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2004.10.24.
Montoya says goodbye with a victory
Juan Pablo Montoya won the last race of the 2004 season at Brazil. After an exciting chase Kimi Raikönnen got second while Rubens Barrichello finished only third in his home country.
The last race of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Brazilian Grand Prix started rather interesting. When the drivers and engineers began with the starting procedure it started to rain. After a while it was already pouring and the stewards were considering that the field would start behind the safety car with a flying start.
But by the time the formation lap started the rain had stopped and the race began with an ordinary start. The track dried quickly but it was still wet therefore most of the drivers started with intermediate tyres but for example on the Renaults dry tyres were put. Zsolt Baumgartner drove into the pits after the formation lap and started the race from there with his teammate.
At the start Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) stood still for a moment too long so Kimi Raikönnen (McLaren) and Felipe Massa (Sauber) both passed him. In the next turns he retook his position from Massa but Jenson Button (BAR) passed him as well. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) started well but Raikönnen was able to overtake him a few turns later. Giancarlo Fisichella (Sauber) spun after the start but he was able to stop his car. The same happened to Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) on lap 2 after he had already passed several drivers.
On lap 3 Barrichello retook his place from Raikönnen while Jenson Button's car broke down forcing him to retire. Montoya caught up with Raikönnen while Massa was driving behind him.
Ralf Schumacher was the first who stopped to change for dry tyres, but he was soon followed by his teammate. Kimi Raikönnen and Juan Pablo Montoya exited the pits side by side, in the first turn the McLaren driver was still leading but the Williams overtook him immediately. Then the two Ferraris had their pit stop to get dry tyres but they did not get much fuel. But this was too late for Barrichello who circled too long on the dry track with intermediate tyres and gathered a significant time loss.
After the first pit-stop chaos Alonso, Montoya, Raikönnen, Ralf Schumacher and Sato were the leading five. Rubens Barrichello fell back to position six in front of Jacques Villeneuve. Meanwhile Michael Schumacher had an exciting battle with David Coulthard for the eighth place.
On lap 18 Fernando Alonso drove into the pits from the lead to change tyres and refuel; it was clear he was using a two-stop strategy. His teammate Villeneuve had the same strategy he had his pit-stop after 20 laps. Then Montoya took over the lead, Alonso returned to position six.
On lap 23 Montoya, Raikkönen, Ralf Schumacher, Sato, Barrichello, Alonso and Michael Schumacher led the field. During this lap the Jaguars collided as Christian Klien blocked the way with the nose of his car when Mark Webber tried to overtake him. Webber retired Klien could continue the race but the front wing had to be replaced on his car.
On lap 26 Ralf Schumacher had his second pit-stop and returned to the race on position seven. A lap later Barrichello and Sato followed him into the pits. Montoya refuelled on lap 27 and was able to retain his leading position after he returned. Michael Schumacher, Jarno Trulli and Kimi Raikönnen had their pit-stops at this stage of the race as well.
On lap 30 Montoya, Raikkönen, Alonso, Ralf Schumacher, Sato, Barrichello, Massa was the order of the leaders when it started to rain again. This caused Sato to slide off the track at the end of the finish straight; he was able to continue the race but Barrichello passed him.
The race became rather monotonous in its third quarter; the drivers were nicely circling while it stopped raining. 30 laps to go David Coulthard visited the pits again from the 9th place.
25 laps to go Villeneuve, a lap later Alonso had their second pit-stop. Meanwhile drivers having their third pit-stops arrived into the pits as well. Raikönnen could stay on the track 5 laps longer than Montoya but it was not enough; after returning he could not pass him as the Columbian drove better lap times with his heavier car than the Finn. But he managed to catch up with him and match his pace making the end of the race exciting.
After the pit-stops Montoya, Raikkönen, Barrichello, Sato, Alonso, Ralf Schumacher and Michael Schumacher were leading the field. The first two and the four with the lead of Sato were circling together, Barrichello was driving alone.
For a long time the two drivers battling for the first position drove matching lap times but 2 laps to go Kimi Raikönnen stopped chasing Montoya and slowed. With this Juan Pablo Montoya won the last race of the 2004 season which was his last race with Williams as well. This has been the fourth victory of the Columbian in the Formula 1.
Rubens Barrichello was not able to win his homerace again; he had to be satisfied with his third place. Fernando Alonso and Ralf Schumacher both overtook Tacuma Sato on the last lap who finished only 6th. Having started from position 18 Michael Schumacher finished seventh. Zsolt Baumgartner finished the race on position 16 beating his teammate.
Juan Pablo Montoya:
"It was a really difficult race, Kimi chased me continuously; I made good laps and I was able to hold him behind me. At the beginning of the race I seemed to have more grip than the others, which helped me a lot and later the timing of the pit-stops was perfect, too. From time to time it started to rain which made me to drive slower. I spent four years at Williams and it's great to say goodbye with a victory; I want to say thanks to everyone. I am really looking forward to work with Kimi next year.
Kimi Raikönnen:
"I tried my best, I got close to Juan Pablo but it was not enough. I did not have a chance to overtake. I lost it at the second pit-stop although I returned first to the track."
Rubens Barrichello:
"The circumstances of the race did not favour me and I could have not done better. My slick tyres did not have the proper grip I slid often when it was raining."
Result of Braislian Grand Prix:
1. J.P. Montoya - Williams-BMW (M) 1h28:01.451
2. K. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes (M) + 1.022
3. R. Barrichello - Ferrari (B) + 24.099
4. F. Alonso - Renault (M) + 48.308
5. R.Schumacher - Williams-BMW (M) + 49.740
6. T. Sato - BAR-Honda (M) + 50.248
7. M.Schumacher - Ferrari (B) + 50.626
8. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas (B) + 1:12.310
9. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) + 1:13.842
10. J. Villeneuve - Renault (M) + 1 kör
11. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes (M) + 1 lap
12. J. Trulli - Toyota (M) + 1 lap
13. R. Zonta - Toyota (M) + 1 lap
14. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) + 2 laps
15. T. Glock - Jordan-Ford (B) + 2 laps
16. Baumgartner Zsolt- Minardi-Cosworth (B) + 4 laps
17. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth (B) + 4 laps
Drivers' Chamoinship:
1. M. Schumacher 148
2. R. Barrichello 114
3. J. Button 85
4. F. Alonso 59
5. J.P. Montoya 58
6. J. Trulli 46
7. K. Räikkönen 45
8. T. Sato 34
9. D. Coulthard 24
10. R. Schumacher 25
11. G. Fisichella 22
12. F. Massa 11
13. M. Webber 7
14. O. Panis 6
14. A. Pizzonia 6
16. C. da Matta 3
16. N. Heidfeld 3
16. C. Klien 3
19. T. Glock 2
20. B. Zsolt 1
Constructors' Championship:
1 Ferrari 262 pont
2 BAR 119
3 Renault 105
4 Williams 88
5 McLaren 69
6 Sauber 34
7 Jaguar 10
8 Toyota 9
9 Jordan 5
10 Minardi 1
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2004.10.23.
Easy pole position for Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello won the qualifying of his homerace, the Brazilian GP with ease. Michael Schumacher finished only eighth but due to engine change he was classified back to the eighteenth position. Juan Pablo Montoya got the second Kimi Raikönnen the third position.
On Saturday the Ferrari team had a rather twisted day. On the morning practice Michael Schumacher slid off the track and crashed into the tyre wall with the rear of the car. The engine caught fire and burned for a short time. There was nothing the engineers could do with this engine so Schumacher had to start the qualifying with a completely new car. He could not practise with the spare car before the session, which resulted in a rather weak performance: the seven time world champion drove only the eighth best time. This way Schumacher landed on the 18th place beating only the two Minardis.
In contrast Rubens Barrichello was in great form at the qualifying like all this race weekend. He beat the second Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) with a rather big advantage of 0.204 second. This year he may break his unlucky series as he has not been able to win a GP at his home country yet. This has been the 13th pole of the Brazilian. Behind Montoya his future teammate Kimi Raikönnen (McLaren) finished on place 3. The results of their current teammates were not really good as Ralf Schumacher (Williams) qualified to the 7th, David Coulthard to the 13th position. Luckily they both can start from the cleaner side of the track.
Felippe Massa, who drives on his home track as well, showed outstanding performance taking the fourth position although he slid with his car in one of the corners. Despite this mistake the Brazilian finished behind Raikönnen only by 0.03 second. Giancarlo Fisichella (Sauber) did not have such a "sound" qualifying but his 11th place is not bad.
BAR Honda drivers took the third row of the starting grid at the Brazilian Grand Prix. With a minimum advantage Jenson Button was faster than Tacuma Sato. This has not been their most remarkable qualifying this year but they performed better than Renault and have good chances to finish second in the Constructors' Championship.
Jacques Villeneuve had not regained his old form yet and drove again slower than his teammate. The Canadian driver took this time the 14th place with his Renault R24. Neither Fernando Alonso was satisfied with his 9th position; in the morning his car was more balanced and performed better.
The decision of Toyota to let Jarno Trulli drive already at the end of this season seems to be justified as he not only gains experience but makes the remaining season better for the team. The Italian driver qualified to the 10th position. The Brazilian driver Ricardo Zonta was his teammate this time, but the team had not managed to find the proper setup for his car and that's why he lost time in the slower turns.
Jaguar was unable to make something remarkable on its last GP although Mark Webber who continues his career at Williams next year drove well and qualified into the sixth row. His teammate Christian Klien was slower than him by 0.6 seconds and finished 4 places behind.
If we regard only the results of the qualifying we can find the usual order in the last rows of the starting grid. The two Jordans start from the ninth and the two Minardis from the tenth row. Nick Heidfeld (Jordan) was the fastest among them, Gianmaria Bruni, teammate of Zsolt Baumgartner, did not even drive at the qualifying so he got last.
Rubens Barrichello:
"I tried my best on the track; when I saw that the best time is next to my name, I felt my legs go numb, because there had been a very high pressure on me. As my car drove excellent, I calmed down I am no more worried. Tonight I will go home and play with my son and sleep in my own bed."
Juan Pablo Montoya:
"I am satisfied with my performance I don't think I could have beaten Rubens. I lost most of the time in the first sector. The start will be very interesting tomorrow, our race car had become outstanding and I hope to finish this season with a good result."
Kimi Raikönnen:
"So far I have been very satisfied with my car on this race weekend. I could have been first the lap times were so close. I managed to drive a good qualifying lap but I lost time in turn nine where the rear of the car was loose. I hope we will have a good race"
Official results of the qualifying in Interlagos:
1. Rubens Barrichello Ferrari B 1'10"646 219.579 Km/h
2. Juan Pablo Montoya Williams BMW M 1'10"850 + 0'00"204
3. Kimi Raikkönen McLaren Mercedes M 1'10"892 + 0'00"246
4. Felipe Massa Sauber Petronas B 1'10"922 + 0'00"276
5. Jenson Button BAR Honda M 1'11"092 + 0'00"446
6. Tacuma Sato BAR Honda M 1'11"120 + 0'00"474
7. Ralf Schumacher Williams BMW M 1'11"131 + 0'00"485
8. Michael Schumacher Ferrari B 1'11"386 + 0'00"740
9. Fernando Alonso Renault M 1'11"454 + 0'00"808
10. Jarno Trulli Toyota M 1'11"483 + 0'00"837
11. Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber Petronas B 1'11"571 + 0'00"925
12. Mark Webber Jaguar Cosworth M 1'11"665 + 0'01"019
13. David Coluthard McLaren Mercedes M 1'11"750 + 0'01"104
14. Jacques Villeneuve Renault M 1'11"836 + 0'01"190
15. Ricardo Zonta Toyota M 1'11"974 + 0'01"328
16. Cristian Klien Jaguar Cosworth M 1'12"211 + 0'01"565
17. Nick Hiedfeld Jordan Ford B 1'12"829 + 0'02"183
18. Timo Glock Jordan Ford B 1'13"502 + 0'02"856
19. Baumgartner Zsolt Minardi Cosworth B 1'13"550 + 0'02"904
20. Gianmaria Bruni -
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2004.10.10.
Family victory
Michael Schumacher gained a start-finish victory at the 17th race of the championship at Japan. Behind him his brother Ralf Schumacher finished second while Jenson Button got third. Zsolt Baumgartner retired from the race.
The 53 lap long Japanese Grand Prix started in a clear autumn weather with dry track conditions. The field started without any problems, Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) held his leading position, his brother and Jenson Button (BAR), who started from the 5th position, were driving behind him. Tacuma Sato (BAR), Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Mark Webber (Jaguar), David Coulthard (McLaren) and Jacques Villeneuve (Renault) was the order behind them right after the beginning of the race.
Giancarlo Fisichella (Sauber) overtook Jacques Villeneuve on lap 2, while Michael Schumacher started to gain distance from his brother. Behind him the third Button had fallen back significantly.
Rubens Barrichello who started from the 14th place could only move forward in the field very slowly. By lap 6 he gained two positions and arrived behind Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams). Meanwhile Renault driver Fernando Alonso had overtook his teammate and started to catch up. Tacuma Sato was faster than his teammate and overtook him. Montoya caught up with Kimi Raikönnen (McLaren) who was held up by Villeneuve and the Columbian managed to pass the Finn.
On lap 10 Ralf Schumacher started the pit stops and Olivier Panis (Toyota) followed him. Giancarlo Fisichella overtook on lap 10 Mark Webber who was passed earlier by David Coulthard, too. Michael Schumacher had his pit stop on lap 13. He had such a big advantage that he could return to the first position on the track although Button who was the second was still ahead of his pit stop.
On lap 16 Fisichella entered a corner too fast with his car and slid wide but he was able to continue the race. At the end of the 17th lap Montoya left a smaller brake distance and overtook Mark Webber. The Australian could not defend his position against Barrichello either and the Brazilian passed him.
20 laps after the start Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Sato and Button were leading the field.
On lap 22 Mark Webber who started from the third grid position drove into the pits and retired from the race. Montoya tried to pass Jarno Trulli by braking later at the last chicane but he braked too late and slid enabling the Toyota driver to hold his position. First Barrichello then Fisichella used Montoya's mistake as an advantage and both passed the Columbian. Then Barrichello even overtook Trulli.
Timo Glock slid out with the Jordan on lap 23 but he continued the race. Meanwhile Ralf Schumacher started the second pit stop series; his brother visited the pits on lap 26. David Coulthard and Jenson Button both had two-stop strategy; the first visited the pits on lap 32 the later on lap 35.
18 laps to go the order of the leaders was: Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Sato, Button, Coulthard, Raikkönenn, Barrichello. By then Kimi Raikönnen visited the pits for the second time only. On lap 37 Timo Glock spun but was able to continue again.
On lap 38 Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard collided and retired from the race. On both cars the first suspension was damaged but the pilots managed to drive into the pits.
14 laps to go Michael Schumacher visited the pits for the third time, but he was able to return to the lead again. Ralf Schumacher refuelled in the same lap and returned between Sato and Button. After Sato went to refuel he regained his original position.
10 laps to go the leaders of the field were Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Button, Sato, Alonso, Raikkönen, Montoya, and Fisichella. Two laps later Zsolt Baumgartner spun out of the track and retired from the race.
4 laps to go Felipe Massa overtook Jacques Villeneuve who was driving on the 9th position.
Then Michael Schumacher decreased his speed and circled easily until the end of the race gaining a start-finish victory. This was the sixth victory of the seven time world champion at Suzuka and his 83rd victory overall. This has been his 13th victory this season which is as all other data a new record.
Ralf Schumacher finished second proving he has recovered from his accident at the USA GP and he is as fast as he used to be.
The Japanese Grand Prix was the 100th race of the BAR Honda team, which they could celebrate with Jenson Button third place. This has been the tenth podium position of the Englishman this year. Mathematically the battle for the second position in the Constructors' Championship is still undecided. BAR gathered 11 points compared to Renault's 4; their advantage has grown to 16 points before the last race.
Raikönnen and Montoya gained on the Coulthard-Barrichello collision as they were able to move forward and finish on the sixth and seventh position.
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"I did not know this circuit and the weather did not favour me. Unfortunately it was not my weekend, I am not satisfied. I slid and my car spun, that was all."
Michael Schumacher:
"For us it was clear already on the free practices: our car is very fast and we had a chance to win. I was quick all race long but I had to look very often into the mirrors because I could not leave my chasers behind as I would have liked to. We did not know what kind of strategies the others were using but it turned out soon… …It was exciting to have the qualifying and the race on the same day, but I prefer the older system."
Ralf Schumacher:
"I had a good start; I was surprised at being able to catch up with Michael's speed. The car was great, the pit stops were successful, our strategy worked. I expected to be quicker but I am rather satisfied."
Jenson Button:
"The car did not had a good grip during the first laps and later my tyres started to blister, so Tacuma could catch up with me and pass me. My car worked fine and my pit-stop strategy was good as well, but I could not match the pace of the leaders."
Results of the Grand Prix:
1. M.Schumacher - Ferrari (B) 1h24:26.985
2. R.Schumacher - Williams-BMW (M) + 14.098
3. J. Button - BAR-Honda (M) + 19.662
4. T. Sato - BAR-Honda (M) + 31.781
5. F. Alonso - Renault (M) + 37.767
6. K. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes (M) + 39.362
7. J. P. Montoya - Williams-BMW (M) + 55.347
8. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) + 56.276
9. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas (B) + 1:29.624
10 J. Villeneuve - Renault (M) + 1 lap
11. J. Trulli - Toyota (M) + 1 lap
12. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) + 1 lap
13. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford (B) + 1 lap
14. O. Panis - Toyota (M) + 2 laps
15. T. Glock - Jordan-Ford (B) + 2 laps
16. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth (B) + 3 laps
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 146 points
2. R. Barrichello 108
3. J. Button 85
4. F. Alonso 54
5. J.P. Montoya 48
6. J. Trulli 46
7. K. Räikkönen 37
8. T. Sato 31
9. D. Coulthard 24
10. G. Fisichella 22
11. R. Schumacher 20
12. F. Massa 11
13. M. Webber 7
14. O. Panis 6
14. A. Pizzonia 6
16. C. da Matta 3
16. N. Heidfeld 3
16. C. Klien 3
19. T. Glock 2
20. Baumgartner Zsolt 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 254 points
2. BAR 116
3. Renault 100
4. Williams 74
5. McLaren 61
6. Sauber 33
7. Jaguar 10
8. Toyota 9
9. Jordan 5
10. Minardi 1
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2004.10.10.
Schumacher has returned
Michael Schumacher won the qualifying of the Japanese Grand Prix. His brother Ralf Schumacher and Jaguar driver Mark Webber finished behind him at the session. Zsolt Baumgartner did not drive a timed lap.
The qualifying on Saturday was postponed due to the raging Ma-on typhoon; in the end it took place at 9 o'clock in the morning on Sunday. On Saturday the drivers could not get in their cars all day long and the qualifying became the first occasion to get to know the circuit better since the Friday practice session.
At the pre-qualifying Jarno Trulli on his first race with Toyota finished at the first position while among the other drivers Michael and Ralf Schumacher were the closest to him. Trulli was able to reach this good result because he drove last on the continuously improving and drying track. Zsolt Baumgartner spun at the pre-qualifying and finished without a valid timed lap. He did not even drive at the qualifying, so he will start from the last position.
His teammate Gianmaria Brunni started the qualifying session. He made a mistake and his time to beat became 1:48.069 minutes. The next driver Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) beat this lap time with more than 10 seconds but it was only enough for the 13th position.
At the qualifying several parts of the track had been already dried out, but on some places there were still water puddles which caused problems to the drivers. Timo Glock (Jordan) slid wide several times in the corners. Felipe Massa (Sauber) slipped during braking, could not turn into a corner and drove into the gravel pit. After the incident he did not finish his run but drove into the pits instead. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) slip in the last chicane within brake distance and ran wide which cost him a lot of time.
Nick Heidfeld (Jordan) made a clean lap but his speed was only enough to beat his teammate. The following Fernando Alonso (Renault) beat Montoya with almost one second. He could not be happy about his first place very long as soon his teammate Jacques Villeneuve drove a faster lap.
Kimi Raikönnen (McLaren) was not able to beat the lap time of the 1997 world champion, his car slipped several times on the track and was only able to get the third position temporarily. After the Finn driver BAR pilot Jenson Button was the next on the track.
Honda, the engine supplier of the team promised repeatedly to win this GP and arrived with an improved engine. The engine designed specially for the Japanese track has allegedly 960 horsepower, and with it Button was faster than Villeneuve by 1.1 seconds.
The next runners David Coulthard (McLaren), Barrichello (Ferrari) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Sauber) were unable to take over the lead. Button's time remained the best until the other driver of the team, Tacuma Sato, began his laps on his hometrack. He made a faster lap although in the last chicane he slipped.
At the qualifying of his last GP Olivier Panis drove almost flawlessly and as a result he finished on the 6th position with the Toyota. In the beginning Mark Webber (Jaguar) had some problems with his time but in the third sector he was faster on the drying track than Sato and took over the lead.
Ralf Schumacher was already faster in the first sector than Webber by 0.3 second and later on he even increased this advantage, beating easily the Jaguar pilot. His brother Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) was the next who beat Ralf's time by half a second with a seemingly effortless drive.
Trulli was the last qualifier on the Suzuka track but he was unable to match the pace of the leaders. Nevertheless he made a good performance at his first qualifying with Toyota and finished on the 6th position.
After three races the seven time world champion of Ferrari can start again from the pole position. This has been the 63rd pole of the elder Schumacher. This is the eighth time the two Schumacher start together from the first row; but there was only one occasion when Ralf stood on the pole position.
