Fuente : Renault F1 Team
http://www.renaultf1.com/

FORMULA 1 - RENAULT: Giancarlo Fisichella: "We will be in the hunt for podium finishes"

/noticias.info/ The Italian is relaxed after the summer break - and certain that the R25 will be back at the front of the field this weekend in Istanbul.


Giancarlo, have you visited the Istanbul circuit yet?
No, I haven’t…

That may seem surprising to some people – is it not an essential part of your preparations?
Honestly, no. The first stage is just to learn the basics of the circuit, and you don’t need to visit to do that. The team has given me a DVD of some laps in a road car so I can learn which way the corners go, and see the geography of the track. Some drivers use their Playstation to learn the track, but I think the video will be plenty for me.

So when will you see the track for the first time?
Thursday morning when I go to the circuit.

And will you start learning it straight away?
Yes. The first thing we do every race weekend is to walk the track with our engineers. It lets us inspect the track in detail – to look at the kerbs and see which parts of them we can use, plus to get a feel for the layout and how we need to drive it.

It must be difficult to learn it on foot though?
It is, so I will go round on a scooter as well, just so I can get a feel for the lines I will need to use in the R25. The track always looks very different when you are in a car or on a bike, compared to on foot.

So what will it be like on Friday morning when you drive for the first time?
I think it will be quite exciting! It is always fun to discover a new circuit, and to have the challenge of learning it from the beginning. It is quite demanding for the driver, because we have to focus on the technical programme as well while we are learning.

Will you need more laps than normal in practice?
For sure, but the team took that into account in Hungary where we did less practice mileage than usual. That means we have more laps in Turkey to learn the track and fine-tune the set-up of the car.

How long until you feel that you know the circuit?
To be honest, about ten laps. After that, you have a good idea of the braking points, you know the line, you can see which kerbs to use and then we start working on the set-up and our tyre comparisons.

And finally, how do you expect the car to perform?
I expect us to be very strong. We were not good in Hungary, but we have not performed to our expectations this season on the slow circuits. Turkey is much more like the tracks where we have been successful, and the hot weather is good for our car. I think we will be in the hunt for podium finishes. notas_de_prensa_archivo