F1 Racing Famous Drivers
Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo Fisichella was born on January 14, 1973 in Rome. He is an Italian Formula One racing driver, who is currently employed by the Renault team. He has also driven for Sauber, Jordan, Benetton and Minardi.
While he has consistently been faster than his team-mates with the exception of Fernando Alonso, it seems wherever he goes, luck goes the opposite way. He is undoubtedly fast, but until 2005 was denied genuinely competitive equipment.
Like most current Formula One drivers, Fisichella 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. In 1996, he made the move to Formula One, racing for Minardi for half the season before being replaced by Giovanni Lavaggi.
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.
Renault now owned the team, but the 2001 car was poor. However, the efforts of technical director Mike Gascoyne and his staff saw the car move forwards. He returned to Jordan, but the team was in decline. The 2002 season witnessed 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 a freak win in Brazil saw Giancarlo take his first victory.
Fisichella moved to Sauber in 2004, hoping to use 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, albeit now called Renault. A win at Melbourne signaled his F1 breakthrough, but it proved to be a false dawn. Poor luck ruined many of his races and team-mate Alonso began to dominate him. The gulf in speed between Fisichella and Alonso was noticeable.
Fisichella is one of the sport's fastest drivers, but after so many seasons with lowly placed teams, perhaps his motivation suffered. ITV's experts have suggested that Fisichella's problems are mental. He needs to have strong support from a team to perform to his maximum. Whether he will get that next season could determine his future in the sport.
Fast Italian Giancarlo Fisichella has probably never shown his true potential in Formula 1, which is a shame as when he first entered in 1996 he was tipped as a future champion.