Official results of the qualifying:
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari B 1'33"542 223.485 Km/h
2. R.Schumacher Williams BMW M 1'34"032 + 0'00"490
3. M. Webber Jaguar Cosworth M 1'34"571 + 0'01"029
4. T. Sato BAR Honda M 1'34"897 + 0'01"355
5. J. Button BAR Honda M 1'35"157 + 0'01"615
6. J. Trulli Toyota M 1'35"213 + 0'01"671
7. G. Fisichella Sauber Petronas B 1'36"136 + 0'02"594
8. D. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes M 1'36"156 + 0'02"614
9. J. Villeneuve Renault M 1'36"274 + 0'02"732
10. O. Panis Toyota M 1'36"420 + 0'02"878
11. F. Alonso Renault M 1'36"663 + 0'03"121
12. K. Raikkönen McLaren Mercedes M 1'36"820 + 0'03"278
13. J. P. Montoya Williams BMW M 1'37"653 + 0'04"111
14. C. Klien Jaguar Cosworth M 1'38"258 + 0'04"716
15. R. Barrichello Ferrari B 1'38"637 + 0'05"095
16. N. Heidfeld Jordan Ford B 1'41"953 + 0'08"411
17. T. Glock Jordan Ford B 1'43"533 + 0'09"991
18. G. Bruni Minardi Cosworth B 1'48"069 + 0'14"527
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2004.09.26.
Chinese Grand Prix: Barrichello won!
Rubens Barrichello overlapped Michael Schumacher and won the first Chinese Grand Prix. Behind him BAR driver Jenson Button and McLaren pilot Kimi Raikönnen crossed the finish line.
The first Chinese Grand Prix was about two different and exciting races. On one hand Barrichello, Raikönnen and Button battled for the first position, on the other hand Michael Schumacher fought to catch the leaders.
For Michael Schumacher the GP worked out rather adventurously. The seven time world champion started from the pits after the field; the engine of his car had been changed before the race. First he had an incident with Christian Klien; when he was passing the Jaguar pilot, the two cars collided. Later on he spun in a fast turn.
Then he fought his way through the field till the 6th position but after the pit stop he fell back again. Later he tried again to catch up but he got a deflated tyre. After returning from the pits he had already no chance to recover. He finished on the 12th position and his teammate even overlapped him.
In the beginning of the race two pilots seemed to have chance for the victory: Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, who was leading all race long except the pit stops, and his chaser Kimi Raikönnen. Later, after the first series of pit stops Jenson Button, who was driving on the third place after having taken over Fernando Alonso at the start, turned out to refuel only two times while other leading drivers planned three stops.
First Barrichello and Raikönnen stopped to refuel at the same time but at the following stop the Brazilian was able to stay on the track for two more laps and at the third stop the difference was even bigger. This was caused partly by the race strategy of McLaren which did not work as planned; Barrichello in contrast was fast during the whole race and could keep increasing his advantage.
After triumphing at the Italian GP Rubens Barrichello won the race in China too. With this result he secured the second place in the championship and collected so many points that was earlier enough to win the championship.
Behind him the race was exciting until the last moment. Although the two stop strategy of Button was not enough for the first place, the Englishman passed Raikönnen who would have liked to take his position back. But he did not find an opportunity to overtake; and Button could increase BAR's advantage over Renault. His teammate Sato, who started from the end of the field due to engine change, showed exceptional performance and finished at position six while at the French team only the fourth place of Alonso brought championship points.
Jacques Villeneuve did not get any points as he was overlapped and finished on the 11th place. He had not managed yet to feel the car completely that's why he was much slower than his teammate. Jenson Button has stood on the podium for the ninth time this year which ensured him the third place in this year's driver's championship.
The returning Ralf Schumacher was an unlucky looser of the race as he was knocked out of the race by David Coulthard. The Scot tried to pass the German pilot in a turn where it was impossible and damaged the rear suspension of the Williams. Coulthard also miscalculated the brake distance while battling with Michael Schumacher and just missed the other car. Ralf's retirement and Coulthard's flat tyre helped Montoya to gain positions and finish 5th. Behind him the two Saubers finished the race, and the team could be happy again about a double point-worthy result.
Zsolt Baumgartner started from the 19th position because the engine had been changed in his car. Ha passed his teammate right after the start and stayed in front of him the entire race long. The race was full of difficulties for both of them. Baumgartner's Minardi slipped too much, he even spun once. At the end he finished on the 16th position. Gianmaria Bruni had mechanical problems with his car and retired at lap 38 when one of his tyres fell off the car.
Rubens Barrichello:
"In China the former situation has changed I did not finish behind Michael. I had a good start and I was fast later on as my tyres had a very good grip. I could hold my position all the time long against Kimi."
Jenson Button:
"I am satisfied with the second position, but I had some problems at the start with my car. This has been my fourth second position this year, this is a fantastic feeling. We are on the right track to our first victory; in Japan we would try it again."
Kimi Raikönnen:
"It was a very exciting and close competition. I was able to match Rubens's speed all the time but I did not have a chance to pass him. The team changed the race strategy but it did not worked as planned and even cost me one position. I am not disappointed; the car was great on the whole weekend."
Results of the Chinese Grand Prix:
1. Barrichello - Ferrari (B) 1h29:12.420
2. Button - BAR-Honda (M) + 1.035
3. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes (M) + 1.469
4. Alonso - Renault (M) + 32.510
5. Montoya - Williams-BMW (M) + 45.193
6. Sato - BAR-Honda (M) + 54.791
7. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) + 1:05.464
8. Massa - Sauber-Petronas (B) + 1:20.080
9. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes (M) + 1:20.619
10. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) + 1 lap
11. Villeneuve - Renault (M) + 1 lap
12. M.Schumacher - Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
13. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford (B) + 1 lap
14. Panis - Toyota (M) + 1 lap
15. Glock - Jordan-Ford (B) + 1 lap
16. Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth (B) + 3 laps
Drivers' championship:
1. M. Schumacher 136 points
2. R. Barrichello 108
3. J. Button 79
4. F. Alonso 50
5. J. Trulli 46
6. J.P. Montoya 46
7. K. Räikkönen 34
8. T. Sato 26
9. D. Coulthard 24
10. G. Fisichella 21
11. R. Schumacher 12
12. F. Massa 11
13. M. Webber 7
14. O. Panis 6
14. A. Pizzonia 6
16. C. da Matta 3
16. N. Heidfeld 3
16. C. Klien 3
19. T. Glock 2
20. Baumgartner Zsolt 1
Constructors' championship:
1. Ferrari 244 points
2. BAR 105
3. Renault 96
4. Williams 64
5. McLaren 58
6. Sauber 32
7. Jaguar 10
8. Toyota 9
9. Jordan 5
10. Minardi 1
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2004.09.25.
Barrichello starts from the pole in China
Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello can start from the pole position at the China Grand Prix. McLaren pilot Kimi Raikönnen will start from the second, Jenson Button of BAR from the third grid position tomorrow. Schumacher spun and became last.
At the pre-qualifying Michael Schumacher, the world champion of Ferrari, was still the fastest followed by Kimi Raikönnen, Rubens Barrichello finished fourth. But as a real surprise at the qualifying Michael Schumacher not only lost his leading position but finished at the bottom of the field. He spun at the first corner as he arrived too fast and the back tyres lost grip. The world champion spun and landed in the gravel pit; from there he drove directly into the pits.
Not him but Minardi driver Gianmari Bruni will start from the last position. Bruni also spun but earlier than the world champion that's why he became the last. As a result the starting grid promises a really unique race. Barrichello was the fastest, but he also made a mistake in his timed lap. This has been the third pole position of the Brazilian this year.
Kimi Raikönnen became second, Jenson Button third. Backwards the field stays mixed up as in the first eight positions drivers from 7 different teams can be found. Among them Sauber was the most successful as both of their pilots are in the leading eight with outstanding results.
Felippe Massa produced the best qualifying of his whole career and starts from the fourth position; he has never finished better than seventh so far. His teammate Giancarlo Fisichella became seventh. Neither BAR nor McLaren could be satisfied with their performance as their second drivers did not produced good results. Tacuma Sato drove the ninth, David Coulthard the tenth best time. As the engine in Sato's Honda was changed he can only start the 56 lap long race from ten places behind.
The Renault team is not happy either as Button can start on Sunday from a much better position than Fernando Alonso (6th) or Jacques Villeneuve (13th). This could help BAR to increase his lead in the championship in the battle for the second position. But Villeneuve's result is not bad at all as he sat back into a race car after a year pause.
The honour of BMW Williams was saved by Ralf Schumacher who qualified himself at the 5th position after a long interruption. Montoya did not manage to drive a good qualifying; he made a mistake in the last turn and finished on the 11th position.
Olivier Panis proved that Toyota keeps improving the performance of its cars; the retiring French driver starts form the 8th position this time. His teammate, Ricardo Zonta finished 14th. He possibly drives his last race with the team, as Jarno Trulli is rumoured to start in the next race with a Toyota.
The drivers of the withdrawing Jaguar finished in the middle of the field in China. Mark Webber made a mistake at one of the kerb-stones and the spin caused him to finish at the 12th position. His teammate Christian Klien was simply slower and got 16th.
Nick Heidfeld was the faster Jordan driver; he beat the test pilot Timo Glock who substituted the bankrupt Pantano. Zsolt Baumgartner drove his timed lap without mistakes but very slowly, his car was probably fully fuelled. Our countryman can start from the 18th position.
Rubens Barrichello:
"I expected that Michael will be closely behind me. I was really shocked about what happened to him because it happens very rare. This is a phenomenal circuit with lots of interesting parts. In the first and second turn it is very difficult to find the ideal lane. It will be an interesting race with lots of overtaking."
Kimi Raikönnen:
"The car felt good already yesterday but in the morning we slowed down again and we have not managed to fix it. I made a mistake in one of the corners and that's why I am not completely satisfied; but my first place did not depend on this."
Jenson Button:
"I am happy about my third position. In the morning we still had setup problems which we seemed to fix successfully. This was the maximum the car could deliver today. It is very important that we are before the drivers of Renault. It will be an exciting race."
Results of the qualifying in Chinese Grand Prix:
1 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:34.012
2 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren 1:34.178 +0:00.166
3 Jenson Button BAR 1:34.295 +0:00.283
4 Felipe Massa Sauber 1:34.759 +0:00.747
5 Ralf Schumacher Williams 1:34.891 +0:00.879
6 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:34.917 +0:00.905
7 Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber 1:34.951 +0:00.939
8 Olivier Panis Toyota 1:34.975 +0:00.963
9 David Coulthard McLaren 1:35.029 +0:01.017
10 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams 1:35.245 +0:01.233
11 Mark Webber Jaguar 1:35.286 +0:01.274
12 Jacques Villeneuve Renault 1:35.384 +0:01.372
13 Ricardo Zonta Toyota 1:35.410 +0:01.398
14 Nick Heidfeld Jordan 1:36.507 +0:02.495
15 Christian Klien Jaguar 1:36.535 +0:02.523
16 Timo Glock Jordan 1:37.140 +0:03.128
17 Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi 1:40.240 +0:06.228
18 Takuma Sato BAR 1:34.993 +0:00.981
19 Michael Schumacher Ferrari
20 Gianmaria Bruni Minardi
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2004.09.12.
Double Ferrari triumph at Monza
After a very exciting race Rubens Barrichello won the Italian Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher ensured the perfect joy of the team as he finished second. Jenson Button who was leading in the race for a long time became third.
The weather made the last European race of the season, the Italian Grand Prix very exciting. It had been raining all morning long and traces of the rain could be seen on the track before the start. There was no continuous water covered area on the track but its surface was wet. Therefore the teams were in a great dilemma which type of tyre to choose for the race. Rubens Barrichello started with intermediate tyres like Felipe Massa and David Coulthard. But after the formation lap the Mercedes driver drove into the pits where dry tyres were put on his car.
Barrichello had the best start and soon gained distance from the field; he gathered a 10 second advantage in just two laps. Fernanso Alonso sprinted well at the start and passed between Montoya and Schumacher. The drivers barely managed to turn into the first corner; several pilots among them the world champion of Ferrari slid here. In the second chicane Michael Schumacher even spun and fell back to the last position. The chaos in this corner caused Olivier Panis to retire.
Jenson Button was chasing Montoya who slipped at the third lap; then the BAR driver overtook him. By the 4th lap Barrichello's advantage turned into a disadvantage as his tyres became overheated and Alonso could catch up and even overtake him; the Brazilian drove immediately into the pits to change for dry tyres. In the following laps the rest of the field visited the pits as well.
At lap 8 Felipe Massa arrived with high speed behind one of the Jordans and hit it but fortunately only his front wing was damaged in the manoeuvre.
At lap 11 Michael Schumacher caught up with his teammate and overtook him due his lighter car. Two laps later Antonio Pizzonia overtook Barrichello, too. In the same lap Kimi Raikönnen drove into the pits to retire from the race. By then the seven time world champion passed Fernando Alonso. Meanwhile Button had gained such a big advantage that he was able to return to the leading position after his pit stop.
At the 17th lap the order was following: Button, Alonso, Montoya, Barrichello, Fisichella, Sato, Coulthard, Webber, Schumacher, Pizzonia. Among them Fisichella was the only one who still had not have his pit stop.
Michael Schumacher was chasing Mark Webber several laps long who at the end made a mistake in a chicane and the German pilot could pass him there. By then the first four drivers raced within sight. At lap 21 Antonio Pizzonia was the fastest among the drivers on the track and he managed to pass Mark Webber. Webber was overtaken in the next lap by Fisichella as well.
The leading four drivers got closer to each other, the distance decreased between them; meanwhile Michael Schumacher, who was originally 16 seconds behind the leaders, drove 1 second faster laps than them. David Coulthard could stay on the track till lap 26; the team tried a one stop strategy at the race.
24 laps to go Rubens Barrichello was again the first who started the pit stops, and he was able to return to place six behind Schumacher. At lap 30 Bruni drove into the pits where the fuel caught fire during refuelling. The Italian driver retired from the race but fortunately did not sustained severe injuries.
20 laps to go Alonso and Montoya arrived to the pits at the same time and after returning to the track the order remained the same. One lap later after the pit stop Jenson Button returned easily behind Barrichello but before the young Renault driver. Then Michael Schumacher took over the lead followed by Rubens Barrichello. 17 laps to go Schumacher drove into the pits; he returned to the track behind Tacuma Sato but overtook him at the first chicane. With this Rubens Barrichello became the leader of the race.
13 laps to go Alonso who was driving on the second position slid and spun into the gravel pit from where he was unable to return. One lap later Rubens Barrichello drove into the pits for the third time to refuel and change tyres. Then he returned to the leading position. Meanwhile Michael Schumacher caught up with Jenson Button and overtook the English driver.
The two Ferraris slowly gained distance from the chasers. Meanwhile David Coulthard and Antonio Pizzonia battled for the sixth position. The Brazilian hit the Scott but both of them remained in the race.
At the end the two Ferraris circled only with demonstrative aim, winning a double victory at their hometrack.
With this Ferrari gather his third triumph in a row at Monza. Rubens Barrichello repeated his 2002 success. The Brazilian pilot is the fourth pilot next to Schumacher, Trulli and Raikönnen who was able to win a GP this year.
Rubens Barrichello:
"It was a difficult decision about the tyres because the track was wet but it dried soon. When during the race Michael and Pizzonia passed me I became despaired. My car was a little understeered but we managed to modify the setup and from that moment everything went smooth. I think this is my best season, only a victory has been missing."
Michael Schumacher:
"I thought I had to retire when I had spun. I had to let everyone pass me which made the race interesting. I did not think then that I could finish second."
Jenson Button:
"I did not think the Ferraris were so good. We had a chance to take the victory but the Ferraris were better. This is a very good result as the team became second in the Constructors' Championship."
Results of the qualifying in Italian Grand Prix:
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 136 pont
2. R. Barrichello 98
3. J. Button 71
4. J. Trulli 46
5. F. Alonso 45
6. J.P. Montoya 42
7. K. Räikkönen 28
8. D. Coulthard 24
9. T. Sato 23
9. G. Fisichella 19
11. R. Schumacher 12
12. F. Massa 10
13. M. Webber 7
14. O. Panis 6
15. A. Pizzonia 6
16. C. da Matta 3
16. N. Heidfeld 3
16. C. Klien 3
19. T. Glock 2
20. B. Zsolt 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 234 pont
2. BAR 94
3. Renault 91
4. Williams 60
5. McLaren 52
6. Sauber 29
7. Jaguar 10
8. Toyota 9
9. Jordan 5
10. Minardi 1
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2004.09.11.
Barrichello beat everyone!
Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello won the qualifying of the Monza Grand Prix. His teammate Michael Schumacher only finished third; between the two pilots BMW driver Juan Pablo Montoya grabbed the second position.
At the pre-qualifying the Ferraris did not dominate the field as Barrichello finished only ninth and Schumacher tenth. The drivers of the world champion team probably tested the race setup on their car. But at the real qualifying the reds were again really fast on their hometrack.
Michael Schumacher made a mistake in the Curva Parabolica: he drifted off the ideal lane and had to decrease the throttle, as a consequence he lost valuable time. Barrichello who drove next on the track could beat easily the seven time world champion. Although in the first sector several pilots almost matched the time of the Brazilian driver at the end they did not even drove a close lap time. The Ferrari pilot was much faster in the middle sector of the track than his competitors.
Juan Pablo Montoya got the closest to him he even beat Schumacher but made a more than 0.5 second slower lap. This means the Columbian driver could spoil the celebration of the Ferrari and the tifosis –Ferrari fans.
After the last race and the practice sessions everyone expected McLaren and especially Kimi Raikönnen would show an exceptional performance but it was not the case now. Although the Finn drove nicely both BAR pilots and Renault driver Fernando Alonso were able to beat him. At the BAR team Tacuma Sato was the faster this time.
David Coulthard did not have better luck: he finished on the tenth position after not only his teammate but Antonio Pizzonia who crashed on Saturday due brake disc failure and Renault driver Jarno Trulli beat his time.
In the middle of the field Jaguars and Toyotas grabbed positions among them Zonta who drives his second race this season was the best with his 11th place. Behind them the usual strength position follows: two Saubers, two Jordans and two Minardis. Zsolt Baumgartner beat the lap time of his teammate but he did not make a clean lap during this. He was not able to slow down sufficiently before the first chicane at the end of the finish straight and slid across the first part of it.
Rubens Barrichello:
"I am so happy to be able to take the pole position. The car was excellent; I drove through the Lesmo 1 and 2 perfectly and made an almost perfect lap altogether driving always on the edge. I won here in Monza 2002 and I hope I will be able to repeat it this year."
Juan Pablo Montoya:
"It is long time ago I have been in the first row so I am happy. I thank to the team being here again they built a really good car. It is going to be a very interesting race, now I have an excellent car."
Michael Schumacher:
"I have been always struggling in the first sector but now I drove a good time although later I made a mistake. I am happy with the third position as I would not have been able to beat Rubens this time. We have good starting positions and I hope we can reach good results tomorrow."
Results of the qualifying in Italian Grand Prix:
1. Barrichello Ferrari B 1'20"089 260.395 Km/h
2. Montoya Williams BMW M 1'20"620 + 0'00"531
3. M. Schumacher Ferrari B 1'20"637 + 0'00"548
4. Alonso Renault M 1'20"645 + 0'00"556
5. Sato BAR Honda M 1'20"715 + 0'00"626
6. Button BAR Honda M 1'20"786 + 0'00"697
7. Raikkönen McLaren Mercedes M 1'20"877 + 0'00"788
8. Pizzonia Williams BMW M 1'20"888 + 0'00"799
9. Trulli Renault M 1'21"027 + 0'00"938
10. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes M 1'21"049 + 0'00"960
11. Zonta Toyota M 1'21"520 + 0'01"431
12. Webber Jaguar Cosworth M 1'21"602 + 0'01"513
13. Panis Toyota M 1'21"841 + 0'01"752
14. Klien Jaguar Cosworth M 1'21"989 + 0'01"900
15. Fisichella Sauber Petronas B 1'22"239 + 0'02"150
16. Massa Sauber Petronas B 1'22"287 + 0'02"198
17. Heidfeld Jordan Ford B 1'22"301 + 0'02"212
18. Pantano Jordan Ford B 1'23"239 + 0'03"150
19. Baumgartner Minardi Cosworth B 1'24"808 + 0'04"719
20. Bruni Minardi Cosworth B 1'24"940 + 0'04"851
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2004.08.30.
Raikönnen wins; Schumacher is the world champion at Spa
Kimi Raikönnen triumphed at the very exciting Belgian Grand Prix. Behind him the two Ferraris finished with Schumacher and Barrichello. Schumacher took the seventh Drivers' Championship title of his career.
The 13th race of the championship, the 44 laps long Belgian Grand Prix began under good conditions with 20 °C air and 22 °C asphalt temperature. Michael Schumacher started very badly, not only Alonso but Coulthard got past him as well.
Several cars hit each other in the first corner Webber, Button and Massa continued the race without front wings. In the next corner there was an accident again Sato and Bruni both spun and crashed their cars. But Pantano had no better luck; he collided into Bruni's Minardi setting it on fire.
The safety car was sent in because there was too much debris on the track. Meanwhile the rear wing of Barrichello's car had to be replaced and Massa's car was repaired as well, but Webber could not return to the race. The order of the drivers behind the safety car was: Trulli, Alonso, Coulthard, Schumacher, Raikkönen, Montoya.
The safety car left the track after three laps, Trulli and Alonso sprinted quickly away from the others. Schumacher was taken over by Raikönnen immediately and seconds later Montoya started to attack him as well. On the next lap the Columbian got past him at the entrance of the bus stop. Meanwhile Raikönnen caught up with Coulthard and took him over. The Finn of McLaren was the fastest driver at that moment chasing the Renaults while Schumacher drove slower laps.
At the 9th lap Cristian Klien started the pit stops; soon Trulli followed him from the leading position. On lap 11 the leading Fernando Alonso spun but luckily he was able to return to the track. But in the next corner he repeated this mistake and from the gravel trap there was no escape. Coulthard had a puncture in the same lap and could only drove very slowly into the pits. So Raikönnen took over the lead and kept his position after the pit stop as well. During his pit stop Schumacher was able to take over Montoya.
On lap 18 Trulli's car suddenly slowed down for a moment and the German champion almost hit it but he managed to drive it round. The strategy of BAR seemed to work as Button got to the second position by then after refuelling during his front wing was replaced in the first lap.
On lap 20 Montoya tried to get past Trulli at the bus stop but there was not enough room and the two cars collided making Trulli spin. At the halftime of the race Raikkönen, Schumacher, Pizzonia, Montoya, Button, Zonta, Massa, Panis was the order of the drivers.
