Fisichella satisfied with emotional opening day

MONZA: Giancarlo Fisichella knew what to expect after 226 Grands Prix, but admitted he still felt nervous when he began to realise his dream and drive a Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix here on Friday. The 36-year-old Italian, a veteran of 14 seasons in Formula One, only joined the team last week and quipped on Thursday that all he knew about his Ferrari F60 car was its famous colour. Beyond that, he said, it was a stranger to him. But by the end of a busy day in warm sunshine at the old Autodromo Nazionale in Monza's former royal park, the popular Roman had acquainted himself sufficiently with his machine to declare his satisfaction. He said: "This morning when I was here at the track, especially going down to the car, I was quite nervous, but concentrated. And it was great. I'm quite positive about the day, I just need to improve somewhere, but apart from that it's been a good day." Drafted in as a replacement for hapless compatriot test driver Luca Badoer, who struggled in Valencia and Spa-Francorchamps, Fisichella ended the second free practice session in the afternoon in 20th and last position. To most outside observers that may have seemed at least a little disappointing, but when it is considered that barely 1.2 seconds covered the entire field in Friday practice, it can be forgiven and accepted as an inevitable part of a new boy's first day's work. Fisichella, who finished second for Force India in last month's Belgian Grand Prix, said it was too early to compare the two cars. He said: "It's a different circuit so it's difficult to say, as the level of down-force is much less. "It's a different car so there is different reaction into the corners. You work much more with the steering wheel and the switches compared to Force India. "With Force India, I was just concentrating on the driving, here I am quite busy. Tomorrow is going to be another important day for me. It's important to do another good amount of laps and do a little bit more." Ironically, for Fisichella, it was his former Force India team-mate German Adrian Sutil who topped the times. He said: "It's not surprising. Force India for the last couple of races was very strong, we made a step forward and my last race was fantastic. I knew it would be quick here. I know they are probably lighter than us today in terms of fuel load, but for sure they will be competitive tomorrow."