Suzuka, 1 October 2009 - Giancarlo Fisichella is pleased to be in Japan, where he is hugely popular with the local race fans, but it was another drive’s news that was the subject of the first question at his conference in the Suzuka paddock this afternoon: the arrival next season of Fernando Alonso: “I think it is a great decision and Ferrari did something fantastic in getting him to drive for the team next year,” said the Italian. “Fernando is one of the best drivers in the world and I’m sure he will have a good season with such a great team like Ferrari. For my part, I will be happy to be working to support him and Felipe in my role as third driver.”
Fisichella is growing in confidence within the team since making his Ferrari debut in Monza and admitted he was really looking forward to this race. “I love Suzuka circuit and I’ve gone quite well here in the past with a couple of podium finishes,” he said. “I have a good feeling for this track, so now I must ensure I also get that good feeling in the Ferrari car. The track here is completely different to Singapore and I feel we have the possibility to go quite well here, so I hope we can have a good weekend and get a good result for the team. If it’s a wet race, anything could happen and I wouldn’t mind. The hard thing for me would be if it rains for free practice but is dry for qualifying, which I would find tough. I feel comfortable now with the team, so it is just a case of getting more comfortable with the car, which especially in Singapore was difficult, in terms of finding the limit. The main area I need to improve is dealing with the car under braking, which makes me not so confident, but I feel it should be better at this circuit. As for the KERS, I think I am using it quite well now. I still lose a couple of tenths because of concentrating on the different ways of operating systems on this car compared to my last one. But overall, this is becoming less of a problem. For sure this weekend will be better and my aim is to get a better result and hopefully score some points.”
One of the unique features of racing in Japan, is that the fans are very knowledgeable and extremely passionate about the F1 drivers, with Giancarlo one of the most popular. “I have one of the best and the biggest fan club here in Japan,” said the Ferrari man. “I will meet all of them tomorrow evening at the circuit and I look forward to their support throughout this weekend.”
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