15 laps to go Button got a puncture on his rear left wheel while he was overtaking Zsolt Baumgartner. The spinning BAR collided into the Minardi causing both of them to retire. Due to the debris on the track the safety car was sent in again. This made the whole field crammed again. The order was Raikönnen, Schumacher, Pizzonia, Montoya, Barrichello. But soon Pizzonia's car broke down during the slow circling on the track.
11 laps to go the safety car drove out of the track and the field started without any incident this time. Cristian Klien took over Panis and started to battle with Fisichella. Raikönnen was driving on the lead followed by a Michael Schumacher with a distance of 1.6 second. Montoya retired from the battle for the podium as he got a rear left puncture.
6 laps to go David Coulthard collided into the Klien's Jaguar from behind and the front wing of his car broke. The wing was replaced in the pits but the safety car came in. The whole field was circling behind the safety car again. Only three laps remained for Raikönnen and Schumacher to decide who would be the winner of the race. Raikönnen sprinted away from Schumacher and put the pedal to the metal driving a new track record with a lap time of 1:45:108. Ricardo Zonta, who started from the 20th position and was driving on the 4th position by then, had an engine failure.
Kimi Raikönnen won taking the second victory of his career after last year's Malaysian Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher, who finished second, got his seventh championship. Barrichello, who got third this time, could not beat him even if he won the following four races and the German did not get any points.
Raikönnen:
"I started well, but Massa hit me in the rear which made my car feel a bit strange but I managed get past Michael. I had problems with the downforce and the gearbox. But the tyres could hold the stress which was needed for this victory. I started from the 10th grid position and finished first, I am really happy."
Michael Schumacher:
"It was a day full of action and considering that I fell back in the beginning of the race I can be satisfied. I would rather win the championship with a victory but Kimi was very fast today and we could not be a match for him in speed."
Barrichello:
"I had a good start but in the first corner someone hit me and damaged the rear wing and rear tyre of my car. I had a very good day as I kept on pushing the whole time. The car was very good."
Result of the Belgian Grand Prix:
1. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1h32:35.274
2. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) + 3.131
3. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 4.371
4. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) + 12.504
5. Fisichella Sauber-Petronas (B) + 14.144
6. Klien Jaguar-Cosworth (M) + 14.705
7. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) + 17.970
8. Panis Toyota (M) + 18.693
9. Trulli Renault (M) + 22.115
10. Zonta Toyota (M) + 3 kör
11. Heidfeld Jordan-Ford (B) + 4 kör
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 128 points
2. R. Barrichello 88
3. J. Button 65
4. J. Trulli 46
5. F. Alonso 45
6. J.P. Montoya 38
7. K. Räikkönen 28
8. D. Coulthard 21
9. T. Sato 18
9. G. Fisichella 18
11. R. Schumacher 12
12. F. Massa 10
13. M. Webber 7
14. O. Panis 6
15. A. Pizzonia 4
16. C. da Matta 3
16. N. Heidfeld 3
16. C. Klien 3
19. T. Glock 2
20. B. Zsolt 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 216 points
2. Renault 91
3. BAR 83
4. Williams 54
5. McLaren 49
6. Sauber 28
7. Jaguar 10
8. Toyota 9
9. Jordan 5
10. Minardi 1
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2004.08.28.
Trulli for the second time
Jarno Trulli was the fastest at the qualifying of the Belgian Grand Prix. Behind the Renault driver his teammate Fernando Alonso got third while Michael Schumacher with the Ferrari took the second start position.
Thanks to the weather conditions the qualifying of the Belgian Grand Prix turned out to be very exciting. In the morning the first practice session had to be delayed because the surroundings were covered by fog due to the heavy rains and the medical helicopters would not have been able to take off. Race Director Charlie Wighting did not take the risk. The second practise was short as well, only 15 minutes long; the drivers did not have a real chance to prepare.
There were several driver mistakes during the qualifying. Toyota test driver Ryan Brisco, Williams driver Antonio Pizzonia and Minardi pilot Gianmaria Bruni all crashed their cars. In contrast Zsolt Baumgartner showed a very good performance on the wet Belgian asphalt where he raced several times before. The rain equalized the differences between the engines and helped Zsolt to beat not only the other Minardi but the two Jordans as well at the practise.
But at the qualifying he had tyre problems in the pouring rain and could only get the 18th position beating the remarkably slow and cautious Toyota driver Ricardo Zonta and Jordan pilot Pantano. After the first seven runners the order was: Panis, Klien, Heidfeld, Bruni, Baumgartner, Pantano, Zonta. After them Jaguar driver Mark Webber arrived and he held his first position for a long time.
But in the middle of the qualifying the rain stopped and the Renault pilots drove out to the track. The team risked and put intermediate tyres on the cars. Jarno Trulli beat Webber with 2.5 seconds and took over the lead Alonso was slower but got second.
The next drivers found themselves again in the rain which caused them to slow down. Montoya drove a three seconds slower lap time than Trulli. Neither Raikönnen drove better, he even made a mistake. But Coulthard showed a good performance which granted him the 4th position at the end.
Everyone was waiting anxiously what results the Ferraris would deliver. Rubens Barichello arrived first; he was faster both in the first and the second sector than Trulli. But in the first corner of the chicane named "Bus stop" he made a mistake and finished only sixth.
Michael Schumacher was the last and made an almost perfectly similar lap to his teammate's. Although there was no driver mistake it was only enough for the second position with a delay of 0.072 second. After the Monte-Carlo GP Jarno Trulli can start from the pole position for the second time this year. Now he may have the chance to beat Schumacher in the race as the world champion retired from the race in the Duchy. The Renaults start very well that's why the German had to pay attention not only to Trulli but to Alonso as well.
The results are promising for Schumacher as he was as fast in the rain as Trulli under dry conditions. Furthermore Spa is a very important race for the German champion as he made his debut 1991 and achieved his first victory 1992 here. This will be his 13th race here and although he got only one pole position he could win 6 times so far. The track even counts as one of his hometracks as it is very close to his hometown Kerpen.
Jarno Trulli:
"I had great luck. We took the risk using the intermediate tyres but it worked perfectly. I drove a great lap so I can start again from the pole position."
Michael Schumacher:
"That's the way it is, it's a gamble. It started again to rain at the end of the qualifying when it should not have to. I am second in the first row and I am satisfied with it. I did not have a good lap, in the fifth corner my car skidded."
Fernando Alonso:
"It will be an interesting race tomorrow as we start well most of the times. We had a difficult day behind us; we could not practice in the morning which caused a lot of troubles. My lap was great and I am optimistic tomorrow that my car will be as good as today apart from the dry or rainy weather."
Results of the qualifying in Belgian Grand Prix:
1. Trulli Renault M 1'56"232 215.972 km/h
2. M. Schumacher Ferrari B + 0'00"072
3. Alonso Renault M + 0'00"454
4. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes M + 0'01"758
5. Fisichella Sauber Petronas B + 0'01"808
6. Barichello Ferrari B + 0'01"943
7. Webber Jaguar Cosworth M + 0'02"497
8. Massa Sauber Petronas B + 0'02"776
9. Panis Toyota M + 0'03"320
10. Raikkönen McLaren Mercedes M + 0'03"403
11. Montoya Williams BMW M + 0'03"449
12. Button BAR Honda M + 0'04"005
13. Klien Jaguar Cosworth M + 0'05"014
14. Pizzonia Williams BMW M + 0'05"215
15. Sato BAR Honda M + 0'05"581
16. Heidfeld Jordan Ford B + 0'06"413
17. Bruni Minardi Cosworth B + 0'06"419
18. Baumgartner Zsolt Minardi Cosworth B + 0'07"071
19. Pantano Jordan Ford B + 0'07"601
20. Zonta Toyota M + 0'07"663
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2004.08.15.
Ferrari is World Champion!
Dual Ferrari victory on the 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix secures the Constructors' title for the team. Alonso with the Renault finished third.
Before the race Péter Medgyessy Hungarian Prime Minister announced Hungaroring had a valid contract with Formula 1 till 2011. The drivers began the race with this good news.
The 70 lap long 19th Hungarian Grand Prix started under cooler weather conditions than usual with an air temperature of 25 deegrees Celsius and asphalt temperature of 42 deegrees Celsius.
Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello protected their positions successfully after the start. Fernando Alonso caught the right moment at the start, with a fabulous sprint took the third position and immediately started to attack Rubens Barrichello. Ricardo Zonta hit Christian Klien, the Toyota driver spun but he was able to continue the race. Zsolt Baumgartner was only able to start from the pits because the electronics in his car had to be restarted. Using the opportunity his Minardi was fuelled.
Schumacher, Barrichello, Alonso, Montoya, Button, Trulli, Raikönnen, Sato was the order in the first lap when the world champion started to gain distance from the rest of the field. During the first laps Jordan driver Pantano battled with Sauber pilot Felipe Massa for the 15th position. Fernando Alonso was the first who drove into the pits in the 10th lap followed by Fisichella. The others (Montoya, Button...) visited the pits in the next (11th) lap.
Schumacher entered the pits in the 12th lap; his tyres were very blistered by then. Raikönnen returned to the track very slowly and he drove into the pits in the same lap again; his car was pushed back into the garage. After this McLaren could only put hope into David Coulthard who was driving on the 11th place.
16 laps after the start Schumacher had a 6.6 second lead before Barrichello 19.7 before Alonso and 29.9 before Montoya. The two Ferraris gained more and more distance from the field driving an almost identical lap time and started to overlap. In the 23rd lap Felipe Massa drove into the pits and retired from the race.
In the 28th lap the second pit stops started, in the following laps every car visited the pits. Then Schumacher, Barrichello, Alonso, Montoya, Button, Sato, Pizzonia, Trulli was the order of the pilots. In the 32nd lap probably an electronic failure caused the engine in the Toyota of Ricardo Zonta to stall forcing him to retire from the race.
The field became fully scattered; the drivers circled far from each other at their own speed; the only excitement for them was to overlap the Minardis and to let the Ferraris overtake.
In the 43rd lap the Renault of Jarno Trulli stopped at the entrance of the finish straight; his race ended right there. By then only the first seven drivers were within the same lap and behind the 13th position everybody was at least two times overlapped by Michael Schumacher. Only Barrichello could keep up with his speed but the six-time world champion had a 15 second lead before the Brazilian.
20 laps to go the third series of pit stops started: in the following three-four laps everyone visited his mechanics. 19 laps to go the gearbox in Pantano's Jordan had a failure. Then Schumacher, Barichello, Alonso, Montoya, Button, Sato, Pizzonia, Fisihchella was the order in the race.
Schumacher won the race effortless this may have been his easiest victory this year. Behind him his teammate Barrichello took the second position then Alonso, Montoya, Button, Sato, Pizzonia, Fisichella was the finishing order.
With this dual victory Ferrari won the Constructors' World Championship five races before the end of the season.
Furthermore Schumacher can consider himself as world champion because not even Jenson Button could take this title now only Barrichello has a theoretical chance to do so. Schumacher broke another record as earlier he could only win 11 races within a year contrary to his 12 victory so far this year.
Michael Schumacher:
"Now the Constructors' title of Ferrari is the most important and not my victory. Everyone worked hard and after a good start at the beginning of the season we kept on pushing forward and that's why we could make such a big change compared to last year."
Rubens Barrichello:
"I started well thanks to the yesterday rain which washed away the dirt from the dirty side of the track. I did not have the chance to overtake Michael but I was able to hold my position. Later I could drive at my own speed on the track."
Fernando Alonso:
"I had a very good start, but Sato blocked me a little. Without this I could have even overtaken Rubens. It might have been different but this way I was driving a little bit lonely."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"I have been preparing for the race a lot but unfortunately it was not as successful as the qualifying. We had to "reset" the car at the start because of the failure of an electronic sensor. It was a very difficult race. On the pit stop the engine stalled, we still have to fix this problem."
Result of the Hungarian Grand Prix:
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari (B) - 1h35:26.131
2. R. Barrichello - Ferrari (B) + 4.694
3. F. Alonso - Renault (M) + 44.599
4. J. P. Montoya - Williams-BMW (M) + 1:02.613
5. J. Button - BAR-Honda (M) + 1:07.439
6. T. Sato - BAR-Honda (M) + 1 lap
7. A. Pizzonia - Williams-BMW (M) + 1 lap
8. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) + 1 lap
9. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes (M) + 1 lap
10. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) + 1 lap
11. O. Panis - Toyota (M) + 1 lap
12. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford (B) + 2 laps
13. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) + 2 laps
14. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth (B) + 4 laps
15. Zsolt Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth (B) + 5 laps
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 120 points
2. R. Barrichello 82
3. J. Button 65
4. J. Trulli 46
5. F. Alonso 45
6. J.P. Montoya 38
7. D. Coulthard 19
8. T. Sato 18
9. K. Räikkönen 18
10. G. Fisichella 14
11. R. Schumacher 12
12. M. Webber 7
13. F. Massa 5
13. O. Panis 5
15. A. Pizzonia 4
15. C. da Matta 3
17. N. Heidfeld 3
17. T. Glock 2
19. B. Zsolt 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 202
2. Renault 91
3. BAR 83
4. Williams 54
5. McLaren 37
6. Sauber 19
7. Toyota 8
8. Jaguar 7
9. Jordan 5
10. Minardi 1
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2004.08.14.
The 7th pole position of Schumacher this year
Michael Schumacher got his seventh pole position this year at the qualifying of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Behind him his teammate Rubens Barrichello and BAR pilot Tacuma Sato took the second and third grid position.
The qualifying of the 19th Hungarian Grand Prix worked out in compliance with the current strength positions in the field. Although in the pre-qualifying that decided the final starting positions of the qualifying Rubens Barrichello was the fastest, at the end Michael Schumacher was able to beat him. At the pre-qualifying Barrichello drove a new track record with a lap time of 1:18.436.
Behind the Ferraris two BAR Hondas make up the second row with Tacuma Sato on the third and Jenson Button on the fourth position. It is said the team will concentrate on the former driver in the remaining races. Sato could have driven an even better lap time if he had not made a mistake in the beginning of the third sector.
Last year winner Fernando Alonso only made to the fifth place with the Renault this time, his teammate Jarno Trulli became ninth. Between them the two Williams finished in a very interesting order as Antonio Pizzonia was faster than Juan Pablo Montoya. Both of them drove a car equipped with the old-new front wing which was finished for the Hungaroring. According to Dr Mario Theissen Director of BMW Motorsport the earlier front wing was too heavy and sensitive to cross-wind.
The McLarens were rather slow on the track although at the second free practice Kimi Raikönnen drove the best lap time. This time Raikönnen finished on the 10th, David Coulthard on the 12th position. It is possible that due to tactical reasons their cars are heavily fuelled.
The Jaguars showed a poor performance on the whole weekend; the team did not find the right setup, mostly even the Jordans were faster then them. The situation did not improve much at the qualifying either: Mark Webber placed 11th Cristian Klien 14th.
Although Olivier Panis drove the fifth best time on Friday, at the qualifying the new aerodynamic improvements presented by the engineers of Toyota did not show any results. Panis became 13th while the former test pilot Ricardo Zonta who replaced the dismissed da Matta got the 15th position.
The Jordans and Minardis skidded a lot of times on the track but at the end the expected starting order came out. At the "yellow team" Nick Heidfeld was the faster than Giorgo Pantano; while at the "black team" Zsolt Baumgartner beat Gianmaria Bruni.
The engine was changed in the car of Felippe Massa after the free practice and he did not make a timed lap; therefore he can start from the last grid position on Sunday.
Michael Schumacher:
"Compared to last year we are in a much better situation now. We could test before Hockenheim in a great heat and its success has put us in this good position. There is no big surprise for us at the grid we counted on the competitiveness of BAR and Renault although we expected McLaren to be faster. You have to correct very often with the wheel as the track is a little bumpy which affects the movement of the car. But I really enjoy it and I can hardly wait the race."
Rubens Barrichello:
"I am a little disappointed as I could not get the pole position. I drove a very good lap but the track was different than it had been earlier. At the end of the lap I made a mistake. Although I have to start from the dirtier side of the track I am optimistic."
Tacuma Sato:
"The fastest part of the circuit is at the 11th corner and I let the car to turn too wide and I drifted from the track. But even without the mistake it would not had been enough to take the pole position. We had problems with the speed in the last races but we are making progress now."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"For me the Hungarian Grand Prix is the most important race. I hope I will able to beat my teammate again on Sunday. It was very difficult for us to find the best setup and the car is still not perfect; we still got problems with its stability."
Results of the qualifying in Hungarian Grand Prix:
1. M.Schumacher - Ferrari (B) 1:19.146
2. R. Barrichello - Ferrari (B) 1:19.323 + 0.177
3. T. Sato - BAR-Honda (M) 1:19.693 + 0.547
4. J. Button - BAR-Honda (M) 1:19.700 + 0.554
5. F. Alonso - Renault (M) 1:19.996 + 0.850
6. A. Pizzonia - Williams-BMW (M) 1:20.170 + 1.024
7. J.P. Montoya - Williams-BMW (M) 1:20.199 + 1.053
8. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:20.324 + 1.178
9. J. Trulli - Renault (M) 1:20.411 + 1.265
10. K. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:20.570 + 1.424
11. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:20.730 + 1.584
12. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:20.897 + 1.751
13. O. Panis - Toyota (M) 1:21.068 + 1.922
14. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:21.118 + 1.972
15. R. Zonta - Toyota (M) 1:21.135 + 1.989
16. G. Pantano - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:22.156 + 3.010
17. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:22.180 + 3.034
18. Zsolt Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:24.329 + 5.183
19. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:24.679 + 5.533
20. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas (B) no time
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2004.07.25.
Schumacher's 11th victory this year
Michael Schumacher got his 11th victory this year in his home race. Jenson Button who started from the 13th place finished second while Fernando Alonso got the third position.
With his victory at the German GP Schumacher increased further his advantage and the advantage of his team as well. This was the 81st victory of his carrier. The start of the race could not go without problems as Olivier Panis signalled his car had a failure. At the end the French Toyota driver started from the pits.
The German pilot of Ferrari took the lead right at the start and did not have a difficult job to secure it. Only Kimi Raikönnen tried to catch up with him but in the 13th lap the unexpected happened. The main plane of the rear wing simply tore away and without its downforce the McLaren Mercedes crashed into the wall. The Finnish driver was unharmed. His teammate David Coulthard had more luck and after a fierce battle he finished fourth.
The British Jenson Button started from the 13th position due to engine change but at the end he could stand on the second place of the podium. Moreover during the last laps of the GP the BAR Honda pilot was driving with only one hand as the belt fixing his helmet had got loose and he had to hold it with his left hand.
Barrichello damaged his front wing right at the first lap as he ran into the McLaren driving in front of him. The damage could only be repaired by the technicians during a pit stop. Fernando Alonso sprinted well again and got to the second place right after the start. Raikönnen did not bear this for a long time and in the second lap he overtook the Spanish and started to chase Schumacher.
But nobody chased Ralf Schumacher as he could not start either this time because of his accident. In his car the Brazilian test pilot could prove himself. He succeeded in it as he finished on the point worthy 7th place at the end of the race.
Montoya did not show an outstanding performance. The Columbian made a bad start and ended up on the 7th place. In the 20th lap he even managed to run wide therefore at the end he finished on the fifth position.
Alonso had to keep an eye on Coulthard who was chasing him and at the 35th lap Button arrived behind him. In the exciting chase the Renault driver seemed to win at first, but in the 51st lap he lost the second position. Jaguar driver Mark Webber crossed the finish line as sixth.
Zsolt Baumgartner made a better start than his teammate Gianmaria Bruni and after a good driving with three pit stops he finished the race on the 16th position.
Michael Schumacher:
"What a weekend, the pole yesterday and now the victory. I am very satisfied I can't find the words. I felt the support of my fans and despite of the engine noise I heard them when I crossed the finish line. As in the last years I was not very successful at my home race I am even happier about the success. First Kimi was putting pressure on me and then Jenson and Fernando. I was able to hold the distance but unable to increase it. The team made a great work. I was a little afraid of Jenson as I did not know exactly what kind of tactics he was using so I was worried. I had to push plat out all race long. How do I feel after 50 straight races without a mechanical failure? It's wonderful and indescribable how reliable we are, but we cannot stop."
Jenson Button:
"The regulations introduced this year makes the pilots' life very difficult. I knew I had a great car but I could only expect a fifth position with a very good driving. I did not dare to dream about a place on the podium, the second position is a fantastic result. Without doubts this was the best race of my carrier. The car drove flawlessly the engine was great and the team made an outstanding job. In the first lap I was unable to improve my position but later I made progress as I had an opportunity. It was a great fight with Fernando. He repelled my attacks several times but at the end I managed to overtake him and gain distance." Unfortunately not everything went all right. "I had to hold my helmet as it worked loose and as the air ran under it was choking me. That's why I had to drive one-handed. The team deserves this result absolutely."
Fernando Alonso:
"I don't know what happened to the car during the final stage of the race. At first, I thought it was a problem with the front wing, then the suspension. One is for sure: I had no front grip at all. I called the team on radio that I was coming into the pits, but they told me to stay out. Then, I ran over one of the kerbs and everything went back to normal. There may have been some debris stuck somewhere. Maybe I got one of the best starts in my career, and then I had a great battle with Button. I think it was a good race today."
Result of the German Grand Prix:
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari - (B) - 1ó23:54.848
2. J. Button - BAR-Honda - (M) + 8.329 secs
3. F. Alonso - Renault - (M) + 16.351 secs
4. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 19.231 secs
5. J. P. Montoya - Williams-BMW - (M) + 23.055 secs
6. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) + 41.108 secs
7. A. Pizzonia - Williams-BMW - (M) + 41.956 secs
8. T. Sato - BAR-Honda - (M) + 46.842 secs
9. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas - (B) + 1:07.102 secs
10. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) + 1:08.578 secs
11. J. Trulli - Renault - (M) + 1:10.580 secs
12. R. Barrichello - Ferrari - (B) + 1:13.520
13. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas - (B) + 1 lap
14. O. Panis - Toyota - (M) + 1 lap
15. G. Pantano - Jordan-Ford - (B) + 3 laps
16. B. Zsolt - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) + 4 laps
17. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) + 4 laps
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 110
2. R. Barrichello 74
3. J. Button 61
4. J. Trulli 46
5. F. Alonso 39
6. J.P. Montoya 33
7. D. Coulthard 19
8. K. Räikkönen 18
9. T. Sato 15
10. G. Fisichella 13
11. R. Schumacher 12
12. M. Webber 7
13. O. Panis 5
13. F. Massa 5
15. N. Heidfeld 3
15. C. da Matta 3
17. T. Glock 2
17. A. Pizzonia 2
18. Baumgartner Zs 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 184
2. Renault 85
3. BAR 76
4. Williams 47
5. McLaren 37
6. Sauber 18
7. Toyota 8
8. Jaguar 7
9. Jordan 5
10. Minardi 1
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2004.07.24.
