Amidst the ongoing speculation surrounding former world champion Fernando Alonso's destination for the 2008 F1 season, the fate of many drivers hangs in the balance. This includes two seasoned campaigners, Ralf Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella - former teammates at Jordan in 1997.

Both drivers have been race winners and both have earned their right to compete in the sport for over a decade with their proven speed and ability in a series of cars with varying degrees of competitiveness. The pair's 2007 seasons were largely forgettable (both being comprehensively beaten by their teammates for a third straight year) and in the case of Schumacher it was at times a campaign of dangerously mediocre proportions.

However, it is the German who has the brighter future in terms of a 2008 race seat, having secured a series of testing sessions with his old team (Jordan) in another new guise, Force India.

Fisichella was universally regarded as an over-achiever after many years of top-six finishes, podiums - even a memorable win in Brazil in 2003 and outperforming teammates (Schumacher, Button, Sato) in cars that were only good enough to prop up the field. His big break came with Renault in 2005; a championship-winning car was in his hands at last, but for the first time he had in Alonso a colleague who was not only quicker, but wholly capable of taking the title. Two years of domination by Alonso had clearly shattered Fisichella's confidence and was having serious effects on his reputation.

Free from Fernando in 2007, Fisi's determined words: "I am confident of being a main contender (for the title) with Raikkonen and Alonso" were hardly convincing - and the outcome was nothing short of disastrous. A solid first half of the season in a Renault suddenly bereft of the speed of its predecessors - the highlight being a fine fourth in Monte Carlo - was followed by a dismal second half with the Italian being comprehensively out-driven by his talented rookie teammate (and my pick for McLaren next year) Heikki Kovalainen.

Where now? There are few teams with vacant seats and even fewer have openly showed an interest in Fisichella. One team principle who has always praised the Italian's efforts is Frank Williams, but political pressure led to the assignment of Kazuki Nakajima for 2008.