If you've ever met Giancarlo Fisichella in person, you would understand why he is one of the most popular drivers in Formula One today. But if you haven't met the Italian, here is your chance to read his tale, in his own words, of what it's like to be a F1 driver. This is how it looks through Fisico's visor...

There is nothing better to start a new column than good news, and I am happy that my first column on Atlas F1 comes after my teammate Takuma Sato left hospital on Monday morning with nothing more than heavy bruises to his right leg, after his huge accident in the Austrian Grand Prix. It was also a fantastic feeling for me to take the chequered flag in fifth place ahead of David Coulthard's McLaren and to score the first Championship points of the season for my team, Jordan Honda.

But not everything was good about Austria, and the whole affair with Ferrari telling Rubens Barrichello to give up his win for Michael Schumacher was very sad indeed. Congratulations to both drivers, as they both handled a difficult situation with class, and it was obvious to me that Michael was not happy with the situation. I personally couldn't say how I would have reacted if I was in their place, because I had never fought for a win against a teammate, so I don't know what it is like. But I have to say, Ferrari might have won in Austria, but the sport lost out.

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2002 has been, up to Austria, quite frustrating and difficult for me, so after winning two Championship points I feel that my season has only just started. The A1-Ring holds happy memories for me and this last result, coming after a difficult period, felt very special. Starting from fifteenth on the grid and finishing fifth this year was similar to the first time I raced in Austria in 1997 - I then finished in fourth place from fourteenth. It was also the last year I raced for Eddie Jordan, in my first full season in Formula One, so I guess you could say the combination of Jordan in Austria is good for me!

The 1998 Austrian GP was also very special, as I clinched my first and only pole position. Back then, weather conditions were very tricky; it was raining and the track was very wet in sections, but I enjoy this challenge and when the Benetton team called me out the timing was perfect. I pushed hard, very close to the limit for those conditions, and then I heard my race engineer, Alan Permane, shouting to me over the radio: "Bloody good job, Giancarlo!" - that's when I knew I had pole. It was a really fantastic moment...

We may have had a difficult start to this season as we struggle to be competitive, but I know what Eddie Jordan and his team are capable of doing. They are a team that knows what it takes to win Grands Prix. I know Eddie will stop at nothing to make the team competitive again and get into a position to win more races, and for sure I will be waiting to take that opportunity. I will admit that I was concerned when a few weeks ago a large number of people in our staff left the team just before the Spanish Grand Prix, but Eddie quickly put my mind at ease and the best news for me was that he would be the driving force behind the team again.

When I returned to the factory for my seat fitting just before Christmas it felt as though I was returning home - that is how welcome the team made me feel, and it was good to see many familiar faces that I had worked with in '97, including my race engineer Nick Burrows. We work well together and it's great to have that continuity.

Jordan's head of communications Giselle Davies was another good friend who had not long started with the team when I first arrived. We were both quite new to Formula One and it was early into the 1997 season when, as the team's press officer, she summoned me to a photo-shoot in London for a major feature in one of the leading Sunday colour magazines.

No sooner had I arrived in the photographer's studio, that she ordered me to get my clothes off to my underwear! - All part of a Grand Prix driver's promotional brief, she told me... I then had to get dressed again, only this time in my flame-proof racing clothes, each item being photographed individually and in sequence from my underwear to my helmet. It was very different and not exactly what I thought I'd be expected to do in Formula One, but at least Giselle seemed pleased with the results afterwards, saying that it was one of the best promotional features she had helped to arrange.

We both laughed about this whole affair, when we met up again this year, and I was sorry to see her leave last week, but I wish her well in her new role with the Olympic Games Committee in Geneva.

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I may not be up to Olympic standard but I am certainly stronger physically and mentally than I was when I first raced for Jordan Grand Prix. In fact, I first started training seriously in 1997 with Jordan, and it has since become an integral part of my daily routine, and something that I actually really enjoy.

When I joined Benetton in 1998, I trained under Bernie Shrosbree - an ex-Royal Marine who certainly knows how to put a guy through some really tough sessions! - but it helped me a lot with stamina, concentration levels and strengthened my mental attitude.

However, the accident I had in Monza in 2000 changed things a bit for me and after I had some micro-surgery to my knee, I was introduced to my present personal trainer - Marco Rustichelli - through my manager, Gianpaolo Matteucci.

Marco specialises in Muay Thai and was the former Italian national representative of this ancient art. He has incorporated a degree of the Muay Thai philosophy into my training programme, which aims to balance the mind and body to work together in harmony. Since working with him I feel I have attained an even higher level of fitness than before. It has certainly helped me to deal with the difficult times and frustrating racing incidents, but it has also helped me to cope with big temperature changes and humidity levels we experience at circuits in Malaysia and Brazil.

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For the first time since I started racing in Formula One, back in 1996 with the Minardi team, I had a month-long break at the end of last season - my final season with Benetton - and before my contract started with Jordan at the beginning of this year. So without any testing duties I was able to enjoy a holiday with my family, my fiancee Luna and our young daughter Carlotta.

That was a wonderful time, to be able to completely unwind with friends and family before starting on an intensive training programme with Marco in preparation for this season, so naturally, I was feeling very fit and looking forward to the start, when we arrived at Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix...

To finish within minutes of the race start was a heavy blow, but when I saw Ralf's Williams flying skywards after hitting Rubens' Ferrari I was just thankful that all the drivers escaped without injury. We drivers don't say it often enough, so I must congratulate the FIA Safety Commission and Professor Sid Watkins for their continuous work to improve safety standards in Formula One. For sure without the new extra strength incorporated into the chassis' side structure to this year's Formula One cars, several drivers could have been seriously injured in the accidents in Australia and Austria.

For me, disaster struck again at the next round of the Championship, in Sepang, when my teammate slammed into my rear wing, dislodging it on the second lap of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Things were looking bad, but the team replaced the damaged wing and I rejoined the race about three laps down - but hey, at least we had two cars running at the end!

The next three Grands Prix were really frustrating, as technical failures prevented me from completing more than a few laps. Luna made a surprise visit to Imola, having travelled from our home in Monaco by train, so that was a beautiful time for me and made up for the disappointment of not finishing in one of my home Grands Prix.

But we now finally have a great feeling in the team, after my fifth place in Austria and I really would like to thank the team for giving me such a great car at the A1-Ring. It was fantastic to drive it, and although I suffered a little in the first and third sectors from a lack of power, the balance was so good that I was able to really push in the second sector enough to keep me competitive over a full lap.

The new front wings worked well from the beginning; the tyres worked well, with scrubbed ones on the front and new ones for the rear; the engine worked well, and even the brakes felt fantastic! In the end, we had a good strategy for the race, when the team gave me a fantastic pitstop with enough fuel to finish during the second safety car period. That gave me the opportunity to chase David's McLaren and when he hit an oily patch and ran wide approaching the Rindt Curve, I was able to overtake him for fifth and I was not going to give it back!

Hopefully Taku and I will have both Jordans taking the chequered flag in the Monaco Grand Prix next week. Monaco is not only my home, but another circuit where I really enjoy racing and where I have had some great results. I came 2nd in 1998 driving for Benetton, and in 1997 I was 6th for Jordan. I also won in Monaco in the 1993 Italian Formula 3 Championship, so who knows... I'm not saying anymore because we Italians are a little superstitious about such things!

Ciao a tutti

Giancarlo Fisichella's column is written exclusively for Atlas F1 by Fisichella himself, with the assistance of friend and freelance journalist Georgie Shaw.
Fisichella's official website can be found at http://www.giancarlofisichella.it.