Home track
Michael Schumacher took the pole position in front of the eyes of his home audience at the German GP. Juan Pablo Montoya drove the second Jenson Button the third best time.
Michael Schumacher surprisingly beat his former personal best time with 0.7 seconds at Hockenheim during the Saturday qualifying. With this achievement he managed to be able to start from the pole position for the sixty-first time in his carrier.
Next to Schumacher BMW Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya can start from the first row. Although Jenson Button drove the third best time he cannot start the race from the third grid position. On Friday the engine was changed in his BAR Honda and according to the regulations this makes him start the race only from 10 positions behind.
Because of this the two McLaren Mercedes drivers, in order Kimi Raikönnen and David Coulthard take the third and fourth positions. Behind them Renault drivers Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli will start on Sunday afternoon.
Rubens Barrichello with the other Ferrari only could make to the eighth position. Tacuma Sato with the BAR Honda and Olivier Panis with the new Toyota are also among the first ten. The other Toyota with Cristiano da Matta got only the 15th position but the driver stated he had several problems with the car.
Because of Button Antonio Pizzonia, who is the substitute for Ralf Schumacher at BMW Williams can start from the tenth place. This time Zsolt Baumgartner finished around 0.5 seconds behind his teammate on the 20th position.
Michael Schumacher:
"It is great to start again from the pole position, especially in front of my home audience. Last time I could start from the pole at the Nürburgring. To be honest I am not surprised at my pole position but the great differences scary me. If tomorrow the weather is nice there will be no problem so I expect a good performance in front of my home supporters.
Cristiano da Matta:
"I am not satisfied with either of my qualifying laps. At the morning practise we seemed to have found the correct setup but I was unable to unleash the power hiding in my car in the afternoon. The TB104B is a great car and its aerodynamic package is flawless that's why it annoys me that I was unable to reach better results. But at the race we still have 67 laps to make things right."
Juan Pablo Montoya:
"Both the Williams team and BMW worked hard to be able to reach such an improvement with our new package. Since Magny-Cours we have new aerodynamic parts on the car that proved very successful. My qualification lap was not flawless; in the corner in front of the stadium I made a mistake and missed the pole position. Nevertheless at the race we will have a great car, a much better car than in the previous races, so we can hope for a place on the podium. Compared to the yesterday practice my car was much easier to handle and more stable."
Results of the qualifying in German Grand Prix
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari - (B) - 1:13.306
2. J. P. Montoya - Williams-BMW - (M) - 1:13.668 +0,362 mp
3. J. Button - BAR-Honda - (M) - 1:13.674 +0,368 mp
4. K. Raikkönen - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) - 1:13.690 +0,384 mp
5. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) - 1:13.821 +0,515 mp
6. F. Alonso - Renault - (M) - 1:13.874 +0,568 mp
7. J. Trulli - Renault - (M) - 1:14.134 +0,828 mp
8. R. Barrichello - Ferrari - (B) - 1:14.278 +0,972 mp
9. T. Sato - BAR-Honda - (M) - 1:14.287 +0,981 mp
10. O. Panis - Toyota - (M) - 1:14.368 +1,062 mp
11. A. Pizzonia - Williams-BMW - (M) - 1:14.556 +1,250 mp
12. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) - 1:14.802 +1,496 mp
13. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) - 1:15.011 +1,705 mp
14. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas - (B) - 1:15.395 +2,089 mp
15. C. da Matta - Toyota - (M) - 1:15.454 +2,148 mp
16. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas - (B) - 1:15.616 +2,310 mp
17. G. Pantano - Jordan-Ford - (B) - 1:16.192 +2,886 mp
18. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford - (B) - 1:16.310 +3,004 mp
19. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) - 1:18.055 +4,749 mp
20. B. Zsolt - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) - 1:18.400 +5,094 mp
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2004.07.16.
Michelin suggests new methods to decrease the speed of Formula 1
Michelin has proposed several new ways to reduce the speed of the cars in the Formula 1 World Championship.
It is more and more widely said in the world of Formula 1 that the cars are too fast. In order to decrease the speed one of the tyre manufacturer of the racing series proposed new ideas. The main goal is to decrease turning speed and costs and increase the spectacle of the race.
There are four proposals of Michelin which could be introduced in 2005:
- One set of tyres can be used at the practise and at the whole race
- 2-4 sets of dry tyres for every driver in one or two specification per racing weekend
- Primary and alternative tyres in the same specification for every team
- 6 sets of tyres per team for every test day (in accordance with the proposals of FIA and team principals to decrease dramatically the number of tests during the racing season).
Pierre Dupasquier Michelin Competition Director stated: their proposals are all capable of reaching the goals FIA would like to accomplish.
First, a harder mixture must be used in order to achieve a longer life span for the tyres, therefore they will have less grip and the speed will decrease. Moreover, to reach significant cost cuts, the number of the tests must be limited. If we deliver fewer tyres the cost of the tests will decrease further. The harder tyres leave fewer trails on the asphalt, the dirty tracks become history and the number of overtaking increases and that's what we are all looking for in the world of Formula 1.
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2004.07.13.
No one could beat Schumacher at Silverstone
Michael Schumacher got his 80th victory at the British GP. Kimi Raikkönnen with the McLaren finished second at this exciting race after a successful weekend. The other Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello got the third position. Zsolt Baumgartner retired in the 31st lap due to engine failure.
The pilots started the 60 lap long British race in a cold 17 C weather. Raikkönnen started excellently and gained some distance from the others. Meanwhile Jenson Button was trying to overtake Rubens Barrichello. Michael Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tacuma Sato and David Coulthard followed them.
On the first lap Sato took over Montoya but in the next lap the Columbian was able to take back his position taking advantage of the Japanese driver's mistake. Kimi Raikkönnen built up a lead of 3.5 seconds in just under a lap. For the 4th lap the leaders parted: Raikkönnen got away Barrichello was chasing him from a great distance Button and Schumacher were battling behind him.
On the 8th lap Fernando Alonso was the first to make his pit stop and a lap later Barrichello followed him from the 2nd place. On the 10th lap Coulthard arrived into the pits, his teammate drove into the pits a lap later together with Jenson Button. Raikkönnen arrived back right behind Sato then after several attempt he overtook him at the end of the finish straight. But this caused a lot of time loss to the Finnish pilot. Button overtook Barrichello during a pit stop and got to the second position. Meanwhile Schumacher kept on driving record lap times.
The German world champion visited the pits on the 15th lap then he returned before the leading Raikkönnen and took over the lead. On the 17th lap Olivier Panis retired, meanwhile Schumacher, Raikkönen, Button, Barichello, Fisichella, Montoya and Coulthard were leading the field. By then Fernando Alonso had got to the 11th position and started to attack Mark Webber. Zsolt Baumgartner took over his teammate and started to gain distance.
The obviously faster Kimi Raikkönnen caught up with Michael Schumacher and started to look for a place to overtake. Alonso and Mak Gené arrived to their technicians for the second refuelling on the 25th lap. Two laps later Button drove into the pits and in the following lap Raikkönnen and Barrichello arrived. The Brazilian took back his position in the pits from the pilot of BAR Honda. Slowly all car had their tyres replaced but some had a two stop strategy and kept on circling.
On the 31st lap the Minardi of Zsolt Baumgartner had an engine failure and retired. In the same lap Bruni visited the pit stop and swept away his refuelling mechanics. 23 laps to go Schumacher drove into the box for the second time and he returned to the track just before Raikkönnen. Raikkönnen attacked the world champion who held up the Finnish driver to make Barrichello catch up.
19 laps to go Jarno Trulli had a serious accident and the safety car was sent in; everybody used this opportunity to have their third pit stop. The Renault driver left the wreckage without injuries. Behind the safety car Raikkönnen, Barrichello and Button equalized the advantage of the two-stop strategy of Schumacher.
Schumacher, Raikkönen, Barichello, Button, Montoya, Fisichella, Coulthard, Webber were on the first eight, point worthy positions. Raikkönnen was looking for an opportunity to take over the German pilot but although the Mercedes was fast the Ferrari was even faster. On the 49th lap Pantano spun and ended his race in the gravel pit.
Michael Schumacher slowly lost his chasers and got his 10th GP victory this year. By the last laps the Brazilian pilot of Ferrari caught up with the Finnish driver but he was unable to take him over. Kimi Raikkönnen took the new McLaren to the second position, Rubens Barrichello, like on every other race this year, got scores again.
Ferrari increased his advantage as the Renaults finished without points now and BAR had to be satisfied with 5 points compared to the 16 points of Ferrari.
Michael Scumacher:
"I felt we had a very good strategy for the race but I did not think its advantages would show up so soon as I took over the lead just after the first pit stop. We sacrificed the qualifying to the tactics. The race was very close in some laps as the safety car took my convenient leading position."
Kimi Raikkönnen:
"I had a good start I tried to drive as fast as possible. After the pit stops I always lost time during the overlapping. The third set of tyres was not ideal which made it more difficult to follow Michael. It is a very good result for me and for the team as well because after a difficult season beginning we could find the right direction."
Rubens Barrichello:
"I had a very good race, after the start it was difficult to follow Kimi but I managed to close the distance. When the safety car came in the opportunity seemed to return but the car was not perfect. I was too far from Kimi I did not have a chance to overtake."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"I had an engine failure like in Bahrein I am really sorry about it. It was a great race we had a fair battle between us with my teammate. We made a little stronger competition but I always kept an eye on the faster cars."
Result of the British Grand Prix:
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari - (B) - 1h24:42.700
2. K. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 2.130
3. R. Barrichello - Ferrari - (B) + 3.114
4. J. Button - BAR-Honda - (M) + 10.683
5. J. P. Montoya - Williams-BMW - (M) + 12.173
6. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas - (B) + 12.888
7. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 19.668
8. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) + 23.701
9. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas - (B) + 24.023
10. F. Alonso - Renault - (M) + 24.835
11. T. Sato - BAR-Honda - (M) + 33.736
12. M. Gene - Williams-BMW - (M) + 34.303
13. C. da Matta - Toyota - (M) + 1 lap
14. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) + 1 lap
15. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford - (B) + 1 lap
16. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) + 4 lap
Driver's championship:
1. M. Schumacher 100
2. R. Barrichello 74
3. J. Button 53
4. J. Trulli 46
5. F. Alonso 33
6. J.P. Montoya 29
7. K. Räikkönen 18
8. T. Sato 14
8. D. Coulthard 14
10. G. Fisichella 13
11. R. Schumacher 12
12. F. Massa 5
12. O. Panis 5
14. M. Webber 4
15. N. Heidfeld 3
15. C. da Matta 3
17. T. Glock 2
18. Baumgartner Zs 1
Constructor's championship:
1. Ferrari 174
2. Renault 79
3. BAR 67
4. Williams 41
5. McLaren 32
6. Sauber 18
7. Toyota 8
8. Jordan 5
9. Jaguar 3
10. Minardi 1
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2004.07.11.
Rise of the McLaren?
Kimi Raikönnen took the pole position at the qualifying of the British GP for the first time this year. The at home very popular Jenson Button will start from the third, Michael Schumacher from the fourth grid position.
The teams were excited all day long about the weather as rain had been forecasted. At the end only clouds arrived there was no rain. Kimi Raikönnen showed as good performance as at the free practice and he can start from the pole position for the first time this year with his 1:18.233 lap time.
Nick Heidfeld delivered the first result but a bit later Jaguar pilot Marc Webber drove a new personal record time of 1:20.004 and beat his teammate Christian Klien as well.
Marc Gené could not show much at the wheel of the Williams but Juan Pablo Montoya was able to take over the lead for a few minutes. Michael Schumacher who had spun at the pre-qualifying ended the happiness of Montoya as he took over the lead with a lap time of 1:18.710. His teammate Rubens Barrichello did not wasted his time either and drove a best lap time of 1:18.305. David Coulthard with the McLaren was only able to take the third position of Montoya.
Zsolt Baumgartner did not show as good performance as at the free practices and took the 19th place with a lap time of 1:24.117. Gianmaria Bruni in the other Minardi made a 0.7 second better lap time and grabbed the 18th position. The Minardi team will start sadly the race as their Sporting Director John Walton died at Friday evening.
Christiano da Matta took the 14th position with the Toyota. Alonso drove the sixth best lap time but he had to start the race from 10 positions behind because the engine was changed in his car. Jarno Trulli got to the fourth place with his car.
Olivier Panis drove very slowly on the track and unfortunately held up Sauber driver Felipe Massa who can only start from the 11th position because of this incident. The Toyota driver was penalized for this action by the FIA: he will start the race from the last place.
After a good start Jenson Button was only able to reach the third position. Therefore he will start from before Michael Schumacher.
Giancarlo Fisichella:
"Because of the penalty we decided to stay in the pits sparing the tyres and fuel. If I could choose I would like to have a rain tomorrow."
Felipe Massa:
"It is unbelievable what happened! I don't know what Panis wanted and I said it to him personally. He must have seen me and must have known I would catch up with him with such a high speed. His team must have warned him as well. One can spare the tyres and the fuel with driving on the side of the track too but he did not do so. He was in my way; he braked on the ideal curve. Without this incident I could have been 9th and I am totally disappointed because the car was great. It was not fair."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"At Minardi we did not make strategies rather we tried to give full throttle on the track in memoriam of our Sporting Director John Walton who died at Friday night."
"The engineers valued my performance as maximally satisfying but I am not completely satisfied with it."
"Fortunately the gearbox failure of Friday is gone today I haven't got similar difficulties at all. I am waiting for the race curiously as the car behaved well and we did not have problems with the setup either. It would be nice if the long awaited rain would finally arrive."
Results of the qualifying in British Grand Prix
1. K. Raikkönen - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) - 1:18.233
2. R. Barrichello - Ferrari - (B) - 1:18.305 +0,072 mp
3. J. Button - BAR-Honda - (M) - 1:18.580 +0,347 mp
4. M. Schumacher - Ferrari - (B) - 1:18.710 +0,477 mp
5. J. Trulli - Renault - (M) - 1:18.715 +0,482 mp
6. F. Alonso - Renault - (M) - 1:18.811 +0,578 mp
7. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) - 1:19.148 +0,915 mp
8. J. P. Montoya - Williams-BMW - (M) - 1:19.378 +1,145 mp
9. T. Sato - BAR-Honda - (M) - 1:19.688 +1,455 mp
10. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) - 1:20.004 +1,771 mp
11. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas - (B) - 1:20.202 +1,969 mp
12. O. Panis - Toyota - (M) - 1:20.335 +2,102 mp
13. M. Gene - Williams-BMW - (M) - 1:20.335 +2,102 mp
14. C. da Matta - Toyota - (M) - 1:20.545 +2,312 mp
15. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) - 1:21.559 +3,326 mp
16. G. Pantano - Jordan-Ford - (B) - 1:22.458 +4,225 mp
17. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford - (B) - 1:22.677 +4,444 mp
18. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) - 1:23.437 +5,204 mp
19. B. Zsolt - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) - 1:24.117 +5,884 mp
20. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas - (B) –
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2004.07.05.
Ferrari's triumph
The Ferrari team took another 16 points with outstanding performance. Schumacher won the race with a four-stop race strategy, Barrichello finished third after having started from the 10th position. Alonso who started from the pole position became second at the end.
In sunny weather with 27 ?C air and 43 ?C asphalt temperature the 10th race of the Formula 1 World championship the French Grand Prix started.
Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher sprinted smoothly after the start. After overtaking David Coulthard and Jenson Button Jarno Trulli took the third position. Coulthard fell back to the fifth place; Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Raikönnen and Rubens Barrichello followed him. Olivier Panis with his Toyota stood still at the start and became the last.
After the start the field made its laps without disturbance while Alonso and Schumacher gained distance from the other pilots with lap times around 1:16. In the 11th lap Schumacher came out for his first pit stop, in the same lap Zsolt Baumgartner and Kimi Raikönnen also visited the pit. A lap later David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello arrived to the pits followed by Trulli.
Fernando Alonso could stay 3 laps longer on the track, which was enough for him to be able to overtake Michael Schumacher on returning. Between them Sato was driving but he drove into the pits only in the following lap. The field was mixed up a little after the pit stops. In the 16th lap the engine in Tacuma Sato's Honda failed and forced the Japanese pilot to retire. A lap later in the finish straight Montoya spun and fell back to the ninth place. At that moment Alonso had a lead of 2.5 seconds in front of Schumacher, behind them Trulli, button, Coulthard, Barrichello, Massa, Raikönnen, Montoya, Webber was fighting for the better positions.
Driving faster laps Schumacher caught up with Alonso's Renault but the overlapping hindered him. In the 28th lap the second phase of pit stops started. Kimi Raikönnen arrived first to the pits, whom Michael Schumacher followed a lap later. The pilots arrived one after the other to the pits to get new tyres. Although Schumacher was driving a heavier car he drove a new lap record twice. Alonso remained in vain on the track with the lighter car 3 laps longer Schumacher took over the lead.
36 laps to go Zsolt Baumgartner spun and unfortunately ended his race in the gravel pit. Schumacher started to gain a minimal distance from Alonso, behind whom Trulli, Button and Barrichello was driving within a 1 second interval compared to each other.
28 laps to go the world champion of the Ferrari arrived to his third pit stop and after a very short refuelling he continued the race on the second place. When Alonso 4 laps later drove out to the pits he took over again the lead. In the following laps all other teams had their pit stops. For the third place there was a big fight, after the pit stops Trulli was on the third place behind him Barrichello and Button were battling. The Brazilian was able to overtake the British pilot when he returned in front of him from the pits and did not have enough momentum.
13 laps to go Michael Schumacher drove out to the pits for the fourth time and with this never before seen tactical movement Ferrari made a real impact. Alonso was 7 seconds behind the world champion but Schumacher was still gaining distance. For the third position Barrichello was chasing Trulli and 1.5 seconds behind them Jenson Button was racing. The two McLarens were following them with Raikönnen on the lead. The last point worthy place was taken by Montoya.
The battle between Trulli and Barrichello made the end of the race still exciting. In the turn before the last turn of the last lap the Brazilian pinned in his car next to the Italian and overtook him. Barrichello started from the 10th place and at the end he could stand on the third podium. In Magny Cours Michael Schumacher won his ninth race this year and grabbed another ten championship points. Fernando Alonso drove at the third part of the race with his own speed taking his best result this year.
Result of the French Garnd Prix:
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari - (B) - 1h:30.18.133
2. F. Alonso - Renault - (M) + 8.329 s
3. R. Barrichello - Ferrari - (B) + 31.622 s
4. J. Trulli - Renault - (M) + 32.082 s
5. J. Button - BAR-Honda - (M) + 32.484 s
6. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 35.520 s
7. K. Raikkönen - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 36.230 s
8. J. P. Montoya - Williams-BMW - (M) + 43.4419 s
9. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) + 52.394 s
10. M. Gene - Williams-BMW - (M) + 58.175 s
11. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) + 1 lap
12. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas - (B) + 1 lap
13. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas - (B) + 1 lap
14. C. da Matta - Toyota - (M) + 1 lap
15. O. Panis - Toyota - (M) + 2 lap
16. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford - (B) + 2 lap
17. G. Pantano - Jordan-Ford - (B) + 3 lap
18. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) + 4 lap
Michael Schumacher:
"We decided to change after the second pit stop. We risked it as Ross decided, but we needed the important work of the technicians who did their job flawlessly. I did not have great expectations at the start of the race, the speed of Fernando surprised me, he was able to hold it much longer than we expected. The pit lane is quite short on this track, which was taken into the calculations. We grabbed the opportunity and we made it."
Fernando Alonso:
"The second place was the maximum we could achieve so I am satisfied. I had good tyres I was able to stay longer on the track during the first two pit stops. I was surprised at the strategy of Ferrari we could not match the speed Michael was driving at. It was difficult to catch up with him."
Rubens Barrichello:
"Every driver showed me respect at the track nobody caused trouble. Jarno made a mistake at turn 13 he slowed down too much so I was able to get alongside him at turn 15. The overtaking was worth the try."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"I had a good start and a good race as long as I was in because I had better lap times than my teammate. Generally it was my fault I had spun off the ideal lane I hope it won't happen again. I chose good tyres and for this race the aerodynamic package of the car improved. The form of the chassis over the engine changed, a new wing had been installed and the way of the airflow had been modified at the back of the car."
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 90
2. R. Barrichello 68
3. J. Button 48
4. J. Trulli 46
5. F. Alonso 33
6. J.P. Montoya 25
7. T. Sato 14
8. D. Coulthard 12
8. R. Schumacher 12
10. K. Räikkönen 10
10. G. Fisichella 10
12. F. Massa 5
12. O. Panis 5
14. C. da Matta 3
14. N. Heidfeld 3
14. M. Webber 3
17. T. Glock 2
18. Zsolt Baumgartner 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 158
2. Renault 79
3. BAR 62
4. Williams 37
5. McLaren 22
6. Sauber 15
7. Toyota 8
8. Jordan 5
9. Jaguar 3
10. Minardi 1
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2004.07.03.
Alonso took the pole in Magny Cours
Renault driver Fernando Alonso was the fastest at the qualifying of the French GP, he can start from the first grid position on Sunday. Michael Schumacher became second while David Coulthard took the third position with his new car.
