After coming within spitting distance of making it through into Q2 in qualifying for both of the opening two grands prix of the 2008
Formula 1 campaign in Australia and Malaysia,
Giancarlo Fisichella has revealed he is willing to ‘take some risks' in Bahrain this weekend as
Force India seeks to further up the tempo.
The former Spyker outfit has enjoyed a much more promising start to the season than many may have anticipated, though Fisichella was out of luck in the race Down Under when he was unceremoniously punted into the gravel trap and out of contention at the first corner.
The Italian went on to impress in Sepang, however, narrowly missing out in a spot in Q2 by a scant five hundredths of a second and battling with the Honda and
Williams drivers in the race
en route to twelfth place at the chequered flag. He has also featured up inside the top ten during practice sessions on both occasions.
“I enjoy the Bahrain Grand Prix,” the 35-year-old enthused. “It is a good track with a long straight that can be very enjoyable if you have a good engine, which we do. There are of course a couple of tricky corners and it is very demanding on brakes, so it proves to be a good challenge.
“My aims will be the same as in Malaysia. I want to complete the full distance and improve the race pace if we can, although in Sepang our lap times were already pretty competitive. The VJM01 feels well-balanced, even if we know there is more to come from it. Hopefully with the new improvements in Bahrain we will be able to investigate some more set-up options and should be able to get rid of the understeer that plagued us in Sepang.
“I think we can also try to get into Q2, but this always depends on us getting the perfect lap and maybe one of the others making a mistake – it's very close racing this year, particularly with Toro Rosso and
Honda, and I think this battle will continue for the rest of the season.
“In Malaysia we were fighting hard with these two teams and were very close in lap times, especially with Rubens [Barrichello – Honda]. I think to beat him we need to have a good strategy, but now we know what we have to do [and] we can look into it in Bahrain. With the race pace we have we can take some risks with the strategies until we know what suits us best. I am looking forward to it.”
