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2004 Formula One season

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Zsolt Baumgartner during race scored only championship point at 2004 United States Grand Prix.
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Zsolt Baumgartner during race scored only championship point at 2004 United States Grand Prix.

2004 FIA Formula One World Championship season
2003 2005
Index: Races by country | Races by season

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The 2004 Formula One season was the 55th FIA Formula One World Championship season, running from March 7 to October 24 2004. The season was dominated by Michael Schumacher and his Scuderia Ferrari. Also notable were the success of BAR and Renault, as well as the poor performance of Ferrari's "Big Three" competitors Williams and McLaren.

For the fifth and sixth seasons Ferrari won both drivers and constructors titles respectively. Michael Schumacher dominated the beginning of the year by winning a record 12 races in the first 13, easily cruising to a record seventh drivers championships. Rubens Barrichello came in a solid second place, winning two of the last four races. Jenson Button impressed everyone; though failing to win a grand prix, he finished third, securing ten podium finishes and one pole position. Along with Japanese team mate Takuma Sato, BAR impressed by finishing second behind Ferrari.

Four of the ten teams were subsidiaries of major car companies (Ferrari, Renault, Jaguar, and Toyota) and one was a division of a tobacco company (BAR). Williams and McLaren, both privately owned teams, had engine-production agreements with major car companies, BMW and Mercedes-Benz respectively, and Honda produced engines for BAR. The final three teams, Jordan, Sauber and Minardi, were also privately owned but received little substantial sponsorship, and consequently tended to end up toward the back of the grid. Sauber was privately owned, but received Ferrari engines badged under the Petronas name, and also received sponsorship from Petronas.

From the 2004 season onward, all teams who did not finish in the top four of the previous year's World Constructors Championship were allowed to run a third car on the Friday practice before a grand prix for testing purposes. Other teams have test drivers as well, though they are not allowed to compete in Friday practice. Sauber chose not to run its third driver in practice because of the added expense.

Contents

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Team Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre No Driver No Third driver Test driver(s)
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2004 Ferrari 053 3.0 V10 B 1 Michael Schumacher n/a Luca Badoer
2 Rubens Barrichello
BMW WilliamsF1 Team Williams FW26 BMW P84 3.0 V10 M 3 Juan Pablo Montoya n/a Antônio Pizzonia
Marc Gené
4 Ralf Schumacher
Marc Gené1
Antônio Pizzonia2
West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-19
MP4-19B 		Mercedes FO 110Q 3.0 V10 M 5 David Coulthard n/a Alexander Wurz
Pedro de la Rosa
6 Kimi Räikkönen
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R24 Renault RS24 3.0 V10 M 7 Jarno Trulli n/a Franck Montagny
Jacques Villeneuve3
8 Fernando Alonso
Lucky Strike British American Racing BAR Honda BAR 006 Honda RA004E 3.0 V10 M 9 Jenson Button 35 Anthony Davidson Anthony Davidson
10 Takuma Sato
Sauber Petronas Sauber C23 Petronas 04A 3.0 V10 B 11 Giancarlo Fisichella n/a Neel Jani
12 Felipe Massa
Jaguar Racing Jaguar R5 Cosworth CR-6 3.0 V10 M 14 Mark Webber 37 Bjorn Wirdheim Bjorn Wirdheim
15 Christian Klien
Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF104
TF104B 		Toyota RVX-04 3.0 V10 M 16 Cristiano da Matta4 38 Ricardo Zonta
Ryan Briscoe 		Ryan Briscoe
Jarno Trulli5
16/17 Ricardo Zonta6
17 Olivier Panis7
Benson & Hedges Jordan Ford Jordan EJ14 Ford RS2 3.0 V10 B 18 Nick Heidfeld 39 Timo Glock
Robert Doornbos8 		Robert Doornbos
19 Giorgio Pantano9
Timo Glock10
Minardi Cosworth Minardi PS04B Cosworth CR-3 3.0 V10 B 20 Gianmaria Bruni 40 Bas Leinders Bas Leinders
Tiago Monteiro
21 Zsolt Baumgartner

Driver changes

The 2004 season featured several driver line-up changes prior to the season, and more changes during the season proper. Three teams (Minardi, Jordan and Sauber) started 2004 with completely new driver line-ups.

In BAR, following Jacques Villeneuve's departure from BAR before the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix, former test driver Takuma Sato was permanently given the second race seat along side Jenson Button; after serving in a temporary measure during 2003, Anthony Davidson became the permanent test driver replacing Takuma Sato.