A hydraulic failure had been discovered in Rubens Barrichello's car therefore the Brazilian pilot missed the pre-qualifying. At the qualifying his speed was only enough to get into the middle of the field, he can start from the 5th row on Sunday. After Barrichello the two Minardis entered the track and their pilots got the starting positions of the 10th row as usual in the current conditions. Zsolt Baumgartner made a mistake in his timed lap, which caused time loss, and he became 20th.
After the Italian team the Jordan pilots arrived and they duly got the 17th and 18th starting positions. Heidfeld was faster than Pantano by 0.6 second. The next five pilots were Giancarlo Fisichella, Mark Webber, Christian Klien, then Felipe Massa and Olivier Panis. As the other drivers before their times were behind Barrichello's.
Then the real challenge started. First the Ralf Schumacher substitute Marc Gene grabbed the leading position then Tacuma Sato and Jarno Trulli beat the fastest time. Trulli's first position wasn't long living as BAR pilot Jenson Button drove an even faster lap and became the first to complete a lap within 1 minute 14 seconds. His 1:13.995 time was enough for the fourth position on the grid at the end.
Fernando Alonso followed them and completely knocked out the competition at the home race of Renault. Later others nearly matched his lap time but the Spanish driver performed so well in the third sector no one could beat him. This way Alonso got his third pole position in his career.
The McLaren team took his new MP 4-19B car to Magny Cours. Kimi Raikönnen was unable to deliver the expected results so far; he only drove the 6th best time. His teammate David Coulthard made the mood of the team better as having driven a good time he can start from the third position.
The six-time world champion Michael Schumacher started his timed lap with a great impulse in the first sector he was the fastest. Then in the second and third sectors he lost time compared to Alonso and his lap time was only enough for the second starting position.
The Williams team was very disappointed when Juan Pablo Montoya, who was the fastest in the pre-qualifying, only made it to the 6th position in the qualifying due to a mistake.
Results of the Qualifying in Mgny Cours
1. - Alonso - Renault (M) 24.017 - 1:13.698
2. - M.Schumacher - Ferrari (B) 1:13.971 + 0.273
3. - Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:13.987 + 0.289
4. - Button - BAR-Honda (M) 1:13.995 + 0.297
5. - Trulli - Renault (M) 1:14.070 + 0.372
6. - Montoya - Williams-BMW (M) 1:14.172 + 0.474
7. - Sato - BAR-Honda (M) 1:14.240 + 0.542
8. - Gene - Williams-BMW (M) 1:14.275 + 0.577
9. - Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:14.346 + 0.648
10. - Barrichello - Ferrari (B) 1:14.478 + 0.780
11. - da Matta - Toyota (M) 1:14.553 + 0.855
12. - Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:14.798 + 1.100
13. - Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:15.065 + 1.367
14. - Panis - Toyota (M) 1:15.130 + 1.432
15. - Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:16.177 + 2.479
16. - Massa - Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:16.200 + 2.502
17. - Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:16.807 + 3.109
18. - Pantano - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:17.462 + 3.764
19. - Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:17.913 + 4.215
20. - Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:18.247 + 4.549
Fernando Alonso:
"It is great to start from the pole position at the home race of the team. I am even more pleased with the pole than usual. We shall not forget that the tomorrow race is the most important, and we will see what tomorrow will bring."
Michael Schumacher:
"I did not expect this position, our strategy tomorrow will be decisive. We possibly have to change it during the race, as yesterday we were unable to run an endurance test."
David Coulthard:
"I am satisfied with the result, it showed we are making progress in our development. I am very happy that the hard work all the team do is successful."
Baumgartner Zsolt
"At the qualifying we started with a fuelled car but even this would not have made a bad lap time if I had not made a mistake. I managed to stay on the track with the car but I have to admit again it is very risky to drive the Minardi on the edge. To sum things up I am happy as the car behaved quite well. We seem to have found a good setup: the car improved much especially at the fast sections of the track."
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2004.06.21.
Schumacher wins, Baumgartner takes a point
Michael Schumacher took his seventh victory this year. His teammate Barrichello got second BAR pilot Sato took the third position. Zsolt Baumgartner finished on the eighth position taking the first point for Minardi this year.
The formation lap had not even started when the first unexpected event happened as Juan Pablo Montoya left his car on the grid and ran into the pits to take his spare car.
At the start Rubens Barrichello sprinted smoothly while Michael Schumacher battled fiercely with Takuma Sato. Fernando Alonso made an amazing start. In the finish straight he jumped from the ninth position to the fourth then in the first corner he even drove round the outside of Sato. Christian Klien hit Felipe Massa in the first corner and after the carnage Jordan driver Pantano and Minardi pilot Bruni retired.
The safety car was sent in and remained on the track for four laps. At that moment Schumacher, Alonso, Sato, Raikönnen and Button followed the leading Barrichello. After the safety car had left the track Schumacher took over Barrichello. Fernando Alonso in the 8th lap got a right rear tyre puncture at the end of the finish straight and slipped into the wall with a speed of approximately 300 kph. Fortunately the pilot got out of the car without a scratch.
In the 10th lap Ralf Schumacher spun in the final corner and crashed into the outside wall with an enormous speed. The teams immediately reacted and when only the yellow flags were waved they called several pilots into the pits. First Schumacher then directly after him Barrichello made his pit stop. Raikönnen, Trulli and Panis also refuelled. By that time the safety car was already on the track. Schumacher could return the first position, behind him Sato, Button, Webber, Montoya, Raikönnen, Barrichello were the next.
It took a long time to free Ralf Schumacher from his car, as he was unable to get out of it on his own. According to the first medical tests he suffered no major injuries in the accident. Meanwhile Mark Webber made a pit stop where the front wing of his Jaguar was replaced and he came back as last. The Toyota of Cristiano da Matta got a mechanical failure during the safety car phase and the Brazilian pilot retired from the race.
19 laps after the start the safety car left the track for the second time and the race was "restarted". The first three drivers Schumacher, Sato and Button gained distance from the field. At the faster parts of the track the Ferrari driver could shake down his chasers but at the slower sections BAR pilots closed the gap. In the 24th lap Button made a pit stop and returned to the eleventh position. A lap later Sato also visited the pits and returned in front of his teammate. Meanwhile Montoya took the second position.
Button in the 27th lap simply drove into the pits and retired from the race. At the same time his teammate took over Coulthard and then Fisichella. Raikönnen in the 29th lap made again a pit stop to refuel. After returning he overtook Mark Webber with a brilliant manoeuvre and a half lap later he overtook his teammate as well.
At that moment Schumacher, Montoya, Barrichello, Trulli and Panis were on the lead. In the 35th lap Raikönnen made his third pit stop, his car was not working properly. In the same lap Montoya visited his team in the pits for the first time. Three laps later nick Heidfeld refuelled for the second time.
Meanwhile Sato caught up with the Toyota of Olivier Panis and chased it for a while, and then in the difficult mid-sector he overtook the French driver. In the 41st lap Michael Schumacher made his second pit stop from the lead and then he returned to the third position.
Nick Heidfeld drove onto the grass in the 44th lap so the second Jordan retired from the race as well. Meanwhile Takuma Sato made his second pit stop and a lap later Jarno Trulli and Toyota driver Olivier Panis and then David Coulthard followed him.
Giancarlo Fisichella got a puncture in the 48th lap and had to drive into the pits; then he was able to return to the tenth position. Rubens Barrichello made his second planned pit stop in the 49th lap. Returning to the track he got right behind the leading Michael Schumacher and started to attack him. It was a fantastic battle between the two Ferraris. Behind them Montoya, Trulli, Sato and Panis were driving.
16 laps later Montoya was disqualified from the race because of using his spare car. 4 laps later the Jaguar of Webber caught fire and the pilot retired. Meanwhile Sato caught up with Trulli and in the fight both of them left the track. Both driver managed to return but Sato became third and Trulli fourth.
6 laps before the finish the Sauber of Fisichella slowed down and Zsolt Baumgartner took the point-worthy eighth position. Michael Schumacher won the Grand Prix, teammate Barrichello became second. Takuma Sato crossed the finish line as third. Zsolt Baumgartner took the first point of his career and the first point of Minardi for this year as he got the eighth position with the Cosworth-engined car.
This was the sixth and third-in-a-row double victory of Ferrari. Michael Schumacher has won seven from the eight GPs so far in 2004. Takuma Sato wrote history, as he had been the first Japanese driver for 14 years who could stand on the podium at a Formula 1 GP.
Michael Schumacher:
"I was very concerned when I saw Ralf in the car for so long. The team kept on telling me that things were going well with him. But it did not calm me. Ralf is OK and that's the most important thing now. Behind Rubens I managed to get into the slipstream and then I was able to overtake him."
Rubens Barrichello:
"I had a lot of wheel spin and that's why Michael could get past. Later I did not have enough space to keep my position. I lost the race when during the second safety car phase I drove into the pits and when I returned I lost my position."
Takuma Sato:
"It is a really great result not only for me but also for the team. I was really surprised when after the start Alonso got past of me. But during the safety car phase the situation normalized. I was very concerned about Ralf's situation. But my car worked fine and I could drive it hard which helped me to catch up."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"Success, we made it! I am really happy and all the members of the team are happy too. It was a very interesting start; I touched one of the Jordans a little. Then I was able to drive with a good constant speed during the whole race, I made lap times under 1:15.000, which was a good racing speed. The second part of my race was really about to finish with the car."
Result of the USA Grand Prix (Indianapolis):
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari - (B) - 1:40:29.914
2. R. Barrichello - Ferrari - (B) + 2.950 mp
3. T. Sato - BAR-Honda - (M) + 22.036 mp
4. J. Trulli - Renault - (M) + 34.544 mp
5. O. Panis - Toyota - (M) + 37.534 mp
6. K. Raikkönen - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 1 kör
7. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 1 kör
8. Baumgartner Zsolt - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) + 3 kör
9. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas - (B) + 4 kör
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 80
2. R. Barrichello 62
3. J. Button 44
4. J. Trulli 41
5. F. Alonso 25
6. J.P. Montoya 24
7. T. Sato 14
8. R. Schumacher 12
9. G. Fisichella 10
10. D. Coulthard 9
11. K. Räikkönen 8
12. F. Massa 5
12. O. Panis 5
14. C. da Matta 3
14. N. Heidfeld 3
14. M. Webber 3
17. T. Glock 2
18. Baumgartner Zsolt 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 142
2. Renault 66
3. BAR 58
4. Williams 36
5. McLaren 17
6. Sauber 15
7. Toyota 8
8. Jordan 5
9. Jaguar 3
10. Minardi 1
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2004.07.03.
Alonso took the pole in Magny Cours
Renault driver Fernando Alonso was the fastest at the qualifying of the French GP, he can start from the first grid position on Sunday. Michael Schumacher became second while David Coulthard took the third position with his new car.
A hydraulic failure had been discovered in Rubens Barrichello's car therefore the Brazilian pilot missed the pre-qualifying. At the qualifying his speed was only enough to get into the middle of the field, he can start from the 5th row on Sunday. After Barrichello the two Minardis entered the track and their pilots got the starting positions of the 10th row as usual in the current conditions. Zsolt Baumgartner made a mistake in his timed lap, which caused time loss, and he became 20th.
After the Italian team the Jordan pilots arrived and they duly got the 17th and 18th starting positions. Heidfeld was faster than Pantano by 0.6 second. The next five pilots were Giancarlo Fisichella, Mark Webber, Christian Klien, then Felipe Massa and Olivier Panis. As the other drivers before their times were behind Barrichello's.
Then the real challenge started. First the Ralf Schumacher substitute Marc Gene grabbed the leading position then Tacuma Sato and Jarno Trulli beat the fastest time. Trulli's first position wasn't long living as BAR pilot Jenson Button drove an even faster lap and became the first to complete a lap within 1 minute 14 seconds. His 1:13.995 time was enough for the fourth position on the grid at the end.
Fernando Alonso followed them and completely knocked out the competition at the home race of Renault. Later others nearly matched his lap time but the Spanish driver performed so well in the third sector no one could beat him. This way Alonso got his third pole position in his career.
The McLaren team took his new MP 4-19B car to Magny Cours. Kimi Raikönnen was unable to deliver the expected results so far; he only drove the 6th best time. His teammate David Coulthard made the mood of the team better as having driven a good time he can start from the third position.
The six-time world champion Michael Schumacher started his timed lap with a great impulse in the first sector he was the fastest. Then in the second and third sectors he lost time compared to Alonso and his lap time was only enough for the second starting position.
The Williams team was very disappointed when Juan Pablo Montoya, who was the fastest in the pre-qualifying, only made it to the 6th position in the qualifying due to a mistake.
Results of the Qualifying in Mgny Cours
1. - Alonso - Renault (M) 24.017 - 1:13.698
2. - M.Schumacher - Ferrari (B) 1:13.971 + 0.273
3. - Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:13.987 + 0.289
4. - Button - BAR-Honda (M) 1:13.995 + 0.297
5. - Trulli - Renault (M) 1:14.070 + 0.372
6. - Montoya - Williams-BMW (M) 1:14.172 + 0.474
7. - Sato - BAR-Honda (M) 1:14.240 + 0.542
8. - Gene - Williams-BMW (M) 1:14.275 + 0.577
9. - Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:14.346 + 0.648
10. - Barrichello - Ferrari (B) 1:14.478 + 0.780
11. - da Matta - Toyota (M) 1:14.553 + 0.855
12. - Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:14.798 + 1.100
13. - Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:15.065 + 1.367
14. - Panis - Toyota (M) 1:15.130 + 1.432
15. - Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:16.177 + 2.479
16. - Massa - Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:16.200 + 2.502
17. - Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:16.807 + 3.109
18. - Pantano - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:17.462 + 3.764
19. - Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:17.913 + 4.215
20. - Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:18.247 + 4.549
Fernando Alonso:
"It is great to start from the pole position at the home race of the team. I am even more pleased with the pole than usual. We shall not forget that the tomorrow race is the most important, and we will see what tomorrow will bring."
Michael Schumacher:
"I did not expect this position, our strategy tomorrow will be decisive. We possibly have to change it during the race, as yesterday we were unable to run an endurance test."
David Coulthard:
"I am satisfied with the result, it showed we are making progress in our development. I am very happy that the hard work all the team do is successful."
Baumgartner Zsolt
"At the qualifying we started with a fuelled car but even this would not have made a bad lap time if I had not made a mistake. I managed to stay on the track with the car but I have to admit again it is very risky to drive the Minardi on the edge. To sum things up I am happy as the car behaved quite well. We seem to have found a good setup: the car improved much especially at the fast sections of the track."
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2004.06.19.
Barrichello took the pole position in the USA
Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello got the pole position at the qualifying of the United States Grand Prix. His teammate Michael Schumacher got second, BAR pilot Takuma Sato became third. Zsolt Baumgartner drove the 19th time.
After having dominated the whole weekend Barrichello had won the three free practices and the pre-qualifying he did not find a challenger at the qualifying either. The Brazilian pilot took the 10th pole position of his career. Michael Schumacher six-time world champion of Ferrari can start from the second position in spite of the mistake he made during his timed lap. This can be seen on the sector times, as the German pilot was the fastest in the first and third sectors but only ninth in the mid-sector.
BAR pilots drove as usual this year outstanding times. The Japanese pilot of the team was the faster this time; Sato drove the third best time with a 0,378 second delay. Button was slower than him with 0,2 second and took the second grid in the second row.
The two Williams took the third row with almost identical lap times. Juan Pablo Montoya was slightly faster and took the fifth position while Ralf Schumacher can start from the sixth grid position. Although the car of McLaren is still not competitive, Kimi Raikönnen got closer to the lead than David Coulthard. The young Finn was less than 1 second behind Barrichello and became seventh while Coulthard got an almost 2 second delay which was only enough for the 12th position.
Renault surprisingly made a rather poor performance; Fernando Alonso became ninth behind Toyota driver Olivier Panis while Jarno Trulli did not drive a valid timed lap. Trulli did not make a fast lap because of mechanical failure and he will probably start from the pits.
Mark Webber was again the faster from the two Jaguars, the Australian drove tenth while Christian Klien the thirteenth best time at the qualifying. The two Saubers qualified behind Klien. Fisichella was faster than his teammate Felipe Massa with almost 0,2 second.
Behind the Saubers the two Jordans were faster as usual than the Minardis. The sequence this time was: Heidfeld, Pantano, Bruni, Baumgartner.
Drivers' quotes:
Rubens Barrichello:
"It is great to take the pole position. I am satisfied because I drove an excellent lap. The car was great we had managed to improve it since yesterday and in the pre-qualifying we made further improvements. Before the timed lap I was a little afraid of making a mistake but it did not happen."
Michael Schumacher:
"I am happy about the second position as with Rubens we both start from the first row. I would have liked to be first but I did not manage to make it. In the mid-sector I had difficulties that's why I expected to finish in an even lower position."
Tacuma Sato:
"Yesterday the free practice did not go very well but the team made a great job and managed to improve the car. I am happy about the third position. We have confidence in reaching the Ferraris tomorrow."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"The cars keep on behaving quite extremely, not even two days were enough to find the right setup, so we are expecting a very tiring race. I hope I can make a constant balanced performance tomorrow like in the previous races which will bring me a good finishing position."
Results of the Qualifying is USA:
1. - Barrichello - Ferrari (B) 1:10.223
2. - M.Schumacher - Ferrari (B) 1:10.400 + 0.177
3. - Sato - BAR-Honda (M) 1:10.601 + 0.378
4. - Button - BAR-Honda (M) 1:10.820 + 0.597
5. - Montoya - Williams-BMW (M) 1:11.062 + 0.839
6. - R.Schumacher - Williams-BMW (M) 1:11.106 + 0.883
7. - Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:11.137 + 0.914
8. - Panis - Toyota (M) 1:11.167 + 0.944
9. - Alonso - Renault (M) 1:11.185 + 0.962
10. - Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:11.286 + 1.063
11. - da Matta - Toyota (M) 1:11.691 + 1.468
12. - Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:12.026 + 1.803
13. - Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:12.170 + 1.947
14. - Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:12.470 + 2.247
15. - Massa - Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:12.721 + 2.498
16. - Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:13.147 + 2.924
17. - Pantano - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:13.375 + 3.152
18. - Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:14.010 + 3.787
19. - Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:14.812 + 4.589
20. - Trulli - Renault (M) - dnt
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2004.06.15.
Williams and Toyota disqualified after the Canadian GP
The cars of BMW and Toyota were disqualified at the technical supervision after the Canadian Grand Prix. This resulted in a Ferrari double victory for the fifth time this year.
Because of using irregular brake ducts the teams of BMW Williams and Toyota were disqualified at the technical supervision after the Canadian Grand Prix. This is a rather important issue as on the Gilles Villeneuve track brakes are in a very extensive use during the race. As not only the teams but also the drivers lost their gathered points, the race became another double Ferrari victory. Jenson Button got third and he is now only 10 points behind Barrichello and BAR Honda closed the distance to Renault.
The Williams team has admitted the fault and they are not willing to appeal against the decision.
Result of the Canadian Grand Prix (Modified):
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari - (B) - 1:28:24.803
2. R. Barrichello - Ferrari - (B) + 5.108
3. J. Button - BAR-Honda - (M) + 20.409
4. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas - (B) + 1 lap
5. K. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 1 lap
6. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 1 lap
7. T. Glock - Jordan-Ford - (B) + 2 lap
8. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford - (B) + 2 lap
9. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) + 3 lap
10. Zs. Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) + 4 lap
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 70
2. R. Barrichello 54
3. J. Button 44
4. J. Trulli 36
5. F. Alonso 25
6. J.P. Montoya 24
7. R. Schumacher 12
8. G. Fisichella 10
9. T. Sato 8
10. D. Coulthard 7
11. F. Massa 5
11. K. Räikkönen 5
13. M. Webber 3
13. C. da Matta 3
13. N. Heidfeld 3
16. T. Glock 2
17. O. Panis 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 124
2. Renault 61
3. BAR 52
4. Williams 36
5. Sauber 15
6. McLaren 12
7. Jordan 5
8. Toyota 4
9. Jaguar 3
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2004.06.13.
Schumacher: Lucky seven
Starting from the sixth position Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won the Canadian Grand Prix. His brother Ralf and his teammate Rubens Barrichello finished behind him.
At the start of the Canadian Grand Prix the Ferrari hegemony seemed to be over at last as the two Ferraris got only the sixth and seventh position at the qualifying. Their competitors were ahead of them, Takuma Sato and Gianmaria Bruni waited for the start in the pits. Ralf Schumacher sprinted smoothly at the start; Button, Alonso, Montoya, M. Schumacher, Raikönnen, Barrichello and da Matta followed him. Jarno Trulli's Renault had a suspension failure so his race was over even before the chicane. After the start David Coulthard spun and made the two Jaguars hit each other. Weber had a puncture and had to visit the pits before planned.
Rubens Barrichello kept on attacking Kimi Raikönnen, and at the seventh lap he finally took him over.
Ralf Schumacher gained some distance from his chasers, he gathered 4 seconds till the 14th lap when he drove into the pits. Before him Coulthard, Raikönnen, Button and Montoya had already visited the pits. The younger Schumacher managed to do a good pit stop and come back to the fourth position. It was not the case with Renault pilot Alonso, who stood 17 seconds long among his technicians because the refuelling device did not work. At the 17th lap Kimi Raikönnen got a drive through penalty because he had crossed the line at the exit of the pits.
At that point it became more and more clear Ferrari had chosen another strategy than the other top teams and they would only drive into the pits two times. First Barrichello (in the 18th lap) then Schumacher visited the pits. R. Schumacher, Button, M. Schumacher, Montoya, Barrichello, Alonso was in the lead of the field. In the 20th lap Nick Heidfeld ran over one of his mechanics that got fortunately just smaller injuries.
The world champions arrived back to the track ahead of Montoya who tailed him and started to attack the German driver. Williams seemed to decide it was better for Montoya not to battle with Schumacher and called the Columbian into the pits for the second time. Others followed him, so the two Ferraris took over the lead. Ralf Schumacher arrived back to the track behind them followed by Alonso and Button.
Zsolt Baumgartner spun in the 27th lap but he managed to continue the race. His teammate Bruni got a drive through penalty in the 32nd lap because of speeding in the pits. But he was not able to do the penalty as his car broke down and he had to retire.
