And Montezemolo, wily old politician that he is, deftly steered the conversation back to Fisichella.
Jarno Trulli, who Fisichella has replaced, scored Renault's one win last year in Monaco.
BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Renault set sights on F1 top spot
Fisichella, strangely, was not the centre of attention as the F1 circus gathered at Monza on Thursday.
Until they did the deal with Fisichella, Ferrari were caught on the horns of a tricky dilemma.
Rookie Heikki Kovalainen was the faster of the two Renaults in seventh place, just ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella.
BBC: Hamilton edged out Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen by 0.102secs
Alonso and Fisichella, who was fourth fastest, will be prepared for a tactical race from the two Ferraris.
He was only 0.3secs and one place behind his highly-rated team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella.
Cerraron el marcador Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) y Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber).
Jordan currently have experienced main driver Giancarlo Fisichella of Italy under contract, along with Japanese 2002 rookie Takuma Sato.
However, there would be major obstacles in the way of Fisichella - or any other driver - taking Schumacher's seat.
"For the last few days, I've been living a dream, " Fisichella mused upon his arrival at the legendary Monza track.
If he manages to do that then this simple twist of fate may serve Fisichella and Ferrari very well indeed.
Faure said he believed the driver pairing of Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella was ideal for the team's high ambitions.
BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Renault set sights on F1 top spot
Renault rookie Heikki Kovalainen has made the top 10 and outqualified team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella for the second time this season.
He described the partnership of Alonso, one of the sport's brightest young stars, and the highly experienced Fisichella as being "perfectly balanced".
BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Renault set sights on F1 top spot
Ferrari endured a bad day with Kimi Raikkonen down in 18th place, one behind compatriot Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren, and Giancarlo Fisichella 20th.
Faure also denied that Renault had had to pay Sauber to release Fisichella, who was under contract to the Swiss team for 2005.
Fisichella, who is said to have been able to retain his own management team, has snubbed approaches from Williams in favour of Renault.
Mallya is convinced his team will continue to be strong for the remainder of the season, with reserve Vitantonio Liuzzi expected to replace Fisichella.
But now Ferrari have the extra reassurance that Fisichella could competently fill in for Massa should there be any complications with the Brazilian's planned return.
Also knocked out in the opening drives were Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil of Force India, Honda's Rubens Barrichello and Williams's Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima.
Toyota's Jarno Trulli was fourth ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, whose teammate Giancarlo Fisichella missed qualifying after spinning out in practice and will start from last.
CNN: Barrichello wins pole as Button blows it in rain-lashed Brazil
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, who is standing in for Massa in the final few races of the season, will be Ferrari's test and reserve driver in 2010.
Schumacher's replacement as Juan Pablo Montoya's team-mate next year is nevertheless said by sources to be "under careful review", with Italian Giancarlo Fisichella high on the list.
Fisichella would provide a competitive but unthreatening foil for Alonso, having already been overshadowed by the Spaniard at Renault during his championship-winning seasons in 2005 and 2006.
As it happens, Fisichella's switch to Ferrari may not be entirely unconnected with Alonso's future with the team - in fact it could arguably ease his arrival.
While Kubica is searching for a race seat in 2010 following BMW Sauber's decision to quit F1 at the end of the season, Fisichella seems a more straightforward option.
For Giancarlo Fisichella to qualify on pole at Spa and to run so well right on the tail of Kimi Raikkonen for the whole race was an outstanding performance.
BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1 | Drivers & Teams | Force India
Fisichella is under contract to Sauber for 2005, but team owner Peter Sauber has said he would not stand in his way if a top team offered him a drive.
BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Williams look to Button
Test driver Luca Badoer stepped in for two races, but after failing to score a point he was thrown out of the seat to make way for Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella.
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