Ferrari did not push for Fisichella test

Ferrari did not deem it necessary to push for Giancarlo Fisichella to have a track test before his debut for the Italian team at Monza this weekend.

It is reported that the Roman has been busy in the Ferrari driver simulator, and that other avenues open to the 36-year-old amid the F1 test ban would have been short tests on Bridgestone's promotional tyres, or a run in an older single seater.

Italy's La Stampa newspaper said Fisichella has a lot to learn, for example the KERS system he must deploy at his home race this weekend, but that actual track activity was unnecessary "for someone with 14 years of experience" on the F1 grid.

Even Luca Badoer, who struggled so much in Felipe Massa's car number 3 recently, thinks Fisichella is set for a smooth Ferrari debut in the same F60 at Monza.

"He will do better than me because he has been racing for years in F1 and knows the 2009 cars well. He can quickly aim for results," the Ferrari test driver told Sunday's Gazzetta Sportiva.

It is suggested that BMW's Robert Kubica had been another option for Ferrari, but his height (185cm) would have been a complication.

Fisichella, on the other hand, stands at 172cm, which is in between the heights of the F60's intended race drivers Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.