Tacuma Sato spun in the 42nd lap while he was overtaking Olivier Panis, but he was able to continue. Alonso retired in the 45th lap because of a mechanical failure. Then came Barrichello out for his second pit stop. Schumacher stayed another two laps on the track and gathered a 6 second advantage ahead of his brother. He was able to return to the track behind Ralf but ahead of Button and Montoya. After a lap Ralf Schumacher made his third pit stop and let the leading position to his brother Michael. The younger Schumacher came back as second ahead of Barrichello. They finished the race in the same order.
Takuma Sato's car did not hold out till the end of the race, the Honda engine broke down for the third time this year, now at the 49th lap. Five laps before the end Massa caused extra excitement when he hit the rubber wall with a high speed destroying his car.
Although everyone expected Montoya to tail and attack Button driving ahead of him this was not the case. So the Englishman could keep his fourth position.
Although Kimi Raikönnen made a fifth pit stop, after changing the steering wheel he got to the seventh position and gained two points. This helped Fisichella to finish at the sixth position.
Michael Schumacher got his seventh victory this year and seventy-seventh victory overall at the eighth race of the 2004 Formula One world championship. And this was his 7th victory in Canada.
Michael Schumacher:
"We had a brilliant strategy but our rivals' problems helped us much. My car was again excellent and we invented a great strategy. We calculated well while others made two pit stops, we made three in the same time. I am satisfied."
Ralf Schumacher:
"I am happy with my second position I could improve compared to the past weeks. But this is not enough for winning a race we must keep on working hard to be able to be even bette."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"It was a very difficult race with lots of mistakes. Unfortunately I had to fight with car a lot. Once I spun because of Kliens mistake but I was able to stop and the car did not get damaged. He miscalculated it and hit me from the back. Unfortunately it took me a long time until I was able to return to the track. It is very positive: I was able to finish on three following races, this is very important for the team."
Result of the Canadian Grand Prix:
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari - (B) - 1:28:24.803
2. R. Schumacher - Williams-BMW - (M) + 1.062
3. R. Barrichello - Ferrari - (B) + 5.108
4. J. Button - BAR-Honda - (M) + 20.409
5. J. P. Montoya - Williams-BMW - (M) + 21.200
6. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas - (B) + 1 kör
7. K. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 1 kör
8. C. da Matta - Toyota - (M) + 1 kör
9. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - (M) + 1 kör
10. O. Panis - Toyota - (M) + 1 kör
11. T. Glock - Jordan-Ford - (B) + 2 kör
12. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford - (B) + 2 kör
13. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth - (M) + 3 kör
14. Baumgartner Zsolt - Minardi-Cosworth - (B) + 4 kör
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 70 pont
2. R. Barrichello 52
3. J. Button 43
4. J. Trulli 36
5. J.P. Montoya 28
6. F. Alonso 25
7. R. Schumacher 20
8. T. Sato 8
8. G. Fisichella 8
10. F. Massa 5
11. C. da Matta 4
11. D. Coulthard 4
13. K. Räikkönen 3
13. M. Webber 3
15. N. Heidfeld 2
16. O. Panis 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 122 pont
2. Renault 61
3. BAR 51
4. Williams 48
5. Sauber 13
6. McLaren 7
7. Toyota 5
8. Jaguar 3
9. Jordan 2
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2004.06.13.
Ralf Schumacher won Montreal qualifying
Ralf Schumacher grabbed the first pole position this year for BMW at the Canadian Grand Prix. Behind him BAR pilot Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli from Renault await the start.
At an air temperature of 22 oC and asphalt temperature of 44 oC the qualifying of the eighth Grand Prix of the Formula 1 World Championship started. The Ferraris lost their dominance already in the pre-qualifying; it was taken over by Renaults, BAR-Hondas and BMWs.
Minardi pilot Gianmaria Bruni started the qualifying but he did not drive a timed lap because he drove into the pits at the end of his first lap. This was not truly a surprise as his car had broken down in the pre-qualifying and he could only start from the end of the grid. After his teammate Zsolt Baumgartner arrived who was faster in the pre-qualifying than the Italian pilot. Baumgartner started the qualifying with a lap time of 1:17.064.
The two Jordans followed the two Minardis. First the test pilot of the team started, Timo Glock was a replacement in the car for Pantano, who had financial difficulities. Glock took over the lead but only for the time his teammate, Nick Heidfeld, drove his timed lap. But he couldn't be happy for a long time as Jaguar pilot Kristian Klien made a better lap than him. This time the young Austrian driver was faster than the following Webber but the Australian's mistake was also a cause for this. Felippe Massa did not make a timed lap so he had to start from the end of the field.
As Rubens Barrichellos time was not particularly good, he entered the track relatively soon in the qualifying. This time he did not have better luck; in a corner he even made a braking mistake.
Although the new McLaren Mercedes is already being tested, the team took the old car into Canada. It was not surprising that Raikönnen took only the eighth and David Coulthard only the ninth position.
Compared to himself Michael Schumacher started slower this time which made him to visit the track in the midfield. Although he temporarily took over the lead in the qualifying his performance was obviously not enough and not really convincing.
The BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button followed him and Button was faster with more than a second. At the end this sound performance turned out not to be enough, the British racer starts from the second position tomorrow. Renault pilot Jarno Trulli was also faster than Michael Schumacher but he couldn't beat Button, which made his time then the second best.
Tacuma Sato was in an excellent form during the whole weekend and he seemed not to give up the front row this time, but he spun at the last chicane. Fortunately he did not crash into anything and could finish his lap but he lost a lot of time and became 17th.
Fernando Alonso also beat the six-time world champion but he could not beat Trulli this time. The Columbian star of BMW-Williams, Montoya achieved the same result due to a greater braking. In the pre-qualifying Ralf Schumacher was the fastest so he was the last to come out of the pits. In the qualifying he kept on driving fast and got the pole position. It is the first time this year the German driver could start from the first grid.
Ralf Schumacher
"I am surprised about this result because we had brake problems earlier. The team made a great job in getting the car right. The original aim was to get into the first five so I am very pleased."
Jenson Button:
"I made a little mistake which made me loose time, but I am satisfied with the result as I was one second faster than Michael and I have Jarno behind me."
Michael Schumacher:
"I made a little mistake: I blocked my wheels in a corner which caused time loss. But it was not the real cause, this time we were slower. I hope tomorrow it will be raining."
Baumgartner Zsolt:
"The team is satisfied with the lap times I drove during the qualifying, but I am not completely happy about them. At the last free practice I drove a much better time with the Minardi but in the qualifying the security is more important you cannot make a mistake in the timed lap. It was clear already in the first corner that the balance of the car was not perfect but fortunately I was able to control the skidding."
Results of the qualifying in Canadian Grand Prix:
1. R.Schumacher - Williams-BMW (M) 1:12.275
2. J. Button - BAR-Honda (M) 1:12.341 + 0.066
3. J. Trulli - Renault (M) 1:13.023 + 0.748
4. J.P. Montoya - Williams-BMW (M) 1:13.072 + 0.797
5. F. Alonso - Renault (M) 1:13.308 + 1.033
6. M.Schumacher - Ferrari (B) 1:13.355 + 1.080
7. R. Barrichello - Ferrari (B) 1:13.562 + 1.287
8. K. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:13.595 + 1.320
9. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:13.681 + 1.406
10. K. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:14.532 + 2.257
11. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) 1:14.674 + 2.399
12. C. da Matta - Toyota (M) 1:14.851 + 2.576
13. O. Panis - Toyota (M) 1:14.891 + 2.616
14. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 1:15.148 + 2.873
15. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:15.321 + 3.046
16. T. Glock - Jordan-Ford (B) 1:16.323 + 4.048
17. T. Sato - BAR-Honda (M) 1:17.004 + 4.729
18. Baumgartner Zs.- Minardi-Cosworth (B) 1:17.064 + 4.789
19. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth (B) -
20. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas (B) -
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2004.06.08.
Jean Todt could be the next president of the FIA
According to some sources the boss of the Ferrari team, Jean Todt could succeed Max Mosley as the head of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.
Max Mosley thinks about his retirement more and more seriously. The latest sign of this was his resignation from the post of the president at the Euro NCAP. And now the news appeared: they are looking for his successor for the seat of the president of the FIA.
Max Mosley said in an interview the ideal candidate would be Jean Todt, the boss of the Ferrari team. They are supposed to work together in the first times sharing their tasks then the new professional would take over completely the position and the job.
"Todt have worked in every branch of the motorsport and succeeded in all of them. I feel he is the only one who is capable to continue this job. Of course after he had left Ferrari" Mosley stated.
Jean Todt has been working for the Formula 1 team of Ferrari since 1993, and the team have been reborn since then. They have gathered six Constructors' World Championship titles and Michael Schumacher has won four times the Drivers' World Championship during this time.
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2004.05.31.
Schumacher prooved it again at home
Michael Scumacher collected his sixth triumph this year at the Nürburgring. His Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second and BAR Honda pilot Jenson Button took the third position.
The seventh race of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Grand Prix of Europe took place approximately 90 kilometres away from Kerpen, the hometown of the Schumacher brothers. The Ferraris dominated the race at the Nürburgring again but the fight became rather exciting.
After the start Michael Schumacher was battling with Jarno Trulli for the first position while Raikönnen and Sato were fighting their own duel behind them. But after the first corner Raikönnen, Sato and Alonso all overtook Trulli.
Juan Pablo Montoya arrived into the first corner with too much speed and he hit the BMW of Ralf Schumacher. The latter ended up in the gravel trap and retired from the race. The front wing on Montoya's car was damaged so he made a pit stop where his car was fixed. In order to avoid the collision Cristiano da Matta drove into the gravel trap and retired. Zsolt Baumgartner started the race from the 17th position not from the 18th he qualified to. Bruni's result was withdrawn because of his foul yesterday, which put him into the 18th position of the starting grid.
After a few corners the field settled while Michael Schumacher gained distance from his chasers. He kept on driving best lap times, after four laps he had a 10 second lead ahead the second Kimi Raikönnen. Behind them Alonso, Sato, Barrichello, Button followed.
In the 8th lap Michael Schumacher was the first to have a pit stop. So far he gathered enough time to be able to return to the track right after the six drivers chasing him. In the next lap Trulli and Raikönnen drove after the Ferrari pilot into the pits, then Alonso was the next in the following lap.
Meanwhile Sato took over the lead followed by the two Ferraris. In the car of Kimi Raikönnen the engine blew up in the 10th lap, which meant his race was over. Sato's first place wasn't a long-living one, when he had his pit stop in the 13th lap Barrichello took over the lead and Schumacher followed him with a 3 second distance. When the Brazilian entered the pits in the 15th lap Schumacher retook the leading position. Barrichello was the last who came out into the pits from the lead and he got the most fuel, but he was still able to come back to the third position behind Takuma Sato.
Jenson Button battled with David Coulthard and finally overtook him in the first corner with nicely driving around his car. After his pit stop Jaguar driver Mark Webber returned to the track into the 12th position right behind Montoya. He started to attack him but he was unable to overtake until Montoya drove into the pits.
Olivier Panis made the whole Ferrari team nervous in the 24th lap when returning from the pits he almost hit Schumacher who was about to overlap him. Mark Webber in the 40th lap repeated this incident. 34 laps to go the other McLaren Mercedes had an engine failure too, forcing Coulthard to retire without finishing race. In the 28th lap the world champion of Ferrari had his second pit stop and the almost 30 second lead he gathered so far was enough to be able to come back to the leading position easily.
28 laps before the end Schumacher led over Barrichello, Sato, Button, Trulli and Alonso. Among them only Barrichello had one stop all the others two. Meanwhile Zsolt Baumgartner was driving on the 16th position. Rubens Barrichello had his second pit stop in the 38th lap and he was able come back to the third place ahead Button.
17 laps to go Schumacher had his third pit stop and in the same lap Sato followed him from the second position. The situation turned interesting as Sato came back only to the 4th position, his teammate Button and Barrichello were ahead. In the next lap Button drove into the pits to refuel, Sato profited from the slowness of Barrichello and overtook the Brazilian. But during the manoeuvre the two cars got stuck and the front wing broke down from the BAR Honda. After the replacement of the wing the Japanese pilot returned to the track but in the next lap (only 13 laps to go) the Honda engine had a failure and Sato had to retire again after Monte Carlo.
After these events there were no more real fight for the lead. The pilots drove and finished the race leaving great distances. Michael Schumacher won again; he was followed by his teammate Barrichello thanks to the wise strategy the team used. Jenson Button could stand on the podium for the fifth time this year, as he got third. Zsolt Baumgartner finished the race on the 15th position with 3 laps down.
Michael Schumacher:
"Today my car was slightly lighter than usual. I had a good start and during the first half of the race I collected enough time to win. The traffic caused me some problems on the track, especially the incident with Mark Webber. I noticed him in the last moment, it was very close, the incident was really dangerous."
Rubens Barrichello:
"I started well but in the first corner like everyone else I had difficulties too. I may even have touched one of the Renaults. I had a good strategy so I was able to close the gap. In the collision with Sato my car was slightly damaged, it wasn't perfect later. Sato's move was a bit amateur, he was fast, he could have overtaken me somewhere else, but there, there wasn't enough space for that."
Jenson Button:
"I was lucky. My car worked fine, I overtook Coulthard a bit dangerously, but he was much slower and he hindered me. I really feel sorry about Tacu."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"I had a good start but in the first corner I barely managed to drive round the Williams. At that very moment Bruni could overtake me. My first set of tyres wasn't good, it was very slippery and car's balance was not right. Later with the new tyres I could drive faster."
Results of the European GP(Nürburgring):
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari 1h:32.35.101
2. R. Barrichello - Ferrari + 17.989
3. J. Button - BAR-Honda + 22.533
4. J. Trulli - Renault + 53.673
5. F. Alonso - Renault + 1:00.987
6. J. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas + 1:13.448
7. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth + 1:16.206
8. J.P. Montoya - Williams-BMW + 1 lap
9. F.Massa - Sauber-Petronas + 1 lap
10. N. Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford + 1 lap
11. O. Panis - Toyota + 1 lap
12. C. Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. G. Pantano - Jordan-Ford + 2 lap
14. G. Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth + 3 lap
15. Zsolt Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth + 3 lap
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 60 points
2. R. Barrichello 46
3. J. Button 38
4. J. Trulli 36
5. F. Alonso 25
6. J.P. Montoya 24
7. R. Schumacher 12
8. T. Sato 8
9. F. Massa 5
9. G. Fisichella 5
11. D. Coulthard 4
12. C. da Matta 3
12. M. Webber 3
14. N. Heidfeld 2
15. O. Panis 1
15. K. Räikkönen 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 106 points
2. Renault 61
3. BAR-Honda 46
4. Williams-BMW 36
5. Sauber 10
6. McLaren-Mercedes 5
7. Toyota 4
8. Jaguar 3
9. Jordan 2
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2004.05.30.
Schumacher for the fifth time
The five-time world champion Michael Schumacher got his fifth pole position this year on the Nürburgring. Behind the Ferrari class Takuma Sato took the second position, the Monaco winner Jarno Trulli became third.
With a fantastic lap time of 1:28.351 the 35 years old German Ferrari driver, Michael Schumacher outclassed the other pilots in the qualifying of the Grand Prix of Europe. By now Schumacher has taken 60 pole positions on the qualifying sessions and he gets closer to beat the still existing record of Ayrton Senna.
Schumacher was only the second in pre-qualifying because the Japanese BAR pilot Takuma Sato was faster than him. But in the second round he was unable to beat the German driver and "only" grabbed the second position driving more than half a second slower.
Jarno Trulli drove quite early his laps but he managed to qualify a good time which brought him the first position until the last two drivers entered the track.
There were several thrilling moments during the qualifying. First David Coulthard caused some excitement when his car stopped in pre-qualifying. Because of this he was unable to get a timed lap in the second part. Bruni began the second round of the qualifying but the pilot entered the track when the red light was still on because the trailer carrying Coulthard's car was still on the track. Therefore the officials withdrew Bruni's result and his team even decided to change the engine in his car by tomorrow. In Coulthard's car the engine had to be changed so he will have the last grid position on Sunday.
Raikönnen brought better mood into the McLaren pit as he grabbed the fourth position with his Mercedes beating the BMWs and a Ferrari.
For a short time Mark Webber had the best lap time but this was only theoretical as a one-second punishment had to be added to his 1:30.797 time. Since he disregarded the yellow flag signs of the marshals on Friday when the Sauber of Felipe Massa broke down on the track.
Giancarlo Fisichella did not make a timed lap in the qualifying, because on Friday the engine was changed in his car, which caused him to start from ten positions behind. Everything could be read from the faces of the leaders of BMW during the broadcasting of the qualifying. Their drivers performed quite disappointingly Montoya got only the eighth and Ralf Schumacher, who drove well during the whole weekend, only the ninth position.
Rubens Barrichello was much slower this time than his teammate but he still managed to beat Montoya with 0.001 second qualifying himself to the seventh position.
Zsolt Baumgartner showed a good performance throughout the weekend, he beat on the track not only Bruni but also sometimes the Jordans. But in the qualifying - for the first time in the weekend - he was slower than his teammate taking the 18th position.
Michael Schumacher:
"Some tracks like this are very extreme where it is much better to come out of the pits later. As only five days had passed from the last GP I returned easily to my own rhythm. After Monaco I would like to return. This is a special place for me; the fans here mean to me very much."
Takuma Sato:
"After Barcelona this is my best result, I am very happy. This year we moved forward on the starting grid thanks to the team who made an excellent car for us. I expect a great duel tomorrow with Michael."
Jarno Trulli:
"I can hardly believe I am third. I had some problems with my car earlier but my mechanics managed to fix it. I thank them the excellent job."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"I am a little upset about the first sector on a location I miscalculated my movement, I had a really good day before that. To be honest I needed some time after I got out of my car to calm down and clarify with my engineers what exactly had caused me to be slower in the first part of the track than expected. We started with a heavier car than the Jordan so we will see what tomorrow brings. For my part I will do everything to finish the race with the car in the best possible position."
Results of the qualifying in Euorpean Grand Prix (Nürburgring):
1. M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:28.351
2. T. Sato BAR-Honda 1:28.986 +0,635
3. J. Trulli Renault 1:29.135 +0,784
4. K. Raikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.137 +0,786
5. J. Button BAR-Honda 1:29.245 +0,894
6. F. Alonso Renault 1:29.313 +0,962
7. R. Barrichello Ferrari 1:29.353 +1,002
8. J. P. Montoya Williams-BMW 1:29.354 +1,003
9. R. Schumacher Williams-BMW 1:29.459 +1,108
10. O. Panis Toyota 1:29.697 +1,346
11. C. da Matta Toyota 1:29.706 +1,355
12. M. Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 1:30.797 +2,446
13. C. Klien Jaguar-Cosworth 1:31.431 +3,080
14. N. Heidfeld Jordan-Ford 1:31.604 +3,253
15. G. Pantano Jordan-Ford 1:31.979 +3,628
16. F. Massa Sauber-Petronas 1:31.982 +3,631
17. G. Bruni Minardi-Cosworth 1:34.022 +5,671
18. Zs.Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth 1:34.398 +6,047
19. D. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes -
20. G. Fisichella Sauber-Petronas -
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2004.05.24.
Trulli is the king in the Principality
Starting from the pole position Jarno Trulli won the Monte Carlo GP. Jenson Button with the BAR became second, Rubens Barichello third. Zsolt Baumgartner finished on the 9th position.
The sixth race of the world championship, the Monte Carlo GP started with some excitement, as the field was unable to start immediately. After the formation lap the start procedure was repeated because the Toyota of Olivier Panis had a technical failure. After the second formation lap the start was successful but without Panis who began to chase the others from the pits.
The two Renaults started well but Sato made an outstanding start as he blasted from the eighth position to the fourth while he even bumped a little with Schumacher. Christian Klien with the Jaguar retired even in the first lap as he crashed into the wall. Meanwhile Sato held up the noticeably quicker Raikkönen and Schumacher that's why Trulli, Alonso and Button could gain some distance in front of their chasers.
The engine in Sato's Honda blew up in the third lap and let everything in a thick smoke in the harbour part of the track. David Coulthard tried to drive through the smoke slowly but Fisichella struck him from behind and overturned. None of them was harmed but both of them had to retire from the race. Because of this accident the officials sent in the safety car that remained on the track for four laps.
The other Jaguar did not hold much longer either as Webber retired in the 13th lap with mechanical failure. Pantano with the Jordan retired soon as well; in the 15th lap he gave up the race in the pits because of gear problems. Meanwhile the other Jordan pilot Nick Heidfeld battled with the Williams driver Montoya for the point-worthy eighth position. But Heidfeld slipped and the Columbian could overtake him.
First Button then the Renaults came out to change tyres while Michael Schumacher kept on driving best lap times to gain seconds. After his pit stop he came back to the third position overtaking Button. Although Kimi Raikkönnen started the race well his McLaren had a malfunction forcing him to retire.
Fernando Alonso retired 36 laps before the end of the race when he tried to lap Ralf Schumacher in the tunnel. His car slipped and rammed the wall. The safety car was sent in again while Trulli visited the pits and Schumacher took the lead. But in the 46th lap Michael Schumacher driving behind the safety car slipped into the wall in the tunnel and smashed his Ferrari. Probably the front left brake of his car locked up.
Jarno Trulli kept on driving fast but calmly on the lead followed with a 5-second-distance by Jenson Button. Rubens Barrichello took the third position with his good tactics but the distance between the two and him was really great. Ralf Schumacher drove out to the pits from the 9th position just 4 laps before the end of the race because his BMW Williams broke down.
Button kept on driving faster laps and closed the distance to Trulli. The two drivers had a fantastic battle. Button chased his opponent until the last seconds but he didn't have a chance to overtake him. That meant Jarno Trulli got his first GP victory after 117 races. Barrichello took the third Montoya the fourth position.
Zsolt Baumgartner raced wisely taking the ninth position that is the best result in his career so far. During the race 11 drivers had to retire because of various reasons.
Jarno Trulli:
"I am just so happy, we made it at last. I drove a perfect race I didn't take any unnecessary risk. I didn't worry even when Michael overtook me for a while. I knew he couldn't beat me this time. Later Jenson got right behind me, but he didn't have a chance to overtake. I won the greatest race and I keep on fighting."
