Giancarlo Fisichella has denied that his 2007 points tally alone means that he is in danger of losing his Renault seat for next season.
The Roman veteran’s rookie teammate Heikki Kovalainen moved ahead of Fisichella at the recent Turkish grand prix to take seventh spot in the drivers’ standings.
It is now believed that Kovalainen, a 25-year-old Finn, is almost certainly guaranteed a spot in the 2008 lineup, with names such as Nelson Piquet Jr and even Fernando Alonso probably more likely than Fisichella to secure the second seat.
34-year-old Fisichella, however, plays down the significance of his now 2-point deficit to Kovalainen.
“I do not believe those two points make the difference,” he is quoted as saying by PA Sport ahead of perhaps his last home race at Monza.
Fisichella said of Kovalainen: “I was in front of him until the last race and I could be ahead again after the next one.”
The Italian, with 191 grands prix under his belt, denied that he is currently being outperformed by his much more inexperienced teammate.
“That is only down to strategies.
“In my case occasionally they did not work, not because I have made any mistakes,” he added.
Fisichella said Renault will decide “very soon” whether or not he will be retained for 2008, amid speculation that the lineup could be announced at Monza this weekend.
“Personally, I would like to stay because I have worked very hard and made very few mistakes,” he said.
