British GP 2006: Monday Debrief
Forza Fisico, some World Cup banter and the home race hat
trick… All the news from behind the scenes in Silverstone.
Forza Azzurri, Forza Fisico
With the World Cup kicking off in Germany last weekend, Fisico
was in festive mood at Silverstone. His special helmet with
the Italian flag was in action, adorned with a ‘Forza
Azzurri' sticker for his national squad. Fisico was in feisty
mood on track as well. As he hunted down Kimi Raikkonen's
McLaren in the closing laps, the message came loud and clear
over the radio from his race engineer Alan Permane: "Come
on, come on, you can get him, this is payback for Suzuka last
year."
Fisi fell just short, unable to get close to enough to overtake
on a circuit where this is notoriously difficult owing to
the high number of aero-dependent fast corners. "It was
unfortunate for Fisico this weekend," commented Flavio
after the race. "He had a bad qualifying because of our
mistake, but when you see a performance like today, with both
drivers performing like they did, it's fantastic for the whole
team."
As for the man himself, he has now scored nearly double the
number of points he had done at the same point last year (32
against 17), is locked in a battle for third place in the
drivers' championship with Kimi Raikkonen, and the next race
is in Canada – one of his strongest circuits. "Montreal
is one of my favourite tracks," commented Fisico yesterday
after the race. "I am very optimistic. I was leading
last year when we retired, and I have been on the podium four
times in Canada, but only in second and third positions. I
want to make it five podiums – but this time with a
win."
Footie fun…
Come Saturday afternoon last weekend, the cars were prepared
for parc fermé with at least half an eye on the TV
screens in the garage, as England took on Paraguay in their
opening World Cup match. The interest was particularly intense
among the contingent of mechanics and engineers from Viry-Châtillon
who, for the weekend, had displayed their allegiances clearly,
posting a ‘Paraguay Official Fan Club' sign behind their
telemetry screens!
Interviewed as he descended from the podium soaked in champagne,
Fernando's engine race engineer Rémi Taffin remarked
upon the friendly rivalry between the team members: "It
was nice to see French guy on the podium at the British Grand
Prix, eh?" he smiled.
Now, there are not many things we can guarantee about the
forthcoming Canadian Grand Prix, but there is one… That
Togo will have around sixty passionate new supporters from
Enstone when they line up against the French national team
on Friday 23 June, as second practice finishes in Montreal!
Mister perfect?
What can you say about Fernando Alonso at the moment? He
has scored 74 points from 80 in the opening eight races (a
scoring rate of 92.5%), better even than the dominant Michael
Schumacher seasons of 2002 or 2004, or Nigel Mansell's 1992
championship run. Yesterday, he ticked off another milestone
– his first ever ‘grand slam' Grand Prix weekend,
with pole position, fastest lap and the race win. Before he
celebrated on his car with some Robin Hood-style archery,
he mentioned another special hat-trick he wants to secure
– the trio of "home" races for the team.
"Fantastic guys, thank you," came the familiar,
accented voice over the team radio as he cruised round the
slowing-down lap. "We won in Barcelona, the home race
for me. We have won here, the home GP for most of you guys
– and for me too. I live in Oxford, I feel half English,
half Spanish already. Now we need to win in France again for
the team. We can do it guys, you are the best."
Between now and then, though, there is some more unfinished
business Fernando wants to clear up. Canada and Indy are the
only two Formula 1 circuits where he has never scored a podium
finish in his four and a half seasons. That will be the aim
for the next races: to maintain a strong championship lead
with an aggressive approach. Who would bet against him at
the moment?
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