After the heartbreaking end to Adrian Sutil's race it is easy to overlook the sprited drive put in by teammate Giancarlo Fisichella at Monaco. The Italian developed gearbox problems - ironically with the new unit he had installed which earned him a five place grid penalty after developing a problem with the unit he intended to use in Saturday practice.
After losing first and second gear, Fisi was forced to use just third upwards. Despite this he managed to keep Honda's Jenson Button behind for a number of laps - the Brit down the field after an accident.
"At the beginning of the race I was just careful to be out of the trouble, but then I lost first and second gear and I was running third gear. Even with the conditions the lap times were competitive", he said.
However, after an hour of spirited racing, Fisi lost fourth and was forced to retire on lap 36. "I lost fourth gear and the race was over", he continued.
Fisichella was also sympathetic for his young teammate after the painful premature end to his race, "It's a real shame for the team, especially after Adrian's performance that we could not score our first points here."
I caught a glimpse of Fisi getting out of the car after retiring and he seemd to be wearing a different color overalls. It seemed to be a darker color. Did I see right or did my old eyes deceive me?
maccaf1, you'll be pleased to know that there is no gearbox penalty in this instance. As far as the regulations are concerned, not finishing the race is considered penalty enough.
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