In Minardi, Nicolas Kiesa was unable to keep his seat and was released; Jos Verstappen left italian team as a result of sponsorship problems, and an unwillingness to spend another year competing with other backmarkers in the uncompetitive team, and was signed Gianmaria Bruni to a full time drive, had performed small amounts of testing in 2003. Zsolt Baumgartner was confirmed as second full time driver after the Hungarian government provided sponsorship. Baumgartner had performed replacement duties at Jordan in 2003 after Ralph Firman suffered injuries from a crash in Hungary. Completing the all-new lineup Bas Leinders and Tiago Monteiro were signed as test drivers for 2004. Lienders was signed from the ranks of the World Series by Nissan, while Montiero was signed from the American Fittipaldi Champ Car team.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Sauber mutually parted company at the end of 2003, and Frentzen moved out of F1 and joined fellow ex-F1 drivers Mika Häkkinen and Jean Alesi in the German DTM. Nick Heidfeld was also released by Sauber, and appeared to have no drive for 2004. However several successful test drives at Jordan landed him a seat there. Fisichella left Jordan after 2003 having signed a drive for Sauber. This meant that Heidfeld and Fisichella effectively swapped seats. Sauber's other new driver was Felipe Massa who left his test position at Ferrari and returned to the team where he had raced in 2002. As Sauber used Ferrari engines in 2003, Massa took considerable knowledge of Ferrari components with him.

Choosing not to extend Justin Wilson's contract, Jaguar signed up Christian Klien to partner Mark Webber in the R5. Wilson turned down a test drive and departed Jaguar to join the Mi-Jack Conquest Racing team in Champ Car racing in America. Bjorn Wirdheim was signed as their Friday test driver. The other friday test drivers are Franck Montagny, was rewarded for a championship year in the World Series by Nissan with a permanent test drive at Renault, Ryan Briscoe joined Ricardo Zonta as a test driver at Toyota, and Pedro de la Rosa returned to F1 as a test driver for McLaren.

Team changes

As part of a global restructuring and cost cutting exercise, Ford announced during the season that they would not be entering into the F1 championship in 2005 via their Jaguar team. They also announced that their Cosworth motor and engineering divisions were being sold. The Jaguar team was eventually bought by Red Bull and effectively continued to compete as Red Bull Racing in 2005.

Results and standings

The 2004 Formula One calendar featured two new events, in Bahrain and China, with two new-builty circuits in Sakhir and Shanghai. The only exit is the Austrian Grand Prix, after seven years raced in A1-Ring, the modified circuit old Osterreichring. The grandstands and pit buildings were demolished during this year, rendering the track unusable for any motorsport category. In later 2004 and early 2005, there were intense discussions whether the owner, Red Bull, would find another use for the site or even bring back motor sports. However, as of January 2005, this seems more unlikely than ever, as Dietrich Mateschitz publicly announced that he had no intention to waste money on a deficitary circuit.

Grands Prix

Round Race Location Date Winning Driver Winning Team Report
1 Australian Grand Prix Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit March 7 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
2 Malaysian Grand Prix Sepang International Circuit March 21 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
3 Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain International Circuit April 4 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
4 San Marino Grand Prix Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari April 25 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
5 Spanish Grand Prix Circuit de Catalunya May 9 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
6 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco May 23 Jarno Trulli Renault Report
7 European Grand Prix Nürburgring May 30 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
8 Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Gilles Villeneuve June 13 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
9 United States Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway June 20 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
10 French Grand Prix Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours July 4 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
11 British Grand Prix Silverstone July 11 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
12 German Grand Prix Hockenheimring July 25 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
13 Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring August 15 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
14 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps August 29 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes Report
15 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale Monza September 12 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari Report
16 Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai International Circuit September 26 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari Report
17 Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka Circuit October 10 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
18 Brazilian Grand Prix Autódromo José Carlos Pace October 24 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW Report

Drivers

Pos Driver AUS MYS BHR SMR ESP MCO EUR CAN USA FRA GBR DEU HUN BEL ITA CHN JPN BRA Pts
1 M. Schumacher 1 1 1 1 1 Ret 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 12 1 7 148
2 Barrichello 2 4 2 6 2 3 2 2 2 3 3 12 2 3 1 1 Ret 3 114
3 Button 6 3 3 2 8 2 3 3 Ret 5 4 2 5 Ret 3 2 3 Ret 85
4 Alonso 3 7 6 4 4 Ret 5 Ret Ret 2 10 3 3 Ret Ret 4 5 4 59
5 Montoya 5 2 13 3 Ret 4 8 DSQ DSQ 8 5 5 4 Ret 5 5 7 1 58
6 Trulli 7 5 4 5 3 1 4 Ret 4 4 Ret 11 Ret 9 10 11 12 46
7 Räikkönen Ret Ret Ret 8 11 Ret Ret 5 6 7 2 Ret Ret 1 Ret 3 6 2 45
8 Sato 9 15 5 16 5 Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret 11 8 6 Ret 4 6 4 6 34
9 R. Schumacher 4 Ret 7 7 6 10 Ret DSQ Ret

