Fisichella shows Button the way.

Benetton-Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella shone yesterday during the Belgium Grand Prix while his team-mate Jenson Button continued to struggle.

Fisichella who battled for much of the race with the McLaren of David Coulthard for second place eventually finished third taking the final spot on the podium.

The Italian said: "This was a brilliant result. Our new aerodynamics package has made the car much more competitive. It is easier to drive, easier to set up and it has much more grip than before. The race balance was great. We had a little bit of understeer at the beginning, but after that the car was perfect. We are expecting a new engine development at Monza and hopefully that will take us further forward still."

"I decided to change just my rear tyres during my stops because the car was better balanced that way. Newer front tyres had a tendency to grain, so this was the right choice. I made two amazing starts - from eighth to fourth at the first one and sixth to second at the restart. I am very, very happy with our performance. This has been a great day and I would like to thank the whole team for a great job!"

His team-mate - Jenson Button - meanwhile failed to make it to the flag having crashed near the Bus stop chicane when he clipped the kerbs and lost his nose on the B201. Button said: "I made a good start and the car was great for the first couple of laps, but then my front tyres began to grain. I didn't have a chance to bed them in this morning for a variety of reasons that cost me track time. I crashed out of the race because I clipped one of the new marker cones that they are using with the latest kerbs here. The car was fine when I turned left, but it didn't want to turn right because the wing had fallen under my wheels and so I hit the wall. I am pleased to see Giancarlo do so well however, and I hope we can both repeat that kind of performance in the races to come."

Mike Gascoyne - Benetton's Technical Direcotor - concluded: "This has been a fantastic result for the whole team and I am as proud of the staff at Enstone and Viry as I am pleased for them. Giancarlo drove a fantastically strong, controlled race and all credit to him. He has helped carry this team through some difficult times and he deserves this success more than anyone. Michelin gave us excellent tyres and we were confident with our race strategy. Our drivers made great starts both times, but unfortunately Jenson suffered a little bit of understeer that held him back before he retired."