After a solid drive to fifth place in the rain at Fuji, Giancarlo Fisichella will aim to keep the momentum going into the Chinese grand Prix as he seeks to end his Formula 1 season on a high.

The Italian had failed to score in five races heading to Japan but was able to master the challenging conditions to bring his car home in the points on what proved to be the strongest weekend of the season for Renault, with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen coming home second to give the team a points haul in double figures for the first time this season.

“I have always felt comfortable driving in the wet,” Fisi reflected. “In Japan, the car didn't have a perfect set-up for the conditions because we had hoped it would be dry on Sunday. There was a lot of aquaplaning, and I was fighting with the car, but I still got to fifth place after what was probably one of the hardest races of my career! The points I scored were valuable and it was a very strong team result.”

Fisichella now heads into a circuit he ranks amongst his favourites on the calendar although he admitted it was one that provided a challenge for his engineers to get the set-up on the car right.

“It is a driver's circuit, and also a big challenge for the engineers to find the right set-up for the different sections of the track,” he said. “Fortunately, we have plenty of time to find the right settings during the Friday practice sessions.

“The circuit includes some long straights and high speed corners but also a number of slow speed sections. As always, the key will be to find the best solution between having a stable, neutral car in the high speed curves and good straightline speed to overtake competitors on the straights. We will be fine-tuning the aero levels to find the best compromise from Friday onwards.”