 Ret 2 5 24
10 Coulthard 8 6 Ret 12 10 Ret Ret 6 7 6 7 4 9 7 6 9 Ret 11 24
11 Fisichella 10 11 11 9 7 Ret 6 4 9 12 6 9 8 5 8 7 8 9 22
12 Massa Ret 8 12 10 9 5 9 Ret Ret 13 9 13 Ret 4 12 8 9 8 12
13 Webber Ret Ret 8 13 12 Ret 7 Ret Ret 9 8 6 10 Ret 9 10 Ret Ret 7
14 Panis 13 12 9 11 Ret 8 11 DSQ 5 15 Ret 14 11 8 Ret 14 14 6
15 Pizzonia 7 7 Ret 7 6
16 Klien 11 10 14 14 Ret Ret 12 9 Ret 11 14 10 13 6 13 Ret 12 14 3
17 da Matta 12 9 10 Ret 13 6 Ret DSQ Ret 14 13 Ret 3
18 Heidfeld Ret Ret 15 Ret Ret 7 10 8 Ret 16 15 Ret 12 11 14 13 13 Ret 3
19 Glock 7 15 15 15 2
20 Baumgartner Ret 16 Ret 15 Ret 9 15 10 8 Ret Ret 16 15 Ret 15 16 Ret 16 1
21 Villeneuve 11 10 10 0
22 Zonta Ret 10 11 Ret 13 0
23 Gené 10 12 0
24 Pantano 14 13 16 Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret 17 Ret 15 Ret Ret Ret 0
25 Bruni Ret 14 17 Ret Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret 18 16 17 14 Ret Ret Ret 16 17 0
Pos Driver AUS MYS BHR SMR ESP MCO EUR CAN USA FRA GBR DEU HUN BEL ITA CHN JPN BRA Pts
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Finished, in points
Blue Finished, no points
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
blank Did not participate /
excluded (Ex)

Pos Driver Team(s) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps Points
1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 18 13 15 8 10 148
2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 18 2 14 4 4 114
3 Jenson Button BAR 18 0 10 1 0 85
4 Fernando Alonso Renault 18 0 4 1 0 59
5 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams 18 1 3 0 2 58
6 Jarno Trulli Renault
Toyota 		17 1 2 2 0 46
7 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 18 1 4 1 2 45
8 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 18 0 1 0 0 34
9 Ralf Schumacher Williams 12 0 1 1 0 24
10 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 18 0 0 0 0 24
11 Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber 18 0 0 0 0 22
12 Felipe Massa Sauber 18 0 0 0 0 12
13 Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 18 0 0 0 0 7
14 Olivier Panis Toyota 17 0 0 0 0 6
15 Antônio Pizzonia Williams 4 0 0 0 0 6
16 Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth 18 0 0 0 0 3
17 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 12 0 0 0 0 3
18 Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Cosworth 18 0 0 0 0 3
19 Timo Glock Jordan-Cosworth 4 0 0 0 0 2
20 Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth 18 0 0 0 0 1
21 Jacques Villeneuve Renault 3 0 0 0 0 0
22 Ricardo Zonta Toyota 5 0 0 0 0 0
23 Marc Gené Williams 2 0 0 0 0 0
24 Giorgio Pantano Jordan-Cosworth 14 0 0 0 0 0
25 Gianmaria Bruni Minardi-Cosworth 18 0 0 0 0 0

Constructors

|valign="top"|
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Finished, in points
Blue Finished, no points
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
blank Did not participate /
excluded (Ex)
|}

Notes

  1. Williams driver Marc Gené replaced Ralf Schumacher, injuried at 2004 United States Grand Prix, in France and Great Britain.
  2. After being unceremoniously dumped from a Jaguar full time drive half way through the previous season, Antônio Pizzonia signed on for a test drive with Williams. Pizzonia replaced Ralf Schumacher from German to Italy.
  3. Jacques Villeneuve replaced Trulli at Renault for the final three races in China, Japan and Brazil.
  4. Cristiano da Matta's string of disappointing results during the season was replaced by test driver Ricardo Zonta from Hungary onwards. Da Matta did not race for Toyota again and in 2005 he returned to Champ Car racing claiming that F1 was not competitive enough.
  5. Jarno Trulli's relationship with Renault, and Team Principal Flavio Briatore in particular, soured markedly after it was made clear that he would not be retained after 2004. After agreeing to terms with Toyota for 2005, Trulli and Renault agreed to part ways after the 2004 Italian Grand Prix and 14 races disputed. This allowed Trulli to drive for Toyota for the final three races of 2004 and Ricardo Zonta therefore found himself demoted to test driver once again.
  6. Ricardo Zonta replaces Da Matta in Hungary, Belgium, Italy, China and Brazil.
  7. Toyota driver Olivier Panis indicated during the season that he was not interested in driving full time for Toyota due to personal reasons. He did express interest in working as a test driver and was consequently signed by Toyota on that basis at the end of the season. Panis raced at Sunday with three different team-mates: da Matta from Australia to Germany, Zonta in Hungary and China, and finally Trulli in Japan.
  8. Robert Doornbos was hired as a replacement test driver for Glock's position at Jordan.
  9. Jordan driver Giorgio Pantano raced from Australia to Italy. After this race Pantano and Jordan parted ways after poor results and sponsorship problems created issues.
  10. Timo Glock was contracted to finish the year in the Jordan having already performed testing duties with the team that year. He was a third driver on friday in Canada and also the race driver on sunday, replaced Pantano at the last three races.

 

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