Giancarlo Fisichella: “Fernando Alonso was my strongest teammate.”
The former F1 driver recently mentioned his former teammate Fernando Alonso in the Beyond The Grid podcast. He recalls why the Spaniard is the strongest teammate he has had in his career.
Giancarlo Fisichella has worked alongside great names in Formula 1, but Fernando Alonso will remain the one who had the biggest impact on him. Being by his side in 2005 and 2006 at Renault when the Spaniard won everything, he remembers the giant he was. With the performance Alonso is achieving this year at 41 years old, the Italian has reflected on the strengths of his former teammate.
On track, Alonso was perfect
In 2006, one had to be perfect for Alonso, facing Michael Schumacher in a once again competitive Ferrari. Fisichella reminds us that Fernando was very good in all circumstances: low grip, high grip, and especially in races, he was very, very consistent and focused. He didn’t make many mistakes and communicated well with the team, through the radio, explained the Italian. These qualities haven’t changed at all and have even improved.
A politician off track
Fisichella also highlighted, in this podcast, Fernando Alonso’s talent in politics and communication. He was also political, but that is part of the job. Fernando was therefore a very strong teammate, he said.
Then, he had a huge influence within Renault at that time, as Fisichella explains. In the team, he was very strong. Flavio Briatore was his manager. The main sponsor was Telefonica, a Spanish sponsor. So, he was very powerful within the team. Moreover, these two men still maintain a strong relationship: they have been seen together on numerous occasions, and it was also the Italian manager who pushed Alonso towards Aston Martin.
Moreover, Fisichella does not believe that Renault favored Alonso in the championship, the Italian was aware of the Spaniard’s talent. So, he helped him as much as he could to achieve his goals. « I think that once you have lost the possibility to fight for the championship, you must work for the team, for your teammate », he said.
Beyond the difficulty of being by Fernando Alonso’s side, Giancarlo Fisichella remembers the opportunity he had to work with the Spaniard: « Fernando was my best teammate. »
