Giancarlo Fisichella has spoken about how his highly competitive season as Ralf Schumacher’s teammate left him feeling resentful of the German.
The former Formula 1 driver was less than sympathetic towards former Jordan teammate Ralf Schumacher, describing him a “fighettino” which loosely translates to a poser or a show-off.
For his first full season in Formula 1, Fisichella, who had made his Formula 1 debut with Minardi in 1996, joined the Jordan team. There, he partnered with Schumacher who was a rookie driver.
The Italian took a great deal of the points ahead of Michael Schumacher’s brother, as both of the drivers performed impressively throughout the season to lead Jordan to a respectable fifth place in the constructors’ championship.
Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher had a rocky relationship while they were teammates at Jordan given that they were both trying to make a name for themselves in Formula 1.
Fisichella was straightforward in stating that his relationship with Michael Schumacher, Ralf’s brother, was significantly better in comparison, adding that he was a person and driver of a much higher caliber.
The former driver at Renault and Ferrari was questioned about his remarkable Formula 1 career. The three-time Grand Prix champion, who has made 229 starts at the highest level, was also asked if there were any other drivers with whom he didn’t get along.
His relationship with Schumacher at Jordan was what he recalled as being among the worst of them. Teammates naturally compete alongside each other in the same car, therefore there have been numerous accounts of teammates not getting along.
“There was not a good relationship with Ralf Schumacher in 1997 at Jordan,” Fisichella told Corriere della Sera in Italy. “He was ‘fighettino’, he felt superior even though I beat him.
“In Argentina I was second and he was third. He touched me and after the GP he made a stupid joke: ‘OK, I’ll buy him a pizza’. From then on it was all uphill with him.”
Fisichella, however, claimed that he got along famously well with Michael during his time in the sport, which extended beyond the track, in contrast to his brother Ralf.
“A person, as well as a driver, of a very different calibre,” Fisichella said of the seven-time World Champion. “I had a very good relationship with Schumi.
“We have a passion for football and at least two to three matches of the National Team drivers’ team were always played.
“We shared tracks, football, dinners, karaoke… it’s a pity he ended up as we know, fate is sometimes cruel and I also think of what happened to Alessandro Zanardi.”
