Fisichella: Grumpy & Old, But Still Quick?
Over at BlogF1, I have a series going whereby some guests have written for me. The idea was for some of Formula One’s most talented writers to discuss how they see the driver pairings in the top four teams fair this upcoming season. And before you all ask, vee8’s very own Duncan is due on Monday.
But one of the pairings has not been discussed, and in the spirit of getting guests to post at BlogF1, I thought I’d return the favour and talk a little here. The team is Force India and the drivers in question are Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil. One driver is in the twilight of his career, the other is just starting out. A hot-blooded Italian vs. a quiet and controlled German. Throw in a car that is meant to be slow, but has shocked a few in testing, and the recipe for fireworks is all set. All we need now is a spark…
So why am I keen to see how Fisichella and Sutil work things out this year? Well, I’ll admit I’m a bit of a fan of the Italian. I remember his first full-time season back in 1997, notably the German Grand Prix where he ran Michael Schumacher ragged for a short while. Since then though, Fisichella has always found himself in the wrong car at the wrong time. A move to Benetton should have been his breakthrough, but the team were on the decline. Four years of rebuilding the car in to something that resembled a point-scorer and Fisichella was sent back to Jordan so Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso could collect the glory. The Sauber move was hoped to become a stepping stone to Ferrari, but alas it didn’t happen. And then Fisichella found himself back at Benetton, since renamed Renault, and partnered with the fast Alonso.
Having had his reputation of demoralising team mates shattered by the Spaniard, Fisichella has found solace at Force India, a team that should learn from the experience of the wise campaigner. Giancarlo can build the team around him, develop relationships and hopefully push the squad further and harder, much like he did in the Benetton-days.
Only two things stand in his way: The car and his team mate.
If the team cannot build a decent car then Fisichella’s hard work won’t be rewarded. If new team owner Vijay Mallya doesn’t employ the right minds, then Force India will simply remain at the back, regardless of who’s driving.
The other obstacle, Adrian Sutil, could potentially do a lot of damage though. Fisichella is known to be fast, especially in comparison to his team mate. Ignoring the fact that Alonso comprehensively beat him in 2005 and 2006, and that Heikki Kovalainen beat him last time around, Fisichella has similarly destroyed many a team mate himself. Wurz and Button have both felt his wrath, Sato and Firman are two more and as recently as 2004, Massa got a good thrashing as well.
But Sutil is pretty quick as well. At least, I reckon so. For sure, he’s yet to score a point, lead a race or challenge a world champion. Running at the top of the practice tables in Monaco while it was pouring with rain impressed me, and I think he has the talent needed to progress well in the sport, even though it may cost Fisichella dearly. If Sutil, in equal equipment, ends up finishing 2008 ahead of his team mate, then I fear the writing’s on the wall for the Fizz. Four years straight would probably be too much for any team boss to take. The fireworks resulting from such pressures could be very interesting to watch, but I don’t think we’re going to see any pops, bangs or whizzes this year.
I’m hoping that Giancarlo can do a Coulthard and find his fighting spirit again. I’m hoping he and Sutil have a great year and battle their way up to the midfield. Fisichella hasn’t got much time left in the sport; he’ll never become world champion now and even further wins are probably out of the window. But if he plays his cards right, focuses on driving and avoids the political shenanigans, he could very easily join DC in the grumpy, old, but still quick club.
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Pingback by BlogF1 - Your Regular Blog and Guide to Formula One » BlogF1 On vee8
18:23 on 8 Mar 2008
[...] Not only is it the build up to the 2008 Formula World Championship, it is also the (newly created) 2008 F1 guest-post season. We have a series of posts here at BlogF1, due to continue on Monday. F1Fanatic is getting the new Soapbox series published which will see yours truly at some point (although I have no idea when) and now I’m in the mix at vee8. Duncan, owner of vee8, opened the doors shortly after launching and is allowing readers to contribute articles. So the words “Free Promotion” rolled over my eyes and I decided to return a favour at the same time. Go check it out: Fisichella: Grumpy & Old, But Still Quick? [...]
Comment by Clive
19:51 on 8 Mar 2008
Let’s hear it for the grumpy, old farts! Insightful look at the two drivers, Ollie, and it’s a pairing that will prove very interesting as the season develops. First blood to Fizzy in testing, I think - he’s been quicker than Sutil on almost every occasion.
Comment by Oliver White
21:37 on 8 Mar 2008
Yes, Fisi has been pretty impressive so far. How that will translate to the race track I don’t know, but I hope a few points can be scored with the odd mix of great racing and shared tyre rubber.
Comment by doctorvee
21:50 on 8 Mar 2008
I have to admit that I thought Fisichella’s career was over, and I was a bit disappointed when he was chosen over the more promising Liuzzi. But the more I think about it, the more I feel that Force India made an astute decision. Of course, Fisi’s experience will be of vital importance to a small team like Force India. Teams like that usually have to rely on untested pay drivers whose success rates are patchy.
I do feel though that Fisichella has been given the benefit of the doubt often enough though. For just about all of his career it could be said that he was just in cars that were not good enough. But you certainly cannot say that about Renault 05–06, where he was pulverised by Alonso.
Fisi’s career could be defined by how good he is at Force India. The comparison to David Coulthard is very interesting. I would say that DC was in a similar position when he signed for Red Bull. He had possibly been given the benefit of the doubt over a patchy career, and he probably deserved a year or two extra but nothing more. Yet DC’s years with Red Bull have impressed me, and I think he has probably gone up in most people’s estimation. Perhaps Fisichella can do the same.
Very interesting post Ollie, thanks for writing it!
Comment by F1Punter
22:02 on 9 Mar 2008
In summary then, Fisi beat his team mates up until the end of 2004, but hasn’t beaten them since. So if I was asked to pick a point when I thought that his decline as a competitive racing driver began…
Perhaps the change of scenery/expectation/relationship at Force India will give him a second wind. He certainly appears to be performing the role of team leader at present.
I agree though that if he is beaten by Sutil this year then there are not a lot of options left open to him.
Comment by Ponzonha
07:46 on 10 Mar 2008
Fisico is regarded by the pilots as one of the best. It is a clear example of how important are team choices in F1. I can think of more cases like this… Button anyone?
Comment by doctorvee
16:02 on 10 Mar 2008
It’s an interesting point that comes up time and again — the promising driver who always seems to end up in the wrong car. We can all reel off several examples of such a driver.
But when people talk about the greatness of Michael Schumacher, one of the most common things to talk about is the way he helped build the Ferrari team. I wonder if that is just a myth — a coincidence that he joined them on the upswing, a free-rider on the back of excellent brains — or if this is what really sets the great drivers from the merely good.
Pingback by vee8 » Blog Archive » Guest post on BlogF1
16:21 on 10 Mar 2008
[...] reciprocated the favour by writing his own guest post here on vee8 about Fisichella and Sutil. As Ollie pointed out, the doors are open for anyone to contribute a [...]
Comment by Pink Peril
01:43 on 11 Mar 2008
I think we could see a second wind from Fisi at Force India.
The worse the car, the better Fisi seems to drive it. Sadly the opposite also seems to be true, hence why Fisi finds himself with a backmarker team this year.
Comment by peterg
05:01 on 11 Mar 2008
He is the perfect choice for this “new” team 7 brings a wealth of experience with him. How will he go? I amagine it will be a case of vanquish or be vanquished, Sutil is highly rated.
Comment by Raj
09:12 on 11 Mar 2008
He may have set some decent times in the practise but I think, Sutil will be quicker than him throughout the season…