It s the second year in a row that Giancarlo Fisichella has caused chaos at the Turkish Grand Prix. Last year he had a spin; this year, he hit the back of Jarno Trulli s Toyota, spinning him around at the first corner of the race.
Luckily, neither car was damaged, but both cars lost time along with the Super Aguris of Davidson and Sato, and the Honda of Button, all of whom had to drive wide to avoid a collision with the duo.
Fisichella eventually fought his way through the pack to finish ninth, just outside the points. Trulli struggled through the rest of the race, eventually finishing in sixteenth place.
Both drivers are being calm about the collision with Fisichella apologizing to Trulli, and Trulli shrugging the collision off as just a racing incident.
“We had the opportunity to get a better result, but that is racing,†Trulli explained. “It was a shame because the car was well balanced throughout the race and this is thanks to the hard work back at the factory. There was no clear lap for me to show my potential but the feeling of the car was good. The start went well but unfortunately, at the first corner, Fisichella hit me at the back and I lost a lot of positions. These things happen.â€
“My race was compromised by what happened at the first corner,†Fisichella remarked. “Jarno braked very suddenly in front of me I had nowhere to go and ended up hitting him which cost me positions and made him spin. That ruined his race and I am sorry. But it also cost me the chance of finishing in the points. After that, it was tough I just had to drive flat out and hope for retirements. Unfortunately that didn t happen but the pace of the car was not too bad.â€
Meanwhile, the two Super Aguri drivers are ruing the incident. Anthony Davidson shone in qualifying, just missing out on the final qualifying session in 11th place. However, he had to settle for 14th place overall on race day.
“It was a good start, but then I got sandwiched going into Turn One between Coulthard and Fisichella,” said Davidson. “Fisichella and Trulli touched, Trulli spun and I had to go on the outside of him off the track and when I rejoined I touched another car and damaged my front end, which definitely affected the balance of my car.
“It was a tough race from there on really. We had a good strategy. We got ahead of the Toro Rosso, which was who I was fighting with all race, so it is a shame to have had a bit of contact at the start. After that, it was a good clean race and it felt good to finish another Grand Prix.”
His team-mate Sato finished the day in 18th place. “It was a tough race,” Sato explained. “I did not have a very good start off the line, but I held my position. I was optimistic that I would be able to gain some positions in the back of the queue into Turn One, but just in front of me one of the Toyota cars spun and completely blocked my line.
“I had to brake really hard and to avoid him I had to go round the outside and I lost many places. From then on I had a very tough race and nothing else really happening. It is a shame to finish the race weekend like this, but we just struggled with grip all weekend and continue to lack the pace.”
