Happy birthday to Giancarlo Fisichella, a Roman driver who spent three years at Ferrari mainly as a test driver, who turns 45 today. A first contact with the Prancing Horse, “Fisico” had it almost by chance when in 1992 he won his first Formula 3 Grand Prix with the Dallara-Opel at the Dino and Enzo Ferrari circuit in Imola, after the many podiums he also won in the Kart World Championship.
A descendant of a wealthy and noble Sicilian family, Giancarlo soon began racing and winning with karts. On these means that gave him the opportunity to crown an early childhood dream, racing on the track, Fisico climbed the rungs of the Italian, European and world rankings, putting himself in the limelight to the sound of victories. From here the history of the Fisichella pilot is well known: 231 Gp disputed of which three won and 19 finished on the podium. His only regret is that he never had a competitive car to win the World Championship.
In his fourteen-year Formula 1 career, however, Fisichella can boast of no fewer than four pole positions and two fastest laps in addition to a fourth place finish in the World Championship standings when he sat in the cockpit of the Renault managed by Flavio Briatore in 2006. He had been with the team since the previous season and remained there the following one. Those were the years of the domination of his teammate, Fernando Alonso who won two World Championships thanks also to the support of Fisico who turned out to be El Nano’s great squire.
They were Fisichella’s best seasons who, under Briatore’s management, came to taste again the sweet taste of victory after that first place in Brazil in 2003 at the wheel of the Jordan: hence the triumph in Australia (2005) and Malaysia (2006). Fisichella’s career met Ferrari on Sept. 3, 2009, when he was called up at Monza to replace Luca Badoer who in turn took over for the injured Felipe Mass.
The final five races of the season were nothing exciting, although almost all the blame must be attributed to the incredible F60. Despite this, Fisichella was confirmed by Ferrari as the third driver for the 2010 season and also in 2011, where, however, he carried out side activities with Formula 1, such as test driver and other sports and commercial activities.
Clean face and expansive character, Fisichella in red nevertheless left his mark so much that he is especially remembered for his ability to fight even when, as in Brazil and Abu Dhabi in 2009, he started last. A fighting character that would have pleased the Drake, although as we know, being Italian perhaps, he would have found it difficult to sit in the cockpit. Remember.
The Drake after the fatal accidents of the 1950s had decided that he would no longer put an Italian in the Rossa. Only Michele Alboreto managed to break a long period without tricolour drivers that lasted almost 50 years… Fisichella lent his voice to Boost, a character from the cartoon Cars, contributing to its success along with other drivers including Michael Schumacher.
Alexander Zelioli
