Giancarlo Fisichella left Jordan at the end of 1997 and the team started winning races. After a four-year spell at Benetton, the Roman - regarded as one of the fastest drivers out there - decided to go back to the Silverstone-based squad, only to see his former team quickly returning to the top as he struggles to finish races. Graham Holliday reviews the prospects of a man who has so far been at the right places at the wrong times

As the teen pop sensation Britney Spears famously sang, "Oops!… I did it again," Giancarlo Fisichella once again finds himself catapulted from one team on the way up to one team sinking into the quagmire of mediocrity. Oops!… Fisichella has definitely gone and done it again, but how?

Giancarlo started his Formula One career with a stint at Minardi before joining Jordan in 1997. Solid performances in an improving team soon got him noticed and the following year he moved to Benetton. That season Jordan excelled going on to experience their best ever two seasons while Benetton experienced their worst as they mixed it with the Minardis at the bottom of the Formula One barrel. 2001 saw the return of flamboyant millionaire Flavio Briatore, whose job was to prepare the Benetton operation for Renault's return to Formula One in 2002. Fisichella must have thought things were looking good for a continuation in the innovative French car, but Oops!… He did it again.

Jenson Button moved in to partner Giancarlo in 2001. The Italian outqualified and outraced him all year, but it was Button who was immediately confirmed for the 2002 season. Contractually new boss Flavio Briatore didn't have much choice having agreed to take Button in a loan deal from Williams for two years. However, he did have a choice between Jarno Trulli and Fisichella as Briatore and Renault owned the contracts of both drivers. Around about Hungary 2001, it was decision time for Fisichella and his management. A firm three-year offer from Jordan was already on the table, Arrows were interested, Renault had already offered a one year extension and Jaguar were rumoured to be in the hunt.

"We are now in negotiations with Mr Briatore to see what is the best. Giancarlo is very happy to remain with Benetton because we know them very well and we have a very strong emotional feeling there, but Renault is only offering one year," said Fisichella's manager Gianpaolo Matteucci at the time. The deciding factor being the length of the contract and quite possibly the Honda connection at Jordan. As Matteucci went on to say, "This is a crucial point in Giancarlo's career and maybe another manufacturer like Honda could put strong backing behind him."

But, why not Renault?

Touted as one of the fastest drivers on the grid, Fisichella had dominated the team in 2001, ending the year by wrestling the unwieldy car onto the podium at Spa. There was no doubt he could race and he was clearly much faster than his British teammate. Fisichella himself knew the potential force Renault would become, having contributed to much of the development of the car throughout 2001, which made the switch to Jordan all the more strange. The offer of a one year contract might have seemed like a slap in the face compared to the Jordan offer. But any driver as good as Fisichella must surely have known that a further year of dominant driving would have secured his long term position with the French marque. What he didn't know at the time was just how well the Renault would perform from day one of the 2002 season and how unreliable the Jordan would prove to be.

A conservative management gamble on a three-year deal with Jordan Honda doesn't look like paying dividends any time soon, and time is running out for the 28-year old if he is to find a winning drive before he enters the twilight of his Formula One career. Jean Alesi and Mika Salo have been in similar positions throughout their Formula One careers. Always rated as top drivers, but never in the right car at the right time to prove their true worth. Giancarlo would be wise not to try and follow their example.

"In a tough time, it is not good to have the image of a loser. It's no good fighting for places five and six," said Infineon's head of sponsorship Birgit Fischer-Harrow at the end of March. Chipmakers Infineon haven't quite pulled the £3.8 million plug out of Jordan, but they have drastically reduced their sponsorship. Infineon's comments perfectly sum up the present day image of Fisichella and the last thing he needs to be seen as is a loser. If Fisichella is to stay with Jordan they will have to show some significant improvements over 2002 as well as balancing the books just to survive in the new tougher economic climate that surrounds Formula One. However, the Italian may not have too many other choices.

The growing trend to hire younger and younger drivers doesn't help the Roman. Button, Raikkonen, Alonso and Montoya were all hired for relatively little and, after showing promise, have managed to secure competitive drives. Economics coupled with moderate success dictate that the new breed of Massa, Webber and Sato are likely to be the precursors of yet more youth set to join the paddock. Being in his seventh Championship year, Fisichella is running out of options.

It's hardly surprising that a young Italian like Giancarlo dreams of driving for Ferrari, but he doesn't seem to hold out much hope of that happening in the near future. Talking after the Brazilian Grand Prix he said, "I don't know why (Ferrari have not called). They don't seem to be interested in Italian drivers. But you never know. At the moment I am a Jordan driver so I will concentrate with them but I am sure there will be the opportunities in the future."

In fact it seems that the whole Jordan deal wasn't really the main priority for Fisico even after it had all been agreed. Once the Renault option had been rejected, he must surely have felt he deserved the McLaren seat vacated by Mika Hakkinen, but that too slipped from his grasp. A younger Finn by the name of Kimi Raikkonen stepped in to fill the elder Finn's shoes after an impressive season debut at Sauber. Like Nick Heidfeld, Fisi was annoyed, "He hasn't got the experience yet as a driver and they paid a lot of money to Sauber to have him," said Fisichella. "So I don't understand why, after Mika Hakkinen, who is one of the best drivers in Formula One and with more experience, they went for a very young driver. But that's life."

Of course, accepting the facts of life won't get Giancarlo anywhere in Formula One. What he needs is decent management if he is to drive for a front line team and get his career back on track. Contractual decisions although inevitably the driver's call are heavily influenced by management teams and the advice Fisichella has had so far from his advisors has propelled him down and not up the grid. Fisichella's bank account will look pretty healthy at the end of his 2002 season, but how can any driver especially one who promises so much more be happy with a disproportionately lower points tally? The fact is that he won't be, and he won't be happy with the management, with Honda or with Jordan, but he'll probably have to learn to live with it as all the other doors are slowly closing.

And living with it means living with an under strength and overweight Honda power unit. Although the new evolution is up on power, it still lags behind the original development plan. Honda are clearly desperate to get their act together to get the upper hand on newcomers to Formula One and staunch Japanese rivals Toyota. Toyota have already scored points whereas Jordan and BAR are embarrassingly bereft and Mika Salo has outqualified both Honda-powered teams already this year. All in all it looks like being yet another frustrating year for a driver whose ambitions are unlikely to be met in Spain this weekend.

"My aim is to be at the top, quicker than everybody," he said in October last year. Fisichella set his sights high, but unlike Britney, whose next single will no doubt 'do it again' and find her at the top of the charts, it'll be a long time before Giancarlo Fisichella and his Jordan backing band can mirror her chart success on the Formula One grid.