Q: Giancarlo, 2008 was a tough season for you, probably the toughest of your entire Formula One career. What do you take away from those 18 races?
Giancarlo Fisichella: I knew it was going to be tough and no promises were made to me at the beginning. The plan was to build up the future of the team and genuinely I had no big expectations, so I can say I am not disappointed, especially with my own performance.
Q: The team had experienced technical people on board, yet still failed to score. Was the car so difficult to handle?
GF: We did not have a competitive car, that is all. Twice we were in the points - Adrian (Sutil) in Monaco and I was eighth in Brazil, but twice we did not score and that is not because of driver errors.
Q: Two weeks ago team owner Dr Vijay Mallya made a drastic management reshuffle and announced a partnership with McLaren-Mercedes from 2009. What does that mean for the team’s drivers?
GF: The partnership is our biggest step towards finding competitiveness in the future. Vijay is building on a solid platform and going forward, so that Adrian and I are given a real chance to perform.
Q: As the VJM02 will be a completely different car, what program did you run at last week’s Barcelona test? What data could be of use for next season?
GF: In Barcelona we took advantage of running the last mileage with the Ferrari engine to do a tyre test. It was more a test for the drivers than for the car.
Q: Should you stay with Force India, what do you expect from this cooperation with a world championship-winning team?
GF: A competitive package, that’s all I want and what I have been promised. And that is a very good reason to drive for the team in 2009.
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