Luckily for the Italian, his retirement was met by a similar fate for
Kimi Raikkonen and a meagre seventh place for
Felipe Massa, his rivals in the fight for third place in the championship, earning him a reprieve he is unlikely to be gifted again.
Nonetheless, Fisichella started last year’s race from the front of the grid and went on to finish in fourth place. A similar result, particularly in light of the pressure being applied by
Ferrari in the constructors’ standings, will be imperative.
“I like the circuit a lot. It is one of the new generation circuits, and I felt comfortable straight away last year when I started running there. I started from the front row as well, and the car felt pretty good. I am confident we can be competitive in Turkey this year.
“Hungary was really disappointing for me. Normally, wet conditions like those are ones that really suit my driving style but the grip of the car was just not good in the race. I am really motivated for the last races of the championship.
“
Renault wants to have a strong weekend and steal back the initiative in the championship battle. We have the package to do it, I think, so we are looking forward to racing aggressively, and hopefully finishing on the podium.”
McLaren – Kimi Raikkonen (#3), Pedro de la Rosa (#4):
Leading his second consecutive race from pole position, Kimi Raikkonen made a return to his legendary bad luck in Hungary when he misjudged a move on lapping Vitantonio Liuzzi, instead mounting the
Scuderia Toro Rosso and denying himself a potential win.
Nonetheless, Hungary showcased further McLaren’s gradual return to prominence, with both Raikkonen and ‘super-sub’ team-mate Pedro de la Rosa showing front running pace, if aided firstly by
Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso’s penalties and then by the difficult conditions in the race that favoured experience over exuberance.
