This year Jordan has been more industrious than ever in the weeks preceding the season opener in Melbourne; with pre-season testing running until the latest possible moment, a spectacular eleventh-hour EJ12 launch being held at Brussels airport to coincide with the announcement of DHL as the team’s new title sponsor, the re-liverying of all the team equipment and a stop-over in Tokyo to attend a Honda press conference.

The start of the 2002 season sees a number of changes and new faces welcomed at Jordan.  Giancarlo Fisichella’s return to the team after a four-year stretch at Benetton (now Renault) has proven very popular, the Italian ace settling in easily and bringing with him a wealth of experience.  Team mate Takuma Sato carries Japan’s hopes as he prepares to make his Formula One debut, the reigning British Formula 3 Champion having worked extremely hard during the team’s winter test programme and enjoying not only the prospect of his first Grand Prix but also his first visit to Australia.

Giancarlo Fisichella powered his DHL Jordan Honda EJ12 to third fastest time in the opening practice session at Albert Park, Melbourne, the Italian ace lapping quickly in a drying track to line up behind reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher and Ferrari team mate Rubens Barrichello.  With the second practice session still to come at 1pm, the first session of the new season gave some indication of things to come, although the wet-dry conditions masked the likely pecking order.

Michael Schumacher dominated the opening practice sessions of the 2002 Formula One World Championship in Albert Park, Melbourne, the reigning World Champion edging out team mate Rubens Barrichello with a time of 1:27.276 - a full half second faster than the Brazilian.  The DHL Jordan Honda team enjoyed a promising practice, Giancarlo Fisichella third fastest in the first one hour period before dropping back to 9th fastest overall and team mate Takuma Sato showing great maturity with a solid drive in wet-then-dry conditions to line up 13th.

Takuma Sato emerged unscathed from an accident during Saturday morning's first practice session, heavily damaging his DHL Jordan Honda EJ12 when he lost control mid way through Turn 14, spun through the gravel trap and side-swiped the barrier.  The accident was caused by a malfunction in the Auto Downshift mechanism, causing Taku to run off line as he tackled the demanding right hander which leads into the final two corners before the start-finish straight.

Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello continued their domination of the Australian Grand Prix weekend when they set the fastest times in this morning's practice session, fully one second faster than their nearest rivals - the BMW Williams pairing of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralt Schumacher.  Practice was interrupted by a red flag during the first 45 minute period when Takuma Sato crashed heavily in his DHL Jordan Honda, and the latter stages of the second session were affected by rain.

Giancarlo Fisichella will start tomorrow's opening round of the 2002 Formula One World Championship in Melbourne, Australia, from the 4th row of the grid after setting the 8th fastest time in his DHL Jordan Honda EJ12.  In a session interrupted early on by a red flag when the second Jordan of Takuma Sato became stranded on the track, and also badly affected by rain which arrived with some 25 minutes of qualifying remaining, it was left to Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari to claim pole position with team mate Michael Schumacher second.

Michael Schumacher once again dominated proceedings in Albert Park, fastest overall in race day warm-up while Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato were 8th and 14th respectively in their DHL Jordan Hondas.  The reigning World Champion produced a typically stunning performance in his Ferrari, lapping the 3.295 mile/5.303km track in 1:41.509 - fully 1.3 seconds fastest than the second placed car of team mate Rubens Barrichello.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato posted early retirements in today's Australian Grand Prix, Giancarlo when his car was struck by Nick Heidfeld's Sauber during a first corner pile-up and Taku after an electronics problem caused him to retire to the pits after 13 laps.  The first corner incident eliminated no fewer than eight cars after Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari was struck from behind by Ralf Schumacher's Williams on the run down to the first corner.

Minardi's Mark Webber took the glory in his home Grand Prix debut by finishing 5th in the Australian Grand Prix, scoring the first World Championship points for the team since 1999 and becoming a national hero in the process.  Meanwhile Michael Schumacher droned on to score a preditable race win for Ferrari, well ahead of the Williams driven by Juan Pablo Montoya and the McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen.

The carnage of the first lap allied to mid-race retirements meant that only eight cars finished the race, Eddie Irvine's Jaguar performing steadily to finish 4th and team mate Pedro de la Rosa taking 8th, albeit five laps behind the leaders after several stops.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato gave their thoughts on today's action packed Australian Grand Prix.  Fisichella was particularly unhappy about the first lap accident and the decision not to restart the race.