After a promising pre-season, the first two races have left Giancarlo Fisichella with mixed feelings. Almost reaching the end of the race in Australia was followed by retirement at the start in Malaysia. Fluctuating race fortunes were not helped by speculation about where Fisico would be next season. All this and more, as Jordan prepare for their 200th Grand Prix, through Fisico's visor...

Hi to all my friends at Altas F1! Surely nobody can say that Formula One isn't exciting any more after the first two races this season!

Personally, I would rather forget the last one (Malaysia) which ended before the race had even begun…

No doubt about it, the Malaysian Grand Prix was hugely disappointing and frustrating for me, and of course for my team. Everything was fine on the formation lap, I was happy with the strategy we had chosen and felt that we had a chance of at least finishing in the points. But when I arrived to take-up my grid position I was unaware of Jacques' (Villeneuve) problem and mistakenly took his vacant grid slot. Once I had realised my mistake, I quickly repositioned my car on the other side of the grid before the start, as you will have seen. Then, to add to my problems, I encountered a problem with the launch-control system. I was left stranded on the grid and out of the race as the field streamed passed without further incident, thankfully missing my stricken Jordan. Not being able to use the T-car (after qualifying) is one of the difficult pills to swallow with the new rules, but it is the same for everyone and it can certainly add to the unpredictable outcome of a Grand Prix.

It goes without saying that I felt really sorry for the team, as the Malaysian Grand Prix is a particularly tough weekend for everyone; the hot and humid conditions are real energy-sapping days. But the only thing you can do in those circumstances is to make sure that if any unusual stuff happens on the grid like that in the future I am kept informed. To be fair to Eddie Jordan and the Jordan Ford team, they all acted in a very professional way and we are even more determined to do well in the next race, the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos this weekend - Jordan's 200th Grand Prix!

I congratulate my teammate (Ralph) who drove a very fine race to complete his first full Grand Prix in tenth position, just losing his ninth place to Heinz-Harald (Frentzen) on the last lap. Apart from some difficulties - getting away from his pit stop (he had to start manually) and a short delivery of fuel, the car ran reliably throughout the race and the Ford Cosworth didn't miss a beat. To complete a race distance in the most hostile conditions we encounter during the entire season is hugely encouraging for the team and a great credit to all the engineers and technicians. No doubt it will have boosted Ralph's confidence too. Although his knowledge of Formula One is still limited (two Grands Prix), he showed great maturity and strength of character to withstand one of the toughest Grands Prix of the season, and I was very pleased for him and the team. He is a very good driver and his contribution is very precious to the team; I am confident that together we can soon bring some valuable championship points home.

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Some weeks ago there was a load of rubbish circulating in some areas of the press, but it was just that - a load of rubbish! At the time the articles doing the rounds were speculating that I wanted to leave Jordan for another team next year. Usually I ignore stuff like this, but it made me feel bad for my engineers and for all the staff at Jordan Ford who are working very hard to provide me with a good package that is already better than last year's EJ12. Therefore I felt compelled to issue a statement reaffirming my commitment to the Jordan Ford Team.

Jordan has put together a strong package with Ford this season which I'm excited about, but I think every driver on the grid has a dream to drive the best car, and I'm no exception. Even Eddie has said he would love to see me in a winning car! My target for 2004 is to drive a car that can win and that doesn't exclude Jordan Ford. Right now I am totally committed to working with the team to make sure we are doing the best we can this year. Our aim is to make the car competitive enough for Jordan to win races again this season and to aim for fourth in the Constructors' Championship.

It is really disappointing that whatever comment I make, it seems to be portrayed as critical about the team, when in fact it is the opposite. I am working very hard to help with the team's development so that together we can improve our level of competition in the Constructors' and Drivers' Championship. Fortunately I have always had a very good understanding with Eddie Jordan and his team, they are very professional and it is a very good working environment. For me these are fundamental elements to building a successful team, a team that I am proud to spearhead.

