Giancarlo Fisichella

Giancarlo Fisichella was born in Rome, on the 14th of January, 1973. Not known to be forthright with his words or extravagant with his lifestyle, this Italian’s F1 career is analogous to his personality.

A passion for motorsport comes naturally to most young Italians. But to let it pass or watch it grow is just a matter of choice. Fisichella was never one to let it pass. Racing to win in karting championships and in Formula Three, he convinced himself that he could compete in the pinnacle of motorsport. Winning the 1994 Formula Three championship just affirmed his position in the Minardi F1 team in 1996. However, he did not participate in all the races that season as the team was looking for a driver who could also pump in some money. Impressive driving in testing before the 1997 season brought him an opportunity to race for Jordan, as Ralf Schumacher’s teammate. Fisichella managed a podium finish in the Canadian Grand Prix and was second behind Schumacher in the Belgian race that year.

His fighting performances won him the opportunity to race for Benetton, a team that had just fallen out with Renault and were looking for a driver they could rest their hopes in. Fisichella made Benetton’s investment seem worthwhile at Monaco in 1998 when he finished second and did so again in the Canadian GP that followed. He was amongst points in the 1998 season and Benetton could not think of letting him go till the 2001 edition of the championship. In the four years that he raced for Benetton, Fisichella bagged six podium finishes and 55 points. From 2002 to 2004, he raced for teams like Jordan and Sauber. In 2003, he won the Brazilian Grand Prix, but other than this, he did not see much success. The Italian was soon speculated to be ruled out for the next season.

“Fisico” who was not one to yield easily, reached his career peak when he joined the Renault team after former Benetton-Renault team boss, Flavio Briatore showed his intent to race him in the 2005 season. Fisichella made an early breakthrough and won the very first Australian Grand Prix with flair and precision, and went on to finish second and third in the Japanese and Italian races. The following season, he again won the Malaysian Grand Prix and also had four podium finishes to his name. In his illustrious stint with Renault, Fisichella scored 151 points and 8 podiums, topped with numerous strong drives. In 2008, he chose to join the newly formed Force India F1 team. He went pointless for the whole season, but his Indian team boss, Vijay Mallya said hopefully, that 2009 would see new engines from Mercedes and hence better performances.

Fisichella got Force India its first pole position, and first points, at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix, with a second place finish, just 0.8 seconds separating him from winner Kimi Räikkönen. Within few days of that finish, Ferrari and Force India announced that Fisichella would finish the rest of the season racing for the Ferrari, a move which the driver described as a dream come true.

The dream turned into a nightmare as the Italian failed to register a single point for the legendary team and mostly remained a back-marker. He also lost out on a seat as Ferrari announced Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa as its drivers for the season of 2010.