>LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella hit back at Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone on Friday for questioning his ability and future in the sport.
Referring on his Web site (www.giancarlofisichella.com) to Ecclestone as the 'father of Formula One', Fisichella said he had read with interest the 77-year-old Briton's comments to German magazine Auto Motor und Sport.
"Like a father you have talked about your children, including me," he said.
"I wanted to remind you dear Daddy, I mean dear Bernie, that I am the one who won the first grand prix in Melbourne in 2005 with Renault and therefore I was the one who first discovered the R25 as a winning car."
"In the two seasons I spent alongside (Fernando) Alonso, in full agreement with the strategies of my team, I have contributed to two constructor titles, taking home the fourth place in the drivers' championship just like (Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe) Massa this year," added the Roman.
"Given the circumstances, I believe I could not do any better."
Ecclestone had told the German magazine that Renault had missed double world champion Alonso this year and depicted the Spaniard, who won seven races for Renault in 2005 and the same number in 2006, as the key to his former team's success.
"Look at the situation at Renault in 2005 and 2006. With just Fisichella they would never have known how good their car really was," said Ecclestone.
Ecclestone said Fisichella, the 34-year-old who won just two races for Renault, and Ralf Schumacher had both been with "decent teams for quite a time and should have performed better than they have.
"They ought to give very serious consideration to whether it makes sense to move into a less competitive environment. Maybe if they change teams they'll get a bit of a wake-up call."
Neither Fisichella nor Schumacher have drives secured for 2008 but both will test for Force India, formerly Spyker, in Spain next week.
The Italian said that he still had plenty of talent to offer and promised to bring all his enthusiasm and experience to the test in Jerez.