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We were looking very strong in Melbourne and I was very pleased with the way the EJ13 ran in race trim. Although to begin with on Friday the overall grip was not good, but that is to be expected when a circuit is not a dedicated race circuit, and until several cars had been running and laid rubber down, the surface was quite green. It was also quite dusty early on, but towards the end of the session the grip levels were much better and we were able to improve our set-up, although we knew there was a lot more work to be done to find a good balance. Unfortunately I lost nearly half an hour with a problem on my car, which cost me valuable track time, and when it came to the first qualifying session I finished in 14th place.

On the Saturday we felt a top ten grid position was a real possibility in qualifying, but I had a problem with the front tyres graining towards the end of the lap and the car understeering. I lost about three tenths in the last sector and so in the end I had to settle for 13th position. It is quite difficult to estimate what other teams are doing regarding fuel loads and so the new qualifying rules are proving a new challenge for all of us.

Certainly a lot of things happened to me in the race; first of all I lost about four positions on the first lap at Turn 6 when the car got out of line under braking. Although I recovered it quickly it cost me valuable time. Then on the sixth lap, when Ralph had his accident (hitting the wall at Turn 5), bits of debris from his car smashed off my wing mirror and damaged my rear wing. However I was able to run quite strongly until my pit stop when the fuel cover refused to open, and that cost us valuable time. At one stage during the race, I was running as high as fourth but when all the pit stops had been completed I was running just outside the points in ninth when I encountered a gearshift problem and had to retire with just four laps to go.

That was a disappointment as the EJ13 had been running reliably throughout, we made the right call to start on dry tyres and we felt that we had made some good progress and collected valuable data during the opening round. My congratulations to David (Coulthard) and McLaren on a great victory and third place for Kimi (Raikkonen), and second for Juan Pablo (Montoya), a good boost for him and the team. No doubt about it, it was a fantastic start to the Grand Prix season - just about everyone was talking about it afterwards!

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For sure the weather has played a part in the shake-up of qualifying and race results and, perhaps we will have to wait until we have had a couple of races in Europe to see just how effective the new rules really are. Qualifying has been quite a challenge for all of us; working out just which fuel and tyre strategy will work out best, both for qualifying and the race. Then you have to factor in weather conditions - it is a big challenge. But hey! That's what we expect in Formula One - always to have a big challenge.

Yet another great result for Formula One in Malaysia when Fernando (Alonso) claimed his first pole, the youngest driver to achieve that - congratulations! Great result also for Jarno (Trulli), making it an all-blue front line. The race result was almost as unpredictable as the first one at Melbourne, which makes it difficult for us but I am sure very entertaining for you! So congratulations to Kimi (Raikkonen) on winning his first Grand Prix, and another new name to add to the winner's circle. One day...!

While the facilities at the Sepang circuit are incredible with fantastic working conditions in the pits, the steamy heat and humidity really hits you once you step out of the garages - it's quite a shock to the system. It makes it very hard on the team as well as for us drivers. Although I train sufficiently at home in Monaco beforehand, usually with prolonged sessions in my sauna, I did not feel any ill effects. At least I can look forward to doing my best in Brazil knowing that I am in peak condition and as primed as my Jordan Ford for the Brazilian Grand Prix - incredulously, the 700th Grand Prix!

I really love racing at Interlagos and I've had some good results here, including a second place in 2000 behind Michael (Schumacher). The Paulista track is one of my favourites along with Spa, Montreal and Monaco; they are all technical tracks which I really enjoy. I hope to qualify in the top ten and then finish in the points - that would be a great reward to Eddie Jordan and my team. Fortunately neither Ralph nor I have had any problems with wearing the HANS device, but as this is the first anti-clockwise circuit and is notoriously bumpy in sections, we will have to see what it is like for us here. Either way, we have to use it and, after all it is for our own safety.

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Thinking ahead to next year and China...Thanks to a ground-breaking co-operation agreement between Jordan Grand Prix with China Central Television (CCTV) and the Shanghai Inernational Circuit, Jordan Ford have become the preferred team of CCTV. It is fantastic news for us, as the Jordan Ford team will feature heavily in all CCTV's broadcasts introducing every aspect of Formula One to viewers in China (over 100 million households). Therefore Jordan Ford should be well established in China by the time we visit the Shanghai International Circuit for the first Chinese Grand Prix in 2004. I cannot wait for it and, maybe some of you will decide to come and support us too?

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.