Fisichella aiming for the podium

Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella after this afternoon's qualifying session -- but will be aiming higher in tomorrow's race.

Q: Fisico, are you pleased with today's result?

Giancarlo Fisichella.

Photo by LAT Photographic.

Giancarlo Fisichella: To be honest, yes, because that was my target, to be eighth, and the track was really dirty, especially for Montoya and me at the start. It is difficult when you are trying to bounce back from bad results at the race before, because the circuit is dusty and you cannot give 100%. That means you have to be a bit conservative, because the most important thing is to do a clean lap.

Q: Raikkonen also ran early -- were you surprised at his pace?

GF: Yes, really surprised. He was among the first cars to run, so the conditions were tough even for him, and there's no doubt that his qualifying pace was very good. We don't know how things will look tomorrow in the race, so perhaps we will be closer to him, but I think he may be the favourite at the moment.

Q: Looking to tomorrow, what are you expecting?

GF: I need to do another solid qualifying session, gain a couple of places and then we will see. I am confident we have a good race pace after the long runs I did yesterday, and the set-up is good. I will be aiming for the podium -- but the main thing will be to get in the top five, firstly to get some points, and then to be in a good position for qualifying in Monaco.

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