Fisi called up in front of the FIA

Answer me this...
By Phil Giles
April 18 2003

Giancarlo Fisichella has appeared at the Friday FIA press conference to answer questions on the Brazilian win and his fortunes for the weekend. We've picked out the main bits so you don't have to read the waffle.

FIA: Giancarlo, what has your Brazilian Grand Prix meant to you?
It’s been very important for me. I’ve been nearly eight years in Formula One and I have finished second many times. I’ve been close to winning some races but unfortunately I couldn’t win until the Brazilian Grand Prix. It’s very important mentally. It was a fantastic race, a difficult race, obviously, very difficult conditions, but I think I drove well; we did well with the strategy. I think I was lucky too, but I was very pleased, very confident for the future.

What was the wait like, waiting for the decision to go your way?
It’s been a very exciting week. I was waiting for the FIA answer, but on our data, there was a good possibility that we would win the race so I was very confident but I didn’t know, obviously. I have been in the press every day, I’ve done a lot of interviews. I was very busy, but that’s good, especially because now we are in Italy for a Grand Prix, it’s good for this weekend and mentally I like to do well here at Imola. It’s my home Grand Prix so I’m confident to do well.

It’s quite a significant circuit for you this, isn’t it?
Yeah, I won my first race in Formula Three. I scored my first championship points with Jordan here in ’97 when I finished fourth, so I’ve got a good feeling with the circuit and it’s my home Grand Prix, so it’s very important for me.

I would like to ask all of you about the rules staying the same this year, what are your feelings about that?
For me it’s OK apart from the wet tyre choice. I would like to have a couple of choices with the wet tyres, with the intermediate tyres. That’s the only rule I don’t like.

Kimi, you and the team seem to have been very sporting in acknowledging Giancarlo’s win. Was it difficult to hand over the trophy?
Kimi: Of course it would have been nice to have been the winner but the rules are the rules, so it’s the right thing to do. The rules said he and Jordan were the winners and that’s that. It’s nothing against us, there was a mistake by the timing people and that’s OK with me.