Giancarlo Fisichella's United States Grand Prix went from bad to worse, with lots of problems hitting the Italian right from the start of the weekend. Despite more problems in the race, however, he managed to return to the points for the first time since his win in Brazil. In this week's column he recounts the Indianapolis weekend as he prepares for his final outing with the Jordan team. That and much more through Fisico's visor...

As I lined-up 17th on the grid for the start of the US Grand Prix all I could do was hope that the rain we had half-an-hour earlier would return again quickly. We had been reliably informed that rain was likely to fall during the Grand Prix and so my race engineers and I had decided to opt for a wet set-up before final qualifying. After all, we really had nothing to lose and everything to gain if we had a wet race. Just the sort of conditions that would suit both our Bridgestone tyres and my driving style and, with a little bit of luck we might even spring a few surprises. We certainly did that and, by finishing seventh, I even managed to win two more Championship points for my Jordan Ford team.

In fact I had just mentioned in my last column for Atlas F1 how fast situations can change in Formula One and therefore the need to always be ready to grab any opportunity that comes along. Which is just what happened to us at this year's US Grand Prix at Indianapolis. We managed to turn a disastrous start to the weekend into a cause for celebration by the end of the race. After so many disappointments during the season it was great to be in a point-scoring position again. A position I would hope to be in at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, which of course will be my last race for Jordan.

As we arrived not long after the hurricane had ripped a devastating path across the mid-west of America, there was little doubt that we were in for some stormy weather during this year's United States Grand Prix weekend. Severe electrical storms had already caused some flights to be delayed which made problems for some team members, fortunately not me, as I prefer to arrive in good time for this race.

The weekend started pretty badly as I had a problem with a split gearbox oil cooler early in the session which cost me a lot of track time while the team fixed the problem. OK, so we were behind with our preparations but we felt confident that we could still make up for it during first free practice. Wrong! Just twenty-two minutes into the session my engine let go in a big way and I had to abandon my EJ13 on the Speedway straight causing the session to be red flagged. By this time I had already lost more than 40 laps of available track time before first qualifying was due to begin.

It rained again after practice which meant that if the weather remained dry throughout the session, the late runners would benefit as the track picked-up speed as we laid rubber down during our runs. When it was my turn it started to rain albeit lightly. Conditions were slippery and the car felt very nervous but I managed a clean lap. In the circumstances 12th was OK as I was also running with a lower step engine. All we could do was hope for a wet race as our package was still over two seconds off the pace.

Fortunately Indianapolis town escaped Friday evening's tornado alert with nothing more than heavy rainfall and spectacular electrical storms. Again the rain washed the track clean, consequently there was very little grip during Saturday's early morning sessions. A number of us were caught out by the conditions including myself when I spun at Turn Nine. But at least the sunny weather was good for the race fans who were getting noisier by the hour as Juan Pablo's (Montoya) fans showed their allegiance to JPM against Michael's (Schumacher) fans with their whistles, horns, flags and banners. It was all good fun and reminded me of the carnival atmosphere we have at Interlagos. Hopefully the race might prove similar too.

Meanwhile down in the Jordan pits I had another gearbox problem, which on this occasion required a new unit to be fitted. So once again I found myself spending more time out of the car than in it while my race engineers battled against the clock. We were now seriously behind with our set-up preparation and so we worked on different fuel loads and strategy for the race, deciding to compromise on overall speed for a set-up and fuel load more suited for wet conditions.

Also we had to make adjustments to our rear wing to cope with the increased wind and change in direction which was causing us all problems down the Speedway straight. It would not be easy for the dry qualifying session but hopefully it would pay off on race day. Sure enough as the session got under way, the sun had warmed the temperatures enough to favour the Michelin runners once again. When I went out the car felt terrible, I had very little grip, it was very nervous and it was proving very difficult to handle along the straight where we were still encountering the strong winds. I managed a clean lap without mistakes and so in those circumstances, 17th was disappointing but it was the best I could do and as a team it was the best we could expect. Everything would now depend on the weather and a little bit of luck.

The atmosphere was sizzling at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race morning - both JPM and Schumi camps had worked themselves into a frenzy. It all added to the incredible atmosphere at this amazing race track. We always get a tremendous welcome here - I really love the place and of course the Jordan team has a massive support in the US so it was great to see so many of our fans at the Grand Prix.

Again I was reminded of Brazil and with gathering storm clouds I was hopeful of an eventful race and ready to grab any opportunities that might come along. Sure enough the weather played a major part in the outcome of the race; wet, dry, light and heavy rain, we had it all and we had the set-up and strategy and of course our Bridgestone tyres to maximise those conditions. Sadly I had problems with both my pitstops - for sure that cost us sixth position and one championship point.

My first pitstop was ruined by a problem with my right front wheel as a set of wet Bridgestones were fitted, all the time valuable seconds ticked by as my engineers battled to rectify the problem. I was lying 11th and a spell of heavy rain suited our Bridgestone tyres, giving me grip when the Michelin runners were struggling I managed to keep out of trouble and maximise my position during those tricky conditions. It's great to think that each time we race in these conditions we are giving many of the Indianapolis race fans a new experience of seeing Formula One cars flat out racing wheel-to-wheel down the Speedway in the wet and in the opposite direction to its' normal running.

When I came in for my final pitstop I had climbed up to fifth and so we were hopeful of finishing in sixth place if not higher. But drama struck with the refuelling rig. Believing fuel had not come through to my car the team switched to the second rig and filled me to the flag. Unfortunately the first rig had worked and so I left my pits with a full fuel load - 110 kilos! Not only did this slow me down considerably but it gave me massive oversteer.

Although I had lost a huge amount of time about 40 seconds we were still in a point scoring position and no matter how difficult my EJ13 was or what happened next I was determined to finish with as many points as I could get. So seventh place for the second year in succession at the US Grand Prix was good but sixth would have been great. At least we turned a very difficult weekend around, kept our focus and came away with a couple of points. At the end of the race our supporters were happy with our points and Michael's supporters were ecstatic with his victory.

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What a way to go into the final showdown at Suzuka with Michael only needing one point to win a record-breaking sixth World Title. The atmosphere at Suzuka will be electric - a fantastic end to the 2003 World Championship. I am also hoping to end this season on a high winning some more points at Suzuka and make the last race for my Jordan Ford team another opportunity for celebration. After all Sauber had a fantastic result from Indianapolis so it could happen for Jordan. Of course it will be very difficult as we have so many teams fighting for those last vital championship points. For sure both Ralph (Firman) and I will be giving maximum effort in trying to claim a higher ranking in the Constructors' Championship for Jordan. I for one hope to make a thrilling end to my Formula One career with Eddie Jordan on Sunday.

I really love racing at Suzuka. Without doubt it is one of the great circuits where as drivers we can still make a difference to a good lap and a good race. It is a challenging and technical circuit and I always enjoy racing there. Once you get a good rhythm through the sequence of bends the track opens out and begins to flow. To experience a Formula One car flat out through the 130R is really fantastic and one of the great joys that I get from racing Grand Prix cars.

Once again the weather can be quite changeable in Japan so hopefully it could be to our advantage. I always have a great reception in Japan and enjoy meeting some of my fans from my official Japanese supporters club. We always receive a fantastic welcome at Suzuka and this time it will be even more thrilling with both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships at stake. I hope that we can have time to prepare ourselves for this final race where traction, stability, brakes, engines and tyres all play a vital role in the final outcome. Hopefully, like at Brazil and Indianapolis the human element will prevail and help bring some magic in Japan.

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.