Giancarlo Fisichella had an impressive Formula 1 career that spanned more than a decade and seven different teams.
The Italian recorded three victories and enjoyed his most successful spell alongside Fernando Alonso at Renault.
Posting on his Instagram, Fisichella was reminiscing about his favourite time in F1 that came towards the end of his career.
Every Italian driver’s dream is to race for Ferrari one day and after more than 200 races, Fisichella finally got his chance.
Going into the 2009 season, Fisichella was entering his second season with Force India after a difficult year where he and teammate Adrian Sutil failed to score a single point in the team’s debut F1 campaign.
After 12 races and a magnificent second-place finish in Belgium earning Force India their first F1 podium, Ferrari came calling.
Giancarlo Fisichella decided to join Ferrari and take Felipe Massa’s race seat after he suffered a season-ending injury in Hungary.
It was a dream come true for the 51-year-old driver, although he couldn’t match new teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s performances during his short spell with the team.
Giancarlo Fisichella reminisces about replacing Felipe Massa at Ferrari
The circumstances that surrounded Fisichella’s move to Ferrari were very worrying for Massa as it was unclear whether he would return to Formula 1.
During qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was struck by debris that pierced his helmet, narrowly missing his left eye.
He was knocked unconscious and drove straight into the barriers with his foot stuck on the accelerator.
Massa was ruled out for the rest of the season and despite reports suggesting he could be replaced by then-retired Michael Schumacher, it was test driver Luca Badoer who was handed his seat.
After two races, it was clear Badoer wasn’t up to speed to drive for Ferrari and instead Fisichella was brought in to drive Massa’s car for the rest of the year.
Giancarlo Fisichella’s greatest Formula 1 moments
Talking about his final Formula 1 season, Fisichella said: “My best moment in F1? When I replaced Felipe Massa in Monza in 2009: even if only for 5 races I understood what the word Ferrari meant.
“It was an incredible moment I will never forget.”
Fisichella recorded finishes of 9, 13, 12, 10 and 16 in his five races for Ferrari before handing Massa’s car back to him for the start of the 2010 season.
The Italian called time on his F1 career after his cameo with the team and while he loved his time at Ferrari, he had some better moments during his time in the sport.
Two podium finishes in his first season at Jordan highlighted his potential, but his best moment with the team was his bizarre victory in Brazil in 2003.
He wasn’t declared the winner until nearly a week later after confusion over who was leading the race after a late red flag.
Fisichella had to wait until the first race of the 2005 season in Australia to finally stand on the top step of the podium, winning the opening Grand Prix of a campaign dominated by Renault.
Alonso went on to win back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006 with Fisichella winning a solitary race in each season.
His podium finish with Force India before his Ferrari switch after starting the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix on pole position also stands out as one of the best weekends of the Italian’s career.
The post ‘Incredible’: Giancarlo Fisichella admits replacing 11-time race winner was his ‘best moment’ in Formula 1 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.