Fisichella Still Hopeful of F1 Drive in 2010

One can say a lot of things about Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella, but no one could argue that his desire to race Formula One cars has remained unchanged throughout the years. Although he was the second oldest driver in the Formula One roster until recently, the Roman driver insisted that he hasn't said his last word in the series just yet.

Midway through last season, Fisico signed a deal with Ferrari for the upcoming 10 years, but only as a test and reserve driver. He went on to replace injured Felipe Massa for the last 5 races of last season, but didn't make the scoreboard. Although he was given permission by Ferrari's Stefano Domenicali to look for a race seat for the 2010 season, Fisichella is still on the waiting list.

His best chances of landing an F1 seat in the upcoming season rested with Sauber F1 Team, given the Swiss team's engine partnership with the Italian company. However, according to recent reports, sponsorship money coming from Spain seem to have already secured that vacant spot to McLaren's tester Pedro de la Rosa.

However, Fisichella remains optimistic for a race drive in F1. If not next year, perhaps the one after.

“Abu Dhabi could have been my last race, but maybe not. It would be nice to know my future, but in the case of not racing I'll be in the Ferrari team as third driver and for me that's still a very good opportunity,” said Fisico in an interview with Autosport.

“Being third driver for another team could be boring, but doing it for Ferrari is just great. It's very important to be with them for a few years, but it's not sure about that. Maybe if there is a call from another team, together we can decide to race one more year, and then we'll see,” added the Italian.