The Canadian Grand Prix was a bitter disappointment for Giancarlo Fisichella. On a track where he has done extremely well in the past, he endured a difficult weekend that ended with a retirement in the race. Now Fisico is looking forward to back-to-back Grands Prix in Germany and France, and to the experience of getting behind the wheel of a Ford rally car. All that and more, through Fisichella's visor...

It is true that I can find the limit of my car and the track very quickly, within just a few laps. It is one of those things I have always been able to do, from my earliest days, even racing karts. It's like racing in the wet - I have always been quick in the wet. Yet when it came to my turn to set a time on the Canadian Grand Prix's Friday qualifying session, I found it was a real challenge.

While the rain had stopped and started throughout the day, it was at its worst as I took to the track - in free practice and first qualifying. There was a lot of water on the circuit, and consequently the car was aquaplaning everywhere, so it was quite difficult just to keep it on the circuit. Once again the rule changes and the weather conditions had shaken the grid positions around with the time sheets showing huge differences. It meant that some of us faster drivers finished near the back of the grid, depending on when we went out and how bad the rain was at that time. I myself ended up 17th.

Obviously I was not happy, but despite the disappointment I was still confident of being able to set a competitive time the following day, as my Jordan-Ford had felt good in the morning's dry test session. For sure the changeable weather was giving us an even greater challenge to find the best set-up, but my team had done a great job and so we looked to Saturday for a break in the weather and a result that would reflect our true potential.

As always, the atmosphere was great in Montreal and for sure the fans there love Grand Prix racing. Not even the rain could suppress their enthusiasm or spoil their enjoyment of watching Formula One cars race around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Being the second fastest circuit after Monza, it is notoriously tough on the cars - which unfortunately we were to discover to our cost later in the race - and tyres alike. While the Bridgestone tyres were working well, providing grip without overheating, we were experiencing problems with the brakes. The actual brake material needed at least a couple of laps to warm-up to be really effective, a time I didn't have in this new qualifying format.

Because of the nature of the circuit - slow corners following each fast section with the fastest cars reaching speeds in excess of 300 km/h - it always puts a premium on the brakes, especially at the final hairpin, where you have to use very heavy breaking. Also, because of the fast sections, you need to choose a low downforce set-up to minimise aerodynamic drag, while other parts of the track have corners that are only medium and slow speed. So setting the car up was always going to be a compromise. For the slower sections we aim for maximising the mechanical set-up to promote good braking stability and traction. But as I wrote earlier, I was already experiencing problems with the brakes, which proved to be the biggest problem on Saturday.

Once again our Bridgestones (extreme weather tyres) were performing better than our competitors in the wet conditions during Saturday's first free practice session, our Japanese tyre manufacturer claiming seven of the top ten places. The conditions were quite tricky but I was happy with the balance of my Jordan-Ford and felt reasonably satisfied with setting the 7th quickest time.

During the [45 minutes] break between the first and second free practice sessions the rain had eased, which meant that we could not use the extreme weather tyres. And, with a drying track this helped our competitors get closer to our times; the top ten places were now split 50/50 between the two tyre manufacturers. Although I had a few tricky moments, it was nothing untoward and I felt satisfied with setting the fastest time after the two Ferraris, to record 3rd quickest, and I felt confident of setting a reasonable qualifying time in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, in qualifying I locked-up the front tyres in a big way going into turn 1, immediately losing the line and valuable time. Then it happened again - just under the bridge - only this time I went onto the grass and obviously lost a lot of time. I was very disappointed and frustrated as we had overcome the difficulties of the previous day, the balance of the car felt good and I should have been able to secure a top ten slot. As it turned out, I was to start the Canadian Grand Prix from 16th position, but I still felt optimistic for a points finish in the race.

My race start wasn't too good as I was bogged down with a heavy fuel load and lost a place at the chicane, but I soon recouped that position and started to make progress as I settled into a good rhythm. In fact, I was having a fantastic race; the balance of my Jordan-Ford felt good and meant that I could really push hard.

My race pace was quite good, considering the fuel load, it just felt fantastic and I was really enjoying myself as I moved up from 17th to 13th on lap six, then 8th by lap 16 and then 6th on lap 20 as others took their early pitstops. The weather had settled and with the race strategy we had chosen and the progress I was making, I felt highly confident of scoring some more points.

And so it was a big, big disappointment when I came in for my pitstop on lap 20 to discover a problem with my gearbox which forced my retirement from the race. Once again, it is disappointing for everyone not to finish, but now I am looking forward to having the new aerodynamic improvements on the car, hopefully in July.

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Just after the Canadian Grand Prix I managed to take some time out after doing some promotional work in Sicily to relax on my boat there. It's such a great way to escape from the fast pace we live at in Formula One; to be able to enter such a different world, even for just a few days is truly fantastic. I become very calm on my boat - it is a great way to unwind and clear my mind, just like when I am skiing. It gives me a great sense of freedom, and with rides on the jet-ski, some swimming and fishing I find it hugely energising and a great way to prepare myself for the next race and, I even get to eat some of the fish I catch!

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Looking towards this weekend's European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, as always our aim will be to score Championship points. Before I won the Brazilian Grand Prix earlier this year, the other time I was really close to winning a Grand Prix was at the Nurburgring in 1999. I led the race for a while before my headrest fell into the cockpit, disturbing my drive and forcing me off the road. So I have good and bad memories about this track.

With our package at the moment it's probably rather ambitious to hope for outright glory but as I wrote earlier I'm looking forward to the introduction of a new aerodynamic package next month. The car is not performing as consistently as I'd like, and I always have to hope for cool or unusual conditions to see if we have a better chance. I know the team is working hard to give me a quicker car, and this is keeping me well focused on my job.

Now that we are entering the second half of the season with just eight races remaining, it is vital for us to have reliability and then to be in a position to fight for points. Once again the weather often plays a major role in determining strategies - and ultimately the race outcome at the Nurburgring - because of the circuit's close proximity to the Eifel Mountains. Our Bridgestone tyres should provide us with good grip, especially as we shall be trying a new compound out this weekend. Again, on set-up it will be a compromise between downforce and straightline speed.

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In case you read any reports about me offering to pay to drive for Ferrari, I want you to know that I was just joking! Someone told me that Jacques Villeneuve had said he would drive for the Scuderia for free so I responded by saying that I would be prepared to pay... But it was just a little joke between a few people; I didn't expect it to become a headline all over the world.

For the time being, I am totally focused on giving my best for my Jordan-Ford team and hopefully giving them something to cheer about again before heading off for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours the following weekend. It's going to be a busy couple of weeks!

In between the Grands Prix I had an opportunity to drive another fantastic Ford - a Ford GT40 around the Northamptonshire roads. It was a hugely enjoyable experience, and tomorrow (Thursday) I will get an opportunity to try some rallying with Markko Martin (winner of the Acropolis Rally), showing me how he does it 'rally style'. We will be putting the Ford Focus RS WRC through its paces around a special stage near Nurburgring - just 100km from Ford of Europe's headquarters in Cologne.

I can't wait to see how the Ford rally car reacts with me behind the wheel - and I promise to tell you all about the experience in my next column at Atlas F1.

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.