in Melbourne, but it was a false start. In the end, he really disappointed me. He was suppsed to be hand in hand with Alonso and even beat him since he had all this experience, and he didn't do a damn thing.

Truly disappointed with Fisi, he flattered to deceive.

[gerry nassar]

I remember the 1997 year end review edition of F1 Racing had Fisi as No.3 of the year behind MS and Mika and they said something along the lines of whether his promise will be fulfilled or if he will be another Stefano Modena...hmmm

Before the 2005 season I knew Renault would be strong so I put money on Fisi winning Melbourne (he did offcourse) but many thanks to the rain and FA starting so far back. My reasoning was that Trulli faired well against Alonso in 2004 (beating him for most of the season) and I rated Fisi higher than Trulli. Obviously, I was wrong and FA demolished him in their time together.

[Raelene]

I also remember a lot of radio communication telling him to push, drive faster ;)

[Suntrek]

Wasted on what?

He was in the arguably best car in 2005 & 2006, and that is a privilege not many drivers have. On the contrary I'd say Fisi has had all chances in the world to prove his talent.

[primer]

He didn't have enough talent so "waste" is out of question. He got opportunity to drive WDC capable cars which is something not many drivers can claim to. And the results showed his true status.

[BMW_F1]

There's been many drivers who have been/are better then Fisichella.. Trulli, Ralph, Kimi, Massa, Montoya, Webber, Rubens, Heidfeld., Button. . When he had a top car, there wasn't a single race from Fisi where I said wow this guy has a lot of talent and can blow away any top driver on a good day..

[qvn]

Originally posted by postajegenye

...

As I said, I believe Renault was backing Alonso in his two WDC years, but Fisi still should have done better. Ferrari was certainly backing MS and still, Rubens was able to finish just behind Michael so many times.
...

Fact please!!! How many time Rubens finish just behind Michael? Rubens finished just behind Michael only when Ferrari's car was so good like in 2004, when it had few 1-2 finishes.

Back to topic. The answer is no. He had chance and could not show his talent.
If he would have beaten FA from beginning, I am sure he could get all the support from Renault instead of FA.

[27GV]

Originally posted by undersquare
This is a defining moment...

Sukuza 05

Two or three times he took the slow defensive line into the chicane, but he didn't need to Kimi wasn't close enough to challenge. On the last lap that allowed Kimi to brake later on the clean line, take more speed in, catch up and exit the chicane right behind him, giving him a tow. If he'd kept his nerve he'd have won, that's what annoyed Flav. He doesn't have a champion's head.

He's perfect where he is now, driving well without being a top dog.

Whoa! That just reminded me of how awesome Suzuka is! And the '05 cars were beautiful to!

Anyway, No, Fisi had 2 years in what was arguably the best car overall (the McLaren was faster) and wasn't really close to Alonso. You look at '06, Alonso was hardly ever off the podium, while Fisi was scraping around in 5th and 6th. Or take '05 where Fisi had 3 podiums to Alonso's 15(!), even if they were favoring Alonso that is a massive margin. Fisi was never really a top wrung driver and even Massa was more impressive in '06 (but I would consider him top wrung in '08).

IMO he was just one of those unlucky drivers that peaked when there was really nowhere to go in terms of WDC potential teams thanks to the domination of Ferrari/Schumi/Bridgestone. His best years were his early ones in Jordan and Benetton and if a legitimate seat (not #2 role) had been open at Ferrari or McLaren in '00 he could have maybe done something. I see what you mean though, he left Jordan just before it became competitive and maybe, if he stayed, in '99 they could have been even more successful and bumped him up into a good seat. However the same could be said for Trulli as well or if Webber had gone to Renault in '05 instead of Fisi.

[MONTOYASPEED]

Never rated him. He is where he deserves to be.

[Chris Glass]

Its interesting to see people opinions of Fisichella these days and how perceptions have changed. Fact is Fisichella was consistently rated one of the best drivers of his era from 1997 to 2005. In 1997 he was brilliant and the second best driver of the year behind Michael that year and was always rated high by his peers. Jean Alesi said apart from Michael he admired Fisichellas unique driving style. He not only beat but outclassed every team mate he ever had until he ran into Fernando Alonso. I think he was a talented driver who just had the misfortune to run into one of the best talents of the era. He wasnt wasted though he just wasnt good enough.

