Fisichella set for single-seater return with S5000 in Melbourne

Former Grand Prix driver Giancarlo Fisichella will be back behind the wheel of an open-wheel race car this month, the Italian taking part in the Australian GP's S5000 support event in Melbourne.

Fisichella - a three-time Grand Prix winner who raced for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari between 1996 and 2009 - will join former F1 rival Rubens Barrichello on the S5000 grid at Albert Park.

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"I am very excited about coming back to a city and a street circuit which mean so much to me," said Fisichella who won the Australian GP in Melbourne with Renault in 2005

"My Grand Prix win will stay in my heart forever as well as the warmth of the many Australian fans who come every year to Melbourne for a great motor sport spectacle.

"It is also a full comeback to an open wheeler for me, after 10 solid years of GT racing and for this I can’t wait until I am going to be behind the wheel of an S5000."

S5000 series promoter Matt Braid says Fisichella's presence will delight the Aussie fans.

"We are excited to welcome Giancarlo to Australia and this is another great coup for the S5000 class at the Australian Grand Prix," he said.

"Giancarlo is loved by all Formula 1 fans for not only his success on the track, but his passion for the sport.

"While he might have stopped racing Formula 1, he is still very active, and we feel that he is going to adapt very quickly to the S5000s.

"It will be great to rekindle an an old F1 rivalry too, seeing Giancarlo and Rubens Barrichello back at a Formula 1 event, in single seater racecars.

"It is everything that the public wants to see and we are pleased to bring this to the Melbourne fans."

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