Giancarlo Fisichella impressed the crowds in Rome on sunday afternoon with a live F1 demonstration around the Circus Maximus in the Italian capital.

Two thousand years ago, the fastest machine at the Circus Maximus was a four horsepower quadriga, which battled wheel to wheel in the most prestigious Roman chariot race of all. This afternoon, in the heart of modern Rome, the city's F1 gladiator Giancarlo Fisichella unleashed nearly nine hundred of his own horsepower as he demonstrated his Renault Formula 1 car to wowed onlookers, making twelve laps of the 1.2 km track that wound around three sides of the world-famous venue.

"I have always dreamed of doing something like this in my home city," enthused Fisichella after the runs, which attracted a large crowd of 25,000 spectators in spite of heavy rain. "Thank you to all the people who came down to see the Roadshow, even though the weather was not perfect. It was a special day for me to have my family, friends and fellow Romans come to watch this demonstration. I hope they enjoyed it!"

The Renault F1 Roadshow brought its own brand of F1 to Rome as part of a season-long series of city demonstrations that will be held throughout Europe. Weather conditions at Sunday's event were poor, with heavy rainfall through the day, but even this could not dampen the enthusiasm of the Italian crowds – 25,000 of whom braved the conditions in the Eternal City.

"It is fantastic to bring F1 to the people in this way," commented Renault F1 Team Managing Director Flavio Briatore. "For Renault and the Renault F1 Team, one of our goals is to take our sport close to people who would not normally think about going to a race, so they can see how spectacular F1 can be. The City of Rome brought fantastic collaboration to make this event happen, and I want to thank everybody who came to see the Roadshow in spite of the weather today. They all helped to make this an event to remember for the team and the city."

The Renault F1 Team's sights now turn to the San Marino Grand Prix, to be held at Imola next weekend. "We go there expecting to be strong," concluded Briatore. "We know our rivals have been working hard, but we are not standing still either. The team will be expecting to get our cars onto the podium."