[Gareth]

Originally posted by Suntrek
He was in the arguably best car in 2005 & 2006

I don't think his Renault was the best car in 2005. He had huge reliability problems, IIRC. I think the points gap to Alonso that year was exagerated by this.

2006 he again (IIRC) suffered from the lion's share of Renault misfortune.

He was very soundly beaten by Alonso both years, no doubt, but I just thought it worth mentioning as it was part of the "Fisi at Renault" picture that I didn't think had been mentioned yet.

[Frans]

To be a 'wasted' talent, shouldn't you HAVE talent in the 1st place? .... Fisi? ....

[lustigson]

Slightly off-topic: I find it amusing that, apart from his first 8 GPs for Minardi and a year for Sauber, Fisichella drove the majority of his 12 seasons spanning career for only two teams Jordan/Force India and Benetton/Renault.

[Cotchin]

I think it's important to remember that during Fisi's period of dominating team mates he had been on Bridgestone tyres. Alonso's talent was never in question from his Minardi days but I think Fisi had trouble switching to Michelin and thus lost out in a big way. Of course, you can't turn back the clock and Fisi should have dealt with the issues better but it's surprising that he gets no slack for the tyre issue where as other 'star' drivers spend entire seasons being excused...

[runggald]

I don't think it's a question of talent wasted but rather he showed his talent at times when it did not coincide with having a good car and when he did have a good car it was often bad luck in series of incidents that always put him behind the eight-ball e.g. after his win in Melbourne 05 he had about 10-12 races in a row where something always went wrong and it pushed him down the grid or messed up his strategy and he was always having to fight his way back up the field. From memory, I think he overtook more people in 2005 than any other driver.

What made it worse was that when he was having bad luck, Alonso was having an absolutely perfect season and that I think is the key to 2005 and 2006. So of course after 10 or so races he found himself 50 points behind and it was all over. And on top of that, by race eight or nine, Raikkonen and the Mclaren was the better car by quite a margin, so there was little chance to win any more races and so he had to back up Alonso.

Almost the same thing happened in 2006. An early win followed by bad luck in numerous races and then of course Ferrari and Schumacher was the fastest by a mile in the 2nd half of the season. So in both years he missed out on capitalising on Renault's strength which was the first half of the season. Witness that Alonso scored a vast majority of his (and Renault's) wins in the first half of each season and almost none in the latter halves of each year.

In any event, Fisi did make a few mistakes (e.g. Belgium 2005 where he was fighting his way back from 16th on the grid thanks to a penalty not of his doing) and when he did make a mistake he usually paid for them very dearly, not only in the race in question but also in following one due to the qual system etc...

Overall, I think he was pretty close to Alonso in actual pace (as Pat Symonds has often said) but it never quite came together over the course of a year.

At least this year he has stayed motivated, often putting the Force India in places it had no right to be (e.g. Monza qualifying) and even in Singapore he held off Kubica and Alonso for 10 laps after the safety car and later Massa, despite it being Force India's least competitive showing of the year, and having a heavy strategy.

Also, he has shown himself to be much quicker than Sutil this year, who was supposed to be one of the new young guns and who many thought would wipe the floor with Fisi. I think the only race where Sutil has been genuinely faster over the whole weekend was the German Grand Prix. Fisi has had the upper hand in pretty much all of the others. Sutil has only ever found himself ahead when Fisi has had some kind of problem.

If Force India can produce an improved car next year, with all the rule changes, don't be surprised if Fisi finds his way back into the top ten. He still has the speed... just ask Sutil.

[Perigee]

Giancarlo Fisichella - A race seat wasted?

Quick on his day, but far too fragile to have been a WDC contender

[Korben82]

He had a championship winning car for 2 consecutive years, yet he couldn't do anything with them (they almost lost the constructor championships because of Fisi's irregularity and lack of results).

So no, he isn't a talent wasted, at all. He's one of the very few, very lucky guys that has had a championship winning car, for 2 years no less. Many guys are in F1 for 10 years, and don't even get 1 championship winning car. He did, twice, and blew it.

[juary]

I think that if we're considering just his Renualt days to judge his talent we're totally wrong...if we consider the 2005 season in terms of points and podium with FA we have also to compare the failures, and when Fisi was clearly n°2 in points he had just to help FA.
I agree that probably the 2006 was the worst Fisi season...no doubt about it and no excuse.