Jenson Button:
"I didn't started well I fell back a little behind Alonso then the situation became better. The traffic was quite dense on the track but I did everything to catch up. When I was chasing Jarno I really wanted to win I gave everything but I didn't made it this time."
Rubens Barrichello:
"I am really lucky to have been able to finish the race. I had problems with my tyres and the back suspensions the car was shaking and I was worrying whether it would hold until the end."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"I had a really tiring race I was barely able to get out of my car. Honestly speaking I had doubts before the start if I could finish the race without the power assisted steering. As the laps of the race passed my arms and shoulder became more and more tired. The start was really good I could overtake a Jordan and Klien. Then in the entrance of the first corner I had problems with the gearbox. Later I became more and more tired but I tried not to notice it. At the halfway point of the race the team ordered me to spare the car as much as possible. The only goal they gave me was "to take the Minardi home"."
Results of the Monte Carlo GP:
1. Trulli Renault 1:45:46.601
2. Button BAR-Honda +0.497
3. Barrichello Ferrari +1:15.766
4. Montoya Williams-BMW +1 lap
5. Massa Sauber-Petronas +1 lap
6. da Matta Toyota +1 lap
7. Heidfeld Jordan-Ford +2 lap
8. Panis Toyota +3 kör
9. Baumgartner Zsolt Minardi-Cosworth +6 lap
10. R. Schumacher Williams-BMW +8 lap
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 50 points
2. R. Barrichello 38
3. J. Button 32
4. J. Trulli 31
5. J.P. Montoya 23
6. F. Alonso 21
7. R. Schumacher 12
8. T. Sato 8
9. F. Massa 5
10. D. Coulthard 4
11. C. da Matta 3
12. G. Fisichella 2
12. N. Heidfeld 2
14. O. Panis 1
14. K. Räikkönen 1
14. M. Webber 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 88 points
2. Renault 52
3. BAR 40
4. Williams 35
5. Sauber 7
6. McLaren 5
7. Toyota 4
8. Jaguar 1
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2004.05.23.
Possible changes in the qualifying
Everyone agrees the present qualifying system used in the Formula 1 is boring. It is possible that a modified version of the 2002 system will be used again already this year.
Back in 2002 the drivers used to make lap records during the qualifying as they were driving with minimum fuel trying to achieve the maximum speed. Now the teams have to be the fastest on the qualifying while they have to calculate with their pit stop strategy as well.
But that is not the real problem of the system. During the two times one hour long qualifying the fastest pilots have to wait more than one and a half hour until they can enter the track again after their first lap. This makes the concentration very difficult.
For the slowest drivers the teams do not have enough time to adjust the settings of their car using the information gathered in the first lap. Like the Hungarian television several foreign channels don't broadcast the first hour of the qualifying as it has little impact on the starting grid of Sunday.
According to the new concept the qualifying would last again for an hour that would be divided into two 30-minute-long blocks. To make the competition for the starting positions more exciting the drivers would be obliged to drive at least 6 laps in each time block. The final position would be calculated then by adding up the times achieved in the two blocks. The pilots would be made to drive all the laps by using their worst lap time for the calculation if they drove less than the given 6 laps. If it happened in both time blocks they would have to start from the end of the field.
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2004.05.22.
Trulli on the lead in Monaco
Two Renaults can start from the first row on Saturday's Monaco GP. Although Ralf Schumacher drove the second best time he can only start from the 12th position because of an engine change. Michael Schumacher waits for the start from the 4th Zsolt Baumgartner from the 19th position.
The first part of the qualifying started with a surprise because Michael Schumacher who drove excellently so far on the practices only made to the 14th position. As Zsolt Baumgartner was faster in the first lap than Bruni, the Italian driver started the second part of the qualifying. Zsolt Baumgartner beat his time again so he can start from the 19th position. Jordans followed the Minardis on the track beating them effortlessly. Heidfeld was again quicker than Pantano.
Klien followed them with the newly painted Jaguar, his time was better with more than half a second. But this was not enough against his teammate Mark Webber, who beat his lap time with more than 0,2 seconds.
Then Michael Schumacher, the six-time world champion arrived and took over the lead with great superiority beating Webber's time with 1,2 seconds. But later his lap time turned out not to be enough to take the pole position. His teammate, Rubens Barichello did not make a good performance this Saturday either, as he drove the 7th best time on the track.
Between the two Ferraris Cristiano da Matta and Felipe Massa made their laps and drove the 15th and 16th time respectively in the Principality. Olivier Panis and Montoya were the next on the track. The Columbian driver started well but he made a mistake therefore he can start tomorrow only from the fifth row.
Jarno Trulli entered the track in the halfway point of the qualifying and he was not particularly fast in the first sector. Then he drove so quick that he made the best lap time. He raced through the lap in less than 1 minute 14 seconds. Takuma Sato followed him but at the exit of the tunnel he took the corner too wide. The kerb struck his car and the correction cost valuable time so he can start 7th position. Trulli's speed was not an exception as Alonso, the other Renault driver, was very fast too taking the second position for a time.
Fisichella started the endgame but he was unable to affect the fight for the lead, he became 11th. BAR driver Jenson Button made a very good lap time, he took the second position temporarily. The McLarens did not make any surprise in the qualifying their drivers took positions in the middle of the field.
As he was the fastest in the first qualifying Ralf Schumacher came last out of the pits. By then it was clear Trulli would have the pole position as in the car of the German driver the engine was changed on Thursday and therefore he would have to start from 10 positions behind his qualified position. Nevertheless, the Williams pilot made the second best time on this qualifying.
Jarno Trulli:
"I am impressed by this situation. I can't believe we made it this far. In the morning we still had problems with the understeer of the car but we managed to repair it. I risked a lot in the second and third sector but everything worked fine. Tomorrow we will have a tough race but now I am still thinking of my pole position. I have waited so long for this result and now I am very happy about it."
Ralf Schumacher:
"I made the best of the car. I would like to be competitive tomorrow but starting from the 12th position it will be definitively difficult."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"Because of the mistake I made in the morning we did not have the best car set-up in the qualifying. Nevertheless I drove a good lap, which makes me happy. I would like to start well and stay in the race till the end because by the end of the race everything could happen. It is more likely that we would race with a two-stop strategy."
Michael Scumacher:
"I will have a difficult task this time as I always started from the first row so far. The first corner after the start will be critical but I expect fierce fighting later on as well. I am not particularly happy but I don't give up."
Official results of the qualifying in Monaco:
1. Jarno Trulli Renault 01:13.985
2. Ralf Schumacher Williams 01:14.345 +00:00.360
3. Jenson Button BAR 01:14.396 +00:00.411
4. Fernando Alonso Renault 01:14.408 +00:00.423
5. Michael Schumacher Ferrari 01:14.516 +00:00.531
6. Kimi Räikkönen McLaren 01:14.592 +00:00.607
7. Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 01:14.716 +00:00.731
8. Takuma Sato BAR 01:14.827 +00:00.842 3
9. David Coulthard McLaren 01:14.951 +00:00.966
10. Juan Pablo Montoya Williams 01:15.039 +00:01.054
11. Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber 01:15.352 +00:01.367
12. Mark Webber Jaguar 01:15.725 +00:01.740
13. Olivier Panis Toyota 01:15.859 +00:01.874
14. Christian Klien Jaguar 01:15.919 +00:01.934
15. Cristiano da Matta Toyota 01:16.169 +00:02.184
16. Felipe Massa Sauber 01:16.248 +00:02.263
17. Nick Heidfeld Jordan 01:16.488 +00:02.503
18. Giorgio Pantano Jordan 01:17.443 +00:03.458
19. Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi 01:20.060 +00:06.075
20. Gianmaria Bruni Minardi 01:20.115 +00:06.130
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2004.05.13.
DHL returns to the world of Formula 1
In the future DHL will be the official logistic partner of the Formula 1. Not only logistic centres will be set up but also a 24-hour express delivery service will be available on the locations of the races.
DHL wants to strengthen its reputation and increase its market share with entering the world of motor sport. The now 18-race-long world championship went to the Middle East and there will be a GP in China too. In spite of its market-leading role in the Far Eastern country the German-headquartered company wants to enter other markets in the region through its presence in the Formula 1.
At present worldwide 220 countries and regions are in the delivery system of the DHL with 170 000 employees working for the company.
According to the agreement DHL will set up logistic centres on the locations of the races and the teams can use its 24-hour express delivery services. "DHL as the leading express and logistic company and the Formula 1 are perfect match because both of them are symbols of the speed, the teamwork and the performance." Bernie Ecclestone, the boss of Formula 1 said.
Earlier the German company was already present in the Formula 1 when the affiliated company of the German Post sponsored the Jordan team.
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2004.05.10.
Michael Schumacher: five races, five victories
Michael Schumacher achieved again an effortless victory. On the podium his teammate Rubens Barichello and Jarno Trulli stood next to him. Zsolt Baumgartner retired from the race.
The fifth race of the Formula 1 World Championship started with some extra excitement. A spectator who had run onto the track with a sign in his hand disturbed the formation lap. The staff caught the young man quickly and the race could start.
Jarno Trulli started incredibly well overtaking Schumacher, Montoya and Sato and took over the lead. The six-time world champion of Ferrari chased him and did not let him to gain distance. Trulli came to the pit to change tyres in the 9th, Schumacher in the 10th lap. This one lap was enough for the German driver to take over the lead. From that time on Schumacher did not drive in the leading position only during the pit stops and at the end he took his fifth victory this year and his 75th victory in his carrier. Last time Nigel Mansell made a season start like this (with five victories) in 1992. This was the forth Spanish GP victory of Schumacher in a row.
It turned out quickly: Rubens Barichello made only the fifth best time yesterday because he was driving a heavier car than the others during the qualifying. Thanks to the two-pit-stop-strategy of the Ferrari Barichello moved up to the second position when Trulli stopped to refuel in the 24th lap and he kept this position till the end. With this performance Ferrari made a complete job taking 18 points.
Jarno Trulli drove self-confidently all the time, after a great start he performed also well during the race. The Italian pilot finished the race in the third position. His teammate Fernando Alonso, the favourite of the Spanish fans started eighth and fought his way up till the fourth position. After a great start he overtook Takuma Sato during the pit stop. With their points Renault is now the second in the Constructors' Championship.
Sato, the driver of the BAR team crossed the finish line on the fifth position. The Japanese pilot started well and overtook Montoya. Alonso chased him for a time but during the pit stops the Spaniard overtook him so there was no real fight between them. Jenson Button, the other pilot of the team finished eighth, which was a really good performance considering he had started from the 14th position.
Williams did not succeeded in completing the Spanish GP. Montoya lost his position during the start and kept on driving slower and in the 53rd lap he retired probably due to brake failure. Ralf Schumacher almost could not be seen as he started sixth and he finished sixth and he overtook only Fisichella during the race. Sauber used a two-pit-stop-strategy for Giancarlo Fisichella, which resulted in the seventh position and 2 points. During the race the Sauber car was very competitive in spite of its overweight, Fisichella managed to stay ahead of Montoya effortlessly.
Zsolt Baumgartner did not have a successful race in Spain. He had problems with the car right from the start and in the 19th lap he spun out of the track and his Minardi got stuck in the gravel trap.
Quotes:
Michael Schumacher:
"I felt I started well but Jarno suddenly appeared next to me. I let him to overtake I did not want to close the door on him. I expected my car to enable me to overtake later. Our strategy was fine after the first pit stop I managed to take the lead and gain distance. At the end of the race I had problems with the exhaust but fortunately it did not cause a great drawback."
Rubens Barichello:
"It was a great race, the start was already interesting. We managed to choose a good strategy with the team but I did not have the real chance to be the first. My tyres were really doing a fantastic job, which helped a lot."
Jarno Trulli:
"I had a very good start. In the first times my car worked well and I was fast but after the first pit stop Micheal was faster. I am very pleased as I finished third and everything worked well."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"It did not start well in the beginning as I had difficulties with the rev control and I could not start in the right moment. Then after a successful pit stop Massa came next to me in a quick turn in the 19th lap. As I wanted to avoid the collision I left the ideal track. Because of the high speed I found myself on the dirty side of the track where it was impossible to stay on the asphalt with the car."
Results of the Spanish GP:
1. M. Schumacher - Ferrari (B) 1:27:32.841
2. R. Barrichello - Ferrari (B) +13.290
3. J. Trulli - Renault (M) +32.229
4. F. Alonso - Renault (M) +32.952
5. T. Sato - BAR-Honda (M) +42.332
6. R. Schumacher - Williams-BMW (M) +1:13.804
7. G. Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas (B) +1:17.108
8. J. Button - BAR-Honda (M) +1lap
9. F. Massa - Sauber-Petronas (B) +1kör
10. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes (M) +1lap
11. K. Raikkönen - McLaren-Mercedes (M) +1lap
12. M. Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth (M) +1lap
13. C. da Matta - Toyota - (M) +1lap
Drivers' Championship:
1. Michael Schumacher Ferrari 50 pont
2. Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 32
3. Jenson Button BAR Honda 24
4. Fernando Alonso Renault 21
5. Jarno Trulli Renault 21
6. Juan-Pablo Montoya Williams BMW 18
7. Ralf Schumacher Williams BMW 12
8. Takuma Sato BAR Honda 8
9. David Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 4
10. Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber Petronas 2
11. Felipe Massa Sauber Petronas 1
12. Kimi Räikkönen McLaren Mercedes 1
13. Mark Webber Jaguar Cosworth 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 82 pont
2. Renault 42
3. BAR Honda 32
4. Williams BMW 30
5. McLaren Mercedes 5
6. Sauber Petronas 3
7. Jaguar Cosworth 1
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2004.05.08.
Schumacher's fourth pole
Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher was the fastest in the qualifying of the Spanish GP. Montoya also can start from the first row and Sato took the third grid position. Zsolt Baumgartner drove the 20th time.
The six-time world champion Michael Schumacher took on his 200th GP his 59th pole position. The German pilot was 0.617 seconds quicker than the Columbian Montoya of Williams who was the first on the first qualification. Unexpectedly the third place was taken by the BAR pilot Takuma Sato. Everybody was expecting a good result from his teammate Jenson Button, but he became only the 14th due to his driver mistake.
Zsolt Baumgartner was faster than his teammate in the free practices, but on the qualifying he was already slower due to the higher weight of his car. The Hungarian pilot of the Minardi can start from the 20th position tomorrow.
Michael Scumacher:
"I finished on a surprisingly bad position on the first qualifying, it wasn't a great success. But it is really great that I took the first position in the second "round". I was a little surprised how fast I had been. I made a small mistake in the 10th corner, nevertheless I drove an almost perfect lap."
Juan Pablo Montoya:
I find it really good to be able to start from the first row. I was a little surprised by Michael's lap but we still have a long and difficult day ahead us tomorrow. We have got a good racing car and found the appropriate setup for the race."
Takuma Sato:
"Compared to yesterday the free practices this morning ran well. We found the appropriate setup. In the corner where Jenson made a mistake there was a strong side wind that made the car a bit twitchy. I was expecting it and the balance of the car was also nice. I am very happy to have taken the third position."
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"Unfortunately in the qualifying I did not manage to repeat the performance I showed in the morning free practice but I would have had a little chance for this even I had made a flawless lap. The reason is simple: my engineers and the team management decided I would start the race with a completely different strategy than Bruni. I am confident the next day will prove us right and our strategy will succeed on the race. The track becomes cleaner but there will be still extreme conditions for the tyres and this could change completely the race positions. It may be raining therefore we can expect an interesting race."
Official results of the qualifying in Barcelona:
1. Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:15.022
2. Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW +0,617
3. Takuma Sato BAR-Honda +0,787
4. Jarno Trulli Renault +1,122
5. Rubens Barrichello Ferrari +1,250
6. Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW +1,271
7. Olivier Panis Toyota +1,291
8. Fernando Alonso Renault +1,400
9. Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth +1,492
10. David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes +1,614
11. Cristiano da Matta Toyota +2,016
12. Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber-Petronas +2,422
13. Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes +2,423
14. Jenson Button BAR-Honda +2,553
15. Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Ford +2,780
16. Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth +2,790
17. Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas +2,844
18. Gianmaria Bruni Minardi-Cosworth +4,795
19. Giorgio Pantano Jordan-Ford +5,585
20. Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth +6,448
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2004.05.07.
The future of Bridgetone seems more certain
On Tuesday in Monaco leaders of the teams and the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) decided: from 2006 there should be only one tyre supplier in the Formula 1.
Team bosses arrived at Monaco on the invitation of Max Mosley FIA President to negotiate about the changes affecting the future of Formula 1. The decision was made: in 2006 there will be only one tyre supplier in the Formula 1. So one of the two present tyre suppliers (Bridgestone, Michelin) have to leave. It is also possible that they say goodbye to both of the tyre giants and there will be a tender to decide who can get the position in the future.
Michelin does not want to stay alone in Formula 1 as they think it would be no use for the sport. "I don't like the idea. Every time we entered a race series we had the common goal with our partners to be better than our competitors. The present system gave us opportunity to show we can make a better performance than other tyre manufacturers. From now on we could not do that." Pierre Dupasquier Sport Director of Michelin regretted.
Hirohide Hamashima Technical Director of Bridgestone expressed a slightly different view: "Bridgestone is happy about the competition and the technical and marketing benefits it involves. However we would gladly continue our presence in the Formula 1. We want to stay."
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2004.04.30.
New sponsor for Minardi
The Minardi Cosworth team announced the signing of a sponsorship agreement with the Swiss-headquartered Connect Communication. The company will develop the communication network of the Minardi and in exchange they expect international reputation.
Connect Communication is not new in the world of sport but so far they only sponsored teams within Switzerland. It is not a secret that the Swiss company intends to use the popularity of the Formula 1 to gain international recognition. They hope that the Minardi team with its numerous fans worldwide will bring a sound reputation for the company, which this way could enter new markets.
According to the contract the name of the company will appear on both race car and in exchange Minardi can use the devices of the company for its development process.
"We are very pleased to welcome Connect Communication to the family of Minardi commercial partners." Paul Stoddart stated today. "It is particularly gratifying that, being well experienced in the use of sports sponsorship as a marketing and promotional vehicle for their brand, Connect Communication senior management have made a well-considered decision that involvement with Minardi Cosworth and the Formula One World Championship is the most effective way of assisting them to introduce their service to a global audience."
"There is no doubt that sports sponsorship as a marketing and promotional vehicle is a very effective way of generating brand recognition," said Connect Communications Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Marcone. "For Connect Communication during its start-up phase, this was a very important issue. For the company's future international rollout, what is more effective than the Formula One world to get the maximum recognition from a global audience? We are very happy to be working with the Minardi Cosworth team."
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2004.04.26.
Schumacher: forth in a row
Michael Schumacher achieved his fourth victory this year and his seventy-fourth victory overall during the race in Imola. Button got the second place and Montoya the third. Zsolt Baumgartner finished on the 15th position.
Jenson Button started from the cleaner side of the track, which could be seen as he left the others standing at the start line. After the start Schumacher had to fight for the second position with Montoya so intensely that he put the Columbian on the grass. But after a few laps he was closely pursuing Button who had gained distance from the field. The six-time world champion of Ferrari drove behind Jenson Button until the first pit stop. Because of the higher level of fuel in his Ferrari he could stay on the track for another two laps, which was enough to take over the lead. After the ninth lap nobody disturbed him and he won the race in Imola smoothly.
Michael Schumacher:
"It was mind-blowing to have Jenson in front of me. My side was very slippery. The beginning of the race was difficult; I wanted to avoid being overtaken by Montoya because I knew I was going to get faster than him. I needed few more laps until everything got going and the tyres were warmed up. Later Jenson fell back and I could overtake him. I had a great weekend and I managed to please all my fans."
Button was driving lonely along the race he was far from both Schumacher and Montoya. The British pilot achieved next to his two third positions this year the so far best position in his carrier: he finished second. With this result in the drivers' championship he has only one point less than the second Barrichello.
Jenson Button:
"The first few laps were fantastic; I almost did not want to believe myself that I could be so fast. After the first pit stop Michael was much better and he passed me. The car was not perfect; it was slightly windy which made the car twitchier a bit. In spite of this I am very happy and satisfied."
Takuma Sato, the other BAR pilot began the race very good, after the start he was the fourth but during the first pit stop he fell back to the eighth position. He performed well in vain because five laps before the finish the Honda engine blew up and the Japanese pilot retired from the race.
Montoya caused stressing moments after the start to both Schumacher. First he attacked Michael from every possible direction then after his visit on the grass he forced his team-mate Ralf to the green. Although Fernando Alonso caught up with him by the end of the race he kept his third position.
Juan Pablo Montoya:
"The beginning was exciting I tried to overtake Michael but he warded off my attack. He hit me quite hard forcing me to the grass. I stopped trying because I was afraid he would push me out. This is car racing. The point is we are both fine, but it might have been a too rude manoeuvre."
The Spaniard was sleeping a little bit at the start and he fell back from the sixth to ninth position. But the first pit stop had its effects, in the 13th lap he was already seventh. Thanks to a good pit stop again he gained two positions in the 50th lap overtaking Trulli and Barrichello. Later he caught up with Ralf Schumacher driving before him and Ralf let him a little too much space for overtaking in the inner side of a curve. Alonso did not hesitate and put the nose of his car there, which caused the BMW to spin out. The board of supervision is investigating the incident. Although Alonso caught up with Montoya three laps before the end he was unable to overtake him. The younger Schumacher landed on the seventh position and finished the race there.
Jarno Trulli started excellently from the 9th position at the end of the first lap he was already sixth. From the leading pilots he stayed the longest time on the track before the first pit stop. This caused him to grab the fourth position. He was driving during the race with Barrichello following him; the Ferrari pilot did not attack him he was only driving behind him. At the last three laps of the race the Brazilian started a smaller attack but he was not very determined. They crossed the finish line respectively on the 5th and 6th opposition.
Kimi Raikönnen started the race from the 19th position as he did not drive a valid timed lap yesterday. The team noticed suspicious signs in the data coming from the engine so they called the pilot into the box. In spite of this Raikönnen was rather competitive on this race and at last he finished on the eighth position getting his first championship point this year. The other pilot of Mercedes was not so lucky. Namely Coulthard ran into the car in front of him just after the start so he had to make his first pit stop earlier as planned where his front wing was replaced. At the end he finished on the12th position.
