Fisichella hopes to extend his F1 career with Force India

Giancarlo Fisichella hopes that the new Force India-Mercedes VJM-02 will be a springboard to extend his career in Formula 1.

Last year, at 36 years old, the Italian scored no points in the championship for the first time since his debut with Minardi in 1996. However, he is convinced that the improvement in the car’s performance will make the 2008 season a thing of the past.

« After many years in Formula 1, it’s not easy to have a season like last year’s. But I still have faith in this sport, I love driving F1 cars, » explained Fisichella.

2008 was difficult, but this year seems much more encouraging. If I have a good season and I’m lucky, I might stay in F1.

Fisichella is confident that his team will score points in 2008 and does not rule out the possibility of a podium.

« This year, with a brand new car, we hope to be competitive and be able to score points quite often and why not aim for a podium finish? »

« I can’t say that we will score points in every race, but last year we were often on the last row and our pace was about two seconds slower than the leaders. The goal is to close this gap and try to be in the middle of the grid, » he added.

Despite a late launch of its VJM02, which will allow the team only eight days of testing before the Australian Grand Prix, Fisichella hopes to bring all his experience to help the team go in the right direction.

« I hope that’s an advantage. It’s important to have a lot of experience in order to give your opinion directly to the engineers so they can take the right direction. »

I drove in 1996 and 1997 with slick tires and it’s an advantage because we don’t have much time.