Anyway when some of you are talking about Montoya and Ralf i let you kindly note that one of them are racing in Nascar after knocked even at Toro Rosso doors....the other is racing badly in DTM after that Fisi beatne him in the Force India shoot out....

in the end we have also to give some merit to drivers as Fisi, Rubens and DC who raced for 12/13 years...

[yr]

Originally posted by Chris Glass
Its interesting to see people opinions of Fisichella these days and how perceptions have changed. Fact is Fisichella was consistently rated one of the best drivers of his era from 1997 to 2005. In 1997 he was brilliant and the second best driver of the year behind Michael that year and was always rated high by his peers. Jean Alesi said apart from Michael he admired Fisichellas unique driving style. He not only beat but outclassed every team mate he ever had until he ran into Fernando Alonso. I think he was a talented driver who just had the misfortune to run into one of the best talents of the era. He wasnt wasted though he just wasnt good enough.

How does Kovalainen beating Fisi in 07 fit in your theory? Kovalainen is so great driver that he beat allmighty Fisi even in his rookie year? Yep, Kovalainen, Fisi and Piquet are all top 5 drivers...

[Risil]

Originally posted by gerry nassar
I remember the 1997 year end review edition of F1 Racing had Fisi as No.3 of the year behind MS and Mika and they said something along the lines of whether his promise will be fulfilled or if he will be another Stefano Modena...hmmm

Or Ivan Capelli, or Michele Alboreto, or Teo Fabi, or Alex Zanardi... Of course there are non-Italians (and half-Italians) who had similar problems fully realising their enormous potential and natural ability (Alex was "as good as Senna" in karts, apparently, yet scored as many points for Williams as Ayrton did), but it does seem to be a long-standing trend. And yet you can barely move in the lower formulae, but for successful Italians, so there's clearly an abundance of talent there...

Surely one of the most abiding mysteries of Grand Prix racing.

[noikeee]

Originally posted by Risil


Or Ivan Capelli, or Michele Alboreto, or Teo Fabi, or Alex Zanardi... Of course there are non-Italians (and half-Italians) who had similar problems fully realising their enormous potential and natural ability (Alex was "as good as Senna" in karts, apparently, yet scored as many points for Williams as Ayrton did), but it does seem to be a long-standing trend. And yet you can barely move in the lower formulae, but for successful Italians, so there's clearly an abundance of talent there...

Surely one of the most abiding mysteries of Grand Prix racing.

Add Liuzzi to the list...

[Risil]

Originally posted by paranoik0


Add Liuzzi to the list...

Hehe, or Naspetti, Corrado Fabi, Jean Alesi, Sospiri, Tarquini, Badoer, Montermini, Trulli, Giacomelli, Pantano, De Cesaris... It's amazing that a roll-call of so much talent can contain just 10 F1 wins.

Even Riccardo Patrese failed to seal the deal, despite his obvious ability and a wealth of opportunities with race-winning teams.

[WDC]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by qvn


Fact please!!! How many time Rubens finish just behind Michael? Rubens finished just behind Michael only when Ferrari's car was so good like in 2004, when it had few 1-2 finishes.


a few??? doesnt MS & RB hold the record for most 1-2 finishes in F1

[ivandjj]

Originally posted by Risil


Or Ivan Capelli, or Michele Alboreto, or Teo Fabi, or Alex Zanardi... Of course there are non-Italians (and half-Italians) who had similar problems fully realising their enormous potential and natural ability (Alex was "as good as Senna" in karts, apparently, yet scored as many points for Williams as Ayrton did), but it does seem to be a long-standing trend. And yet you can barely move in the lower formulae, but for successful Italians, so there's clearly an abundance of talent there...

Surely one of the most abiding mysteries of Grand Prix racing.

it's not so much of a mystery. when they're young, in italy they develop bravado instead of analitical skills. which gets you further in the short term but damages you in the long term. japanese are the same but worse.

[Risil]

Originally posted by ivandjj


it's not so much of a mystery. when they're young, in italy they develop bravado instead of analitical skills. which gets you further in the short term but damages you in the long term. japanese are the same but worse.

How young are we talking about here? Before, or just after, they take up racing? And why does this not seem to affect motorcyclists?

