Australian GP winner ready to take on the streets of Adelaide

Former Italian Formula 1 star Giancarlo Fisichella will be racing at the VALO Adelaide 500 as the headline act of the S5000 Tasman Series.

The S5000 round will be a throwback to the famous days when Adelaide was alive hosting the Australian Grand Prix between 1985-95 and the addition of the three-time Grand Prix winner will bring an international flair to the event for Team BRM.

Fisichella is a veteran of 231 Grands Prix and 19 podiums and has continued to keep racing since he stepped away from the pinnacle of the sport 13 years ago and cannot wait to take on a new challenge at the special street circuit.

He looks forward to racing a new car and following in the footsteps of another former Ferrari star Rubens Barrichello after his first attempt at an S5000 was cancelled by Covid-19.

Giancarlo Fisichella (centre) won the 2005 Australian Grand Prix and will follow in the footsteps of Rubens Barrichello (left) and race an S5000 on Australian shores. Photo by LAT Images

“I am thrilled to be coming back to Australia to race S5000 – at last. After the unfortunate cancellation of the races at the 2020 Australian Grand Prix, it’s like we have ‘unfinished business’ to take care of,” Fisichella said.

“My Formula 1 career started literally a few weeks after the last F1 race in Adelaide, so I have never driven on the circuit, which is a slightly shorter version of the GP track, and so am looking forward to it enormously. I expect the S5000 car will be fast there.

“I’m also thrilled to be driving with Team BRM, which has a great record in racing in Australia – and who ran my friend Rubens (Barrichello) when he drove S5000 at their very first event, in 2019, and then at the ’no race’ Grand Prix in 2020.”

Giancarlo Fisichella during his Grand Prix debut driving a Minardi M195B Ford around Albert Park in 1996. Photo by LAT Images)

Fisichella just missed out on racing a Formula 1 car on the famous Adelaide Parklands street circuit, making his debut at the Australian Grand Prix held at Albert Park in 1996 for Minardi.

His first full time season arrived a year later for where he impressed at Jordan recording two podiums before a four-year stint at Benetton.

Giancarlo Fisichella was eventually named as the winner of the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix for Jordan almost two weeks after the first place trophy was incorrectly handed to McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen, who was demoted to second after the results were revised. Image: LAT Images

Fisichella returned to the yellow team led by Eddie Jordan in 2002 and recorded one of the biggest shock wins of the modern error at a dramatic the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he infamously received the trophy almost two weeks after the chequered flag.

After some consistent performances at midfield teams Jordan and Sauber, the Italian was welcomed back by the factory Renault outfit and famously won straight away at the 2005 Australian Grand Prix.

His third and final win arrived at Malaysia the following year as Fisichella played a key role in the Enstone squad’s back-to-back constructors titles alongside Fernando Alonso at his peak.

Giancarlo Fisichella powers his Renault R25 out of the final corner on his way to victory at the 2005 Australian Grand Prix. Photo by Rainer Schlegelmilch

After Renault relinquished top spot to Ferrari in 2007, he became a foundation driver at Force India, but halfway through his second season in 2009 the Italian suddenly found himself wearing red.

After Felipe Massa’s freak accident in Hungary, the Maranello team needed a replacement and after stunning the world with a pole position and second place trophy in Belgian for Force India, Fisichella was the perfect choice.

Giancarlo Fisichella celebrates a surprise pole position during the 2009 Belgian GP. Photo by Rainer Schlegelmilch

It was the realisation of a live-long dream for the Italian, who enjoyed his last five F1 races for the “Prancing Horse”.

Since his final F1 Grand Prix in 2009, Fisichella has raced GT and Sports Cars with great success, including winning the GTE class at the Le Mans 24 Hours on two occasions.

He continues to race competitively, competing in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship driving a Ferrari for the Iron Lynx team.

But the S5000 Tasman Series will be a unique challenge being a new generation of open wheel racing in Australia powered by thunderous 5.2 litre V8 engines producing speeds of up to 300kph.

Giancarlo Fisichella drove a Ferrari in his final Formula 1 race at the 2009 UAE Grand Prix. Image: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

VALO Adelaide 500 chief executive Mark Warren said the signature of Fisichella is huge for the event.

“We are ecstatic to host ‘Fisi’ in Adelaide and have no doubt he’ll put on a show for all eventgoers, particularly the Formula 1 enthusiasts,” he said.

“Fisichella brings quality experience from his driving pursuits in Formula 1, GT and Sports Car racing around the world and adds to the high calibre motorsport programme.

“We’re now just under a month to go until we hit the track and this latest signing kicks off a string of big announcements we expect to roll out in the coming weeks.”

Fisichella, the S5000’s and Supercars will all be in action at the VALO Adelaide 500 from December 1-4.

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