Giancarlo Fisichella started from the last place and at the end he just missed the point-worth eighth position with one position. He was understandably satisfied with his race in Imola. The other pilot of the Sauber team, Felipe Massa became tenth and he also stated that their car had improved a lot from Bahrein.
In contrast Jordan had a rather disappointing weekend as both of their pilots had to retire before the end of the race. Pantano retired at the seventh lap because of the car. Heidfeld skidded out of the track twice; first in the 19th and then in the 52nd lap. After the second he was unable to return to the track.
As expected Zsolt Baumgartner did not start to fight with Raikönnen and Fisichella who started behind him but let them to overtake. With the earlier developed spare car he made rather good times and managed to beat his team-mate Bruni. He drove a rather good race but because of the lapping he was unable to drive his own speed. Bruni made his second pit stop in the 25th lap but he did not continue and the technicians pushed the Minardi into the garage. Fortunately Zsolt's car held till the end of the race and the Hungarian pilot finished at the 15th position.
Zsolt Baumgartner:
"The beginning of the race was difficult because there was a storm yesterday on the track that washed away the grip-providing rubber trails from the asphalt. After the first pit stop the grip of my car was all right. I am happy that with the spare car I was able to make a good race and finish it. I bore the physical stress of the race well which can be seen as I drove my best lap during the last lap of the race."
Results of the San Marino GP:
1. Michael Schumacher Ferrari
2. Jenson Button BAR-Honda +9.7 s
3. Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW +21.6 s
4. Fernando Alonso Renault +23.6 s
5. Jarno Trulli Renault +36.2 s
6. Rubens Barrichello Ferrari +36.6 s
7. Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW +55.7 s
8. Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap
9. Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber-Petronas +1 lap
10. Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas +1 lap
11. Olivier Panis Toyota +1 lap
12. David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap
13. Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth +1 lap
14. Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth +2 lap
15. Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth +4 lap
16. Takuma Sato BAR-Honda +6 lap
Not classified Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Ford +14 lap
Not classified Cristiano da Matta Toyota +30 lap
Not classified Gianmaria Bruni Minardi-Cosworth +40 lap
Not classified Giorgio Pantano Jordan-Ford +56 lap
Drivers' Championship:
1. M. Schumacher 40 points
2. R. Barrichello 24
3. J. Button 23
4. J.P. Montoya 18
5. F. Alonso 16
6. J. Trulli 15
7. R. Schumacher 9
8. T. Sato 4
9. D. Coulthard 4
10. F. Massa 1
11. M. Webber 1
12. K. Raikkönen 1
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 64 points
2. Renault 31
3. BAR Honda 27
4. Williams BMW 27
5. McLaren Mercedes 5
6. Sauber Petronas 1
7. Jaguar Cosworth 1
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2004.04.24.
Button in pole position
Jenson Button can start from the pole position on the San Marino GP after setting a fantastic new lap record in the qualifying. This time Michael Schumacher became the second, Zsolt Baumgartner starts from the 18th position.
Jenson Button raced along the 4933 metre long track in San Marino with a lap time of 1:19.753. He drove almost perfectly on the track, which led to a sound success. He not only set a new lap record but scored the first pole position for the BAR Honda team and himself as well. This success is a new step forward in the improvement of the BAR and an opportunity for grabbing a position on the podium again. Not only BAR was happy about the pole position but Michelin as well, because it was the first time this year they could make it.
Jenson Button:
"I am very happy about having achieved this pole position; this is the first one for me and the team. I thank everybody; the hard work and the endurance paid off. We do not have illusions the race tomorrow will be very difficult; we have to concentrate on what Michael is doing. But the car is very good much better than on the first qualification when it had not enough grip. I am very content with my lap; everything was all right. I can start - for the first time in my Formula 1 carrier - without having anyone in front of me which is a very special moment, but I will concentrate 100 percent on the starting lights as everything is decided there."
Takuma Sato the other pilot of the BAR Honda team made a balanced performance during the whole weekend, but his speed was only enough for the 7th position.
Luca di Montezemolo the president of the Ferrari boxed into the air with satisfaction when Rubbens Barrichello drove a best time but when other pilots were faster than him Montezemolo could only put his trust in Schumacher.
But after three pole positions Michael Schumacher got a second position for the first time this year. The six-time world champion of Ferrari was still the fastest in the first two section of the track but then in a chicane he skidded and lost time. Although he corrected his mistake with a minimal delay his speed was only enough for the second position.
Michael Schumacher:
"When I saw what a good time Jenson had made I knew I had to put everything on one card. I tried it very hard but in the Variante Alta I took too much risk. Actually I am lucky not to have spun and left the track." - Schumacher said.
Juan Pablo Montoya drove the third best time that was almost a half second worse than Button's time. Montoya said he was happy not only about the third position but about having beaten Ralf Schumacher for the first time this year. He added he was not afraid as the race would be completely different and for it they had found the optimal setup. The younger Schumacher got the 5th position so he was forced into the third row with the Renault pilot Fernando Alonso on his side.
Zsolt Baumgartner can start from the 18th position on the Sunday race, which alone would not be a problem, but he can thank this position to Raikönnen and Fisichella who could not make a valid timed lap. Baumgartner skidded off the track and wrecked his car on the second free practice in the morning so he drove the qualifying with the spare car. But this car had not all the new improvements installed, so the Hungarian pilot started with a handicap compared even to his teammate.
"The truth is I took too much risk and that why this could happen. I wanted to shorten the chicane even more than usually and that had its price to pay. Later with the earlier developed spare car that was optimised for Bruni I decided to drive on the edge of traction circle, as there were so many hindering circumstances. Unluckily after the break the track was dirtier and I skidded again in the chicane but this time I could come back to the track. We will see what we can achieve and how this weekend will end."
Official results of the qualifying in Imola:
1. Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1:19.753
2. Michael Schumacher Ferrari + 0'00"258
3. Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW + 0'00"459
4. Rubens Barrichello Ferrari + 0'00"698
5. Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW + 0'00"785
6. Fernando Alonso Renault + 0'01"142
7. Takuma Sato BAR-Honda + 0'01"160
8. Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth + 0'01"168
9. Jarno Trulli Renault + 0'01"281
10. Cristiano Da Matta Toyota + 0'01"334
11. David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes + 0'01"338
12. Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas + 0'01"779
13. Olivier Panis Toyota + 0'01"805
14. Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth + 0'02"196
15. Giorgio Pantano Jordan-Cosworth + 0'03"599
16. Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Cosworth + 0'03"735
17. Gianmaria Bruni Minardi-Cosworth + 0'07"146
18. Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth + 0'26"546
19. Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes -
20. Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber-Petronas -
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2004.04.21.
BAR Honda wants to prove again
Jenson Button stood already two times on the podium this year so at present he is the third in the race between pilots. His team, BAR Honda expects its good performance to continue in Imola.
BAR Honda was one of the real surprises of the 2004 season. They seem to have started the development into the right direction as after years of mediocre performance they started to achieve good results in this year. In the first three races two places on the podium, that is something only the most optimistic expected. And the 19 points equal to the Williams performance is also an outstanding achievement.
The team is on the third place in the constructor's championship and Jenson Button has the same position in the driver's championship. On the first race of the European season in Imola the team wants to prove their performance so far wasn't a chance.
"It would be nice to start the European season with a scoring position or with a position on the podium. We hope to be able keep on with our good performance. Our car performed reliably on the test tracks in Barcelona and Paul Ricard, what is really important. Our speed was also good; we would like to be really competitive in Imola. Imola is a really unique place; it is a mixture of differently shaped corners and straight sections" Button said.
Team principal David Richards was also optimistic: "The three-week-long break gave us the opportunity to analyse the result the team had achieved in the first three races. For this year we had the goal to compete with the three big teams. Looking at our current position in the driver's and constructor's championship, we made it. We keep on fighting with Renault and Williams, but we would like to end the superiority of the Ferrari as well."
"The track of Imola is a special challenge for the teams as the whole race is made up of accelerations and slowing downs between the chicanes. The grip of the tyres and the brakes will have an extremely important role. We developed a new braking system and the Michelin tyres performed well under high stress, so I am optimistic. I think we can continue the fight on the next race' the technical director Geoffrey Willis said.
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2004.04.20.
Formula 1 in Turkey
Turkey can organise its first Formula 1 GP in next March thanks to the contract signed with Bernie Ecclestone.
The agreement is valid between 2005-2012, and was signed by Bernie Ecclestone, the "lord" of Formula 1 and the Turkish Motor Sport Association. With this contract Turkey become one of the most graced countries by FIA as it can organise next to its World Rally Championship event its own Formula 1 race. But at first the country must build its first racetrack suitable for a Formula 1 GP.
Again Hermann Tilke will design the facility, like he did with the racetracks in Bahrein and China. The plans emphasize that the viewers could see as many overtakes as possible but other parts of the track remain very technical. There will be 16 corners on the track driven counter clockwise. Presumably there will be enough places for around 80-100 thousand viewers.
A sum equivalent of around 85 million dollars will be spent on the construction that this time must exceed in quality the racetrack of Bahrein. The location is not revealed yet but earlier there where four cities in the tenders. The first was certainly Istanbul but Izmir, Antalya and Kirsehir were candidates too.
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2004.04.15.
In the future Minardi could get Toyota technology
In a few years Minardi race cars may look very similar to the Toyotas. It is possible that Toyota sees fantasy in supporting smaller teams.
According to some sources Toyota foresees providing its own designed engine to another team as Ferrari does. Earlier there were news about Jordan negotiating with Toyota on using their engine and transmission by 2005. The idea seems reasonable; although Toyota performs quite bad experts say its engine are competing with the engines of Ferrari and BMW.
Eddie Jordan is said to have found a sponsor in the Middle East who is willing to finance the engines as Petronas does with Sauber. According to sources the financial manoeuvres of the team displeases the management of Toyota that's why Minardi came into the picture.
Toyota would not be interested in a business transaction on the engines. They would not demand money for the engines but the gathered test information by the team and later they would like to choose the pilots. All these conditions are rather promising for Minardi because Paul Stoddart's team pays 10 million dollars a year for the old and outdated Cosworth engines.
But this is only the beginning. In Japan they know that information gathered on the engines worth not much in this situation. Namely Toyota races with Michelin Jordan and Minardi with Bridgestone tyres. For getting usable test results the two teams need to race with the same tyres. And if the tyres and the engine were the same, why would the chassis not be similar?
There are some who opposes the plan. According to them Toyota needs to develop its own team first to be competitive and just after this is achieved can the next step be made.
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2004.04.11.
Schumacher - No need to slow down!
The German star of the Ferrari reacted almost immediately to the statement of Max Mosley concerning the too fast Formula 1 cars.
FIA President Max Mosley initiated an investigation on the faster-becoming Formula 1 cars. They would like to limit the increase in top speed which started this winter at any cost. This is supported by the statement of Jarno Trulli and David Coulthard who called the speed of the cars in Formula 1 almost dangerous. Michael Schumacher member of the pilot union reacted almost immediately. But in opposition to his colleagues he does not see any reason to complain and he does not think the change is a wise idea:
"Yes, the speed increased indeed in the last few years, but I really don't think this would be dangerous or problematic. I don't think we should change. There is no reason now to worry."
A similar opinion was expressed by his team-mate Rubens Barrichelo:
"Before we change anything we should sit down and discuss it. We cannot hurry anything. I don't see any reason to change."
Jenson Button the pilot of the BAR team also disagrees FIA. For this he has all the reasons as in this year he and his team are doing very well in the championship and the possible changes could ruin their chances:
"I know other pilots are really concerned about it but I don't have any problem with the speed."
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2004.04.11.
FIA revises the regulations for this season
The world of Formula 1 is loud not only of the dominancy of the Ferrari but also of the fastness of the race cars. FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) wants to avoid that an accident should happen to make the teams realise the races are too fast.
FIA keeps on creating new rules for slowing down the races, but in vain, the Formula 1 teams seem to have found their way to become faster. In spite of the new limitations the drivers keep on beating the track records and their cars become even faster.
FIA President Max Mosley told Reuters that the Federation is concerned about the speed of the Formula 1 cars and wants them to become slower at any cost.
"We are looking very carefully at possibly using powers that we have under the Concorde Agreement to reduce the performance of the cars," Mosley said. "If we conclude that the cars are too fast, then we can give notice to the teams under the Concorde Agreement which requires the technical working group to come up with proposals for slowing the cars and they have to do that within a limited time. If they don't come up with the proposals, we have the right to impose something." -Mr Mosley said.
Even though the Concorde-Agreement is a secret document, it is known that the teams have maximum two month for presenting their ideas before FIA steps in.
According to experts the easiest and fastest way to reduce cornering speed of the cars is to thicken the "plate" on the car's underside. This could increase the height of the car's underside and probably its centre of gravity as well as it could slow down the airflow under the car that would reduce the downforce of the diffusers. Other ideas suggest an approach from the wheel-grip by increasing again the number of grooves on the tyres. Tyre manufacturers are not really enthusiastic about this plan because they would have to setup new machinery and the effect of the changes is not guaranteed.
The most extreme concept is to reduce the engine capacity but this is very unlikely during the ongoing season. According to the plan 2.4 litre V8 engine would be used in the future instead of the present 3 litre V10 engines. FIA made such a step before; in 1994 after Ayton Senna's death they reduced the engine volume from 3.5 litres to the present value.
For the moment FIA is still investigating and they don't want to acknowledge the increase of speed definitively. But if it happens and neither the teams nor the technical committee come up with a solution FIA will offer a choice for the teams. They will have to pick one from the three proposed packets of rule change.
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2004.04.11.
Barcelona Test - Friday
Under dry conditions BAR Honda were again the fastest. Behind Button and Sato Michael Schumacher was the third.
On Friday morning clean weather awaited the teams on the track so they could again engage in preparing for the races in Imola and Spain. The pilots of the BAR team were testing two different cars: one modified older one and a new 006 model.
Both of them made a lot of laps: Button 73 (32 with the hybrid) and Sato 93. Jenson Button was the fastest on this day with a time of 1:15.079 achieved with the new car. Sato was slower by 0.225 seconds and got the second position.
By afternoon the weather was dull again and it started raining but it did not disturb Button. Just shortly before it started raining the engine of the new car broke down. The team tested a new aerodynamic setup for the San Marino GP and a new engine and tyres for the Spanish GP.
At Ferrari the two pilots were testing on Friday too, trying different setups and tyres. After the first position on Thursday Michael Schumacher had to be satisfied with a third place with a time of 1:15.625. This was 0.2 second better than the best lap by the Mercedes test pilot Pedro De La Rosa.
Schumacher beat his team-mate Barricello who took the 8th position with almost one second. But he was not only faster but more diligent as well. He made 76 laps in the F2004 compared to Barichello's 29.
Mark Webber drove the 5th best time in the R5 beating Marc Gene in the Williams. Both pilot spent the day very usefully as Webber made 120 Gene 104 laps on the track. Gene's work may compensate the absence of Ralf Schumacher who cancelled his testing after 5 laps because of his backache. The third Williams BMW was driven again by Scott Dixon on whose car the right back suspension broke at the exit of a corner making the car to spin. After 53 laps he had to stop driving. The car of the team drove 2300 kilometres in the four day testing the mechanical parts, the tyres and the durability of the engines.
Giancarlo Fisichella was the slowest on Friday with the Sauber C23. During the day he drove 78 laps.
Unofficial results: 2004.04.09.
1. Jenson Button, BAR (Michelin) 1:15.079
2. Takuma Sato, BAR- (Michelin) 1:15.304
3. Michael Schumacher, Ferrari (Bridgestone) 1:15.625
4. Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren (Michelin) 1:15.812
5. Mark Webber, Jaguar (Michelin) 1:15.886
6. Marc Gene, Williams (Michelin) 1:15.948
7. Alexander Wurz, McLaren (Michelin) 1:16.268
8. Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari (Bridgestone) 1:16.515
9. Scott Dixon, Williams (Michelin) 1:16.621
10. Ralf Schumacher, Williams (Michelin) 1:17.191
11. Giancarlo Fisichella, Sauber (Bridgestone) 1:17.244
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2004.04.09.
Barcelona Test - Thursday
Rain and Schumacher superiority on Thursday on the testing in Barcelona. Between the two Ferrari Alonso took the second place.
After the nice and sunny weather cold and rain waited for the teams on the 4.73 kilometre long Spanish track. This made several teams to change their foreseen program and concentrate on the new challenges. The racing team of the Scuderia Ferrari arrived to the Catalonian race track to take over the testing from the test pilot Badoer.
Michael Schumacher drove 51 laps on the wet track and got the best time. His superiority can be described by the fact that he was 1.886 second faster than the second Fernando Alonso. This time both Renault circled with the new engine, but while Alonso drove 40 laps, Trulli made only 22. Rubens Barichello tested the F2004 over 29 laps long and achieved the 3rd best time.
The BAR team was completed as next to Sato Jenson Button was also circling with his car this day. From the two Button was the faster grabbing the 4th place, Sato drove only on the 13th place. Both of them were testing the engine and aerodynamic setup made for the San Marino GP. Sato had to cancel it very early because his engine broke down after five laps.
Alexander Wurz and David Coulthard continue testing the McLaren MP4-19 in Barcelona. They took the fifth and sixth place both driving more than 50 laps on the track. Ralf Schumacher joined the two Williams test pilot and took over some part of the work.
This day he and Scott Dixon were driving. As this was the first rainy testing for the test pilot, it is not surprising the younger Schumacher was faster than him with almost 1.5 seconds. The team tested the wet tyres, the rain setup and the electronics on Thursday.
Sauber planned on Wednesday to test the dry tyres of Bridgestone on Thursday but this was impossible due to the weather. But this change made a perfect occasion to test the wet tyres. Cristiano Da Matta took over Panis' place in the Toyota TF-104. The team kept on improving the car in order to find a way out of the "not so rosy" present situation.
Ricardo Zonta gathered information on the rain setup for his present race car and drove only 18 laps. Björn Wirdheim drove a 7.5 second slower best lap with the R4 than Schumacher made with his Ferrari so he became the 14th this day.
Unofficial results: 2004.04.07.
1. Michael Schumacher, Ferrari (Bridgestone), 1:23.765
2. Fernando Alonso, Renault (Michelin), 1:25.657
3. Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari (Bridgestone), 1:25.932
4. Jenson Button, BAR (Michelin), 1:26.150
5. Alexander Wurz, McLaren (Michelin), 1:26.172
6. David Coulthard, McLaren (Michelin), 1:26.391
7. Ralf Schumacher, Williams (Michelin), 1:27.013
8. Jarno Trulli, Renault (Michelin), 1:27.940
9. Felipe Massa, Sauber (Bridgestone), 1:28.159
10. Scott Dixon, Williams (Michelin), 1:28.320
11. Cristiano da Matta, Toyota (Michelin), 1:28.456
12. Ricardo Zonta, Toyota (Michelin), 1:29.359
13. Takuma Sato, BAR (Michelin), 1:30.524
14. Björn Wirdheim, Jaguar (Michelin), 1:31.572
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2004.04.08.
Barcelona Test - Wednesday
The BAR Hondas are still fast, during the testing on Wednesday the team's Japanese pilot was the fastest.
Takuma Sato from BAR Honda was the fastest on the second day of the testing held in Spain. David Coultard joined the testers and Williams Sauber and Jaguar also arrived.
Testing can be held furthermore during nice weather conditions on the Barcelona race track, where the temperature of the asphalt reached 21 C. There are already eight teams preparing on the Catalonian race track for the race in Imola as BMW Williams, Sauber and Jaguar joined the others.
The test pilot of the BAR team Anthony Davidson was testing tyres in Valencia, so Sato stayed the only BAR pilot on the track in Barcelona. His job was to test the aerodynamic setups and dry tyres they intend to use later in Spain.
The Japanese pilot was the fastest on Wednesday with a time of 1:14.676 which was better then the time of Trulli by 0.150 second. The Renault pilot would have been testing the chassis during a race simulation but he had to leave the track after 28 laps because of oil leaking. After the engine was replaced the pilot continued his work and drove 78 laps. His team-mate Fernando Alonso had not better luck on his home track as the engine in his car lasted only 56 laps forcing him to end his work for the day. Meanwhile he reached the fourth best time.
Luca Badoer, the test pilot of the Ferrari grabbed the third place but he was the first in diligence as he drove 111 laps. After driving an endurance test he tried to find the best setup.
David Coulthard arrived in Spain and replaced de la Rosa in the testing. He drove the MP4-19 to the 8th place. In the other car Alexander Wurz took the 5th place. Williams also tested two cars, the team concentrated on the tyres and long-run tests. Marc Gene drove 100 laps and the American IRL Champion Scott Dixon 96. They best time was respectively 6th and 9th.
At Toyota Olivier Panis was the faster and took the 7th place. Ricardo Zonta made it to the 10th. They tested new aerodynamic parts, traction control and clutch control. Jaguar and Sauber both took one car for the testing. The later team had to cancel the test already in the morning as the Ferrari engine broke down. After the repairs Felipe Massa drove 48 laps but his best time was more than 1:17 minute. Björn Wirdheim with the Jaguar was only slightly faster he took the 11th place.
Unofficial results: 2004.04.06.
1. Takuma Sato, BAR (Michelin), 1:14.676
2. Jarno Trulli, Renault (Michelin), 1:14.686
3. Luca Badoer, Ferrari (Bridgestone), 1:14.867
4. Fernando Alonso, Renault (Michelin), 1:15.126
5. Alexander Wurz, McLaren (Michelin), 1:15.192
6. Marc Gene, Williams (Michelin), 1:15.194
7. Olivier Panis, Toyota (Michelin), 1:15.795
8. David Coulthard, McLaren (Michelin), 1:15.828
9. Scott Dixon, Williams (Michelin), 1:15.922
10. Ricardo Zonta, Toyota (Michelin), 1:16.146
11. Björn Wirdheim, Jaguar (Michelin), 1:16.582
12. Felipe Massa, Sauber (Bridgestone), 1:17.104
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