Fisico: Confident of title challenge

Giancarlo Fisichella is confident that he will be a leading contender for next year’s world championship despite an indifferent 2006 campaign.

The Italian was comprehensively outperformed by Fernando Alonso throughout their two years as Renault team-mates.

But with the double world champion defecting to McLaren, Fisichella believes he can finally step out of the shadows and mount a title challenge.

“I’m confident of winning the world championship; I will be a main player along with [Kimi] Raikkonen and Alonso,” he was quoted as saying by Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

“I’m aware that next year I will have at my disposal a great car and a great team, who I’ve already worked with for two years so I know them well.”

Fisichella will team up with Finnish rookie Heikki Kovalainen next season.

He will be under pressure to perform because his new contract is for a single year and Renault's ambitious test driver Nelson Angelo Piquet has designs on his seat for 2008.

I think that the general feeling for everyoe that is tracking Fisi and F1 also, is that this is the time for him to deliver what he knows and deserve the team credits and attention. It is more like "know or never". I thinl that he will be under great pressure for 2007.