[ivandjj]

Originally posted by Risil


How young are we talking about here? Before, or just after, they take up racing? And why does this not seem to affect motorcyclists?

since when they see daddy driving the family in fiat punto in bravado way. changing lanes, armwawing and all that

i guess that bikers live on the bravado, because they lack 2 wheels. they're japanese and italians mostly anyway

[Risil]

Originally posted by ivandjj


since when they see daddy driving the family in fiat punto in bravado way. changing lanes, armwawing and all that

I guess Mario Andretti would be an exception to that rule, so it's still possibly a little puzzling.

Felipe Massa's a quarter Italian, interestingly (or not) enough. Certainly if Italian scholars tried to claim Shakespeare as one of theirs, Massa might be worth a shot, especially driving a Ferrari.

[Gecko]

Originally posted by Risil
I guess Mario Andretti would be an exception to that rule, so it's still possibly a little puzzling.

Well, technically speaking, Andretti was born in what is today Croatia ;)

[ivandjj]

Originally posted by Gecko


Well, technically speaking, Andretti was born in what is today Croatia ;)

andretti was born in the place where you can't drive cars even now

also, andretti lived in us for 23 years before he won his wc. american cheever lived a few decades in italy and had a career of typical italian f1 driver, very similar to fisi.

btw, i'm not trying to be scientific, just babbling

[qvn]

Originally posted by WDC
Originally posted by qvn


Fact please!!! How many time Rubens finish just behind Michael? Rubens finished just behind Michael only when Ferrari's car was so good like in 2004, when it had few 1-2 finishes.


a few??? doesnt MS & RB hold the record for most 1-2 finishes in F1

Yeah, in a dominant 2004 car for sure. But beside that year how many other 1-2 finishes for MS and RB?
Fact, please !!!!

How was Rubens some 40 points behind MS in 2002 and 24 points behind MS in 2004?

Drive with same team 

Michael Schumacher				 Rubens Barrichello 

104				Races			 104 

49 47%		   Victory			8% 9 

41 39%		   Pole			   10% 11 

71 68%		   Podium			 52% 55 

30 28%		   FastesLaps		14% 15 

88 84%			FinInPoints		  69% 72 

678.00 65%		  Points			39% 412.00 

1040			  Points, if win all races		 1040

That means Rubens was 44.4 points behind Michael per year for 6 years they drove together in Ferrari.

Yeah, Rubens was very close to Michael.

[Suntrek]

Originally posted by Gareth

I don't think his Renault was the best car in 2005. He had huge reliability problems, IIRC. I think the points gap to Alonso that year was exagerated by this.

2006 he again (IIRC) suffered from the lion's share of Renault misfortune.

He was very soundly beaten by Alonso both years, no doubt, but I just thought it worth mentioning as it was part of the "Fisi at Renault" picture that I didn't think had been mentioned yet.

I kind of like Fisi and I don't want to put him down, but those huge reliability problems in 2005 is a bit of a myth.

True that he had more mechanical problems in 2005 than Alonso - Alonso had 1 mechanical DNF, Fisi had 2 (!) - but more important he had 4 DNF due to his own mistakes (Malaysia, Imola, Spa, Turkey) as well as stalling the car in pit stops a couple of times of course losing valuable time. Whether those stalls were Fisi's fault or the car's I have no idea.

In 2006 Fisi had less reliability problems than his poor teammate, though. Alonso had 2 mechanical DNFs - Fisi only one, and the win in Malaysia he most likely got because Renault fuelled Alonso double in qualy, so I'd say Alonso had a bigger share of Renault misfortune that year.

[Gareth]

Cheers Suntrek - I went back and had another look and looks like you're right.

I think my perception was based on remembering thinking Fisi had a chance in 2006 and this morphing into "because he had really bad reliability in '05" whereas it's probably more "because he had some bad reliability and a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes".

Cheers for setting me straight

[BMW_F1]

Originally posted by juary

Anyway when some of you are talking about Montoya and Ralf i let you kindly note that one of them are racing in Nascar after knocked even at Toro Rosso doors....the other is racing badly in DTM after that Fisi beatne him in the Force India shoot out....

so you are saying that Fisi did better then Juan and Ralf did when these had winning cars.. ?

Let me see.. In 2005, Fisi had 1 win and 3 podiums in the best car.. in 18 races MEANWILE
JPM had 3 wins (could have been more but Mech failures and Canada black flag) and 5 podiums in 16 races

His 2006 season wasn't any better.. 1 win and 4 3rd places in what was the equal best car.

In 2001 Ralf had 3 wins and 5 podiums..

sorry but Fisi never matched these guys when they had good cars..