Fans were left rubbing their eyes in disbelief as Giancarlo Fisichella of the unheralded Force India pulled off the shock of the season to grab the pole position for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix here today.
In the most dramatic qualification of the season where the traditional frontrunners bit dust, Fisichella had a fairytale outing as the veteran Italian made it to the first qualifying session (Q1) and went on to top the chart, something the outfit did not imagine even in their wildest of dreams.
Teammate Adrian Sutil also nearly made it to the Q1 as well before falling just shy of the mark. Sutil will start 11th tomorrow. Once again, both the VJM02 cars demonstrated quick pace throughout the practice sessions with Sutil finishing third in today’s final free running.
“It’s unbelievable. I didn’t expect to be on pole. It’s amazing. It’s fantastic. I’m so happy,” an ecstatic Fisichella said after the qualifying sessions. “I need to thank the team because they did a fantastic job. I’m really, really happy — and really confident for tomorrow,” said the Italian.
It was an incredible performance by the 36-year-old driver and his minnows’ outfit, who are yet to secure their first Formula One points. After the Q1 was over, Fisichella jumped out of his car and had his arms aloft in measured celebration.
Jarno Trulli was second for Toyota, from BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld and Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello. It was Fisichella’s first pole position — fourth overall — since Malaysia 2006 when he was at Renault. Incidentally, Fisichella’s name is doing the rounds to replace Luca Badoer, replacement for injured Felipe Massa, in Ferrari and today’s performance would no doubt help his cause.