| 2004 German Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 12 of 18 in the2004 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | |||||
| Date | 25 July 2004 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 GrosserMobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2004 | ||||
| Location | Hockenheimring Hockenheim,Baden-Württemberg,Germany | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.574 km (2.842 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 66 laps, 301.884 km (187.582 miles) | ||||
| Scheduled distance | 67 laps, 306.458 km (190.424 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Sunny | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:13.306 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:13.780 on lap 10(lap record)[N 1] | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ferrari | ||||
| Second | BAR-Honda | ||||
| Third | Renault | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2004 German Grand Prix (officially known as theFormula 1 Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2004)[1] was aFormula One motor race that took place on 25 July 2004 at theHockenheimring inGermany. It was the twelfth round of the2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Michael Schumacher ofScuderia Ferrari tookpole position for the race and went on to take the race win ahead ofJenson Button ofBAR andFernando Alonso ofRenault. This was the final Grand Prix forBrazilian driverCristiano da Matta, and the final timeWilliams used the 'Walrus nose' on itsFW26racing car.
TheHockenheimring inHockenheim,Germany hosted a Formula One Grand Prix for the 28th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 23-25 July. The Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the2004 Formula One World Championship and the 52nd running of theGerman Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.[2]
Going into the weekend,Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with 100 points, built up of 10 victories in 11 races. He was 26 points ahead of his teammateRubens Barrichello in second, and 47 ahead ofJenson Button in third.[3]Ferrari, with 174 points, led the Constructors' Championship fromRenault andBAR-Honda, who were second and third with 79 and 67 points, respectively.[3]
In the previous two races,Marc Gené had stepped in forWilliams driverRalf Schumacher. Schumacher was still recovering from his back injury at theUnited States Grand Prix and Gené did not provide the necessary results, so the team decided to promote their other test driver,Antônio Pizzonia, into the race seat.[4]
Fourfree practice sessions were held for the event.[5] The first session on Friday was topped byBAR's third driverAnthony Davidson, followed byMichael Schumacher in theFerrari andKimi Räikkönen forMcLaren.[6] The latter two reached the top of the standings in the second session.[7]
On Saturday, Schumacher again set the quickest time in the third practice session, ahead ofJuan Pablo Montoya forWilliams and teammateRubens Barrichello.[8] Montoya was second again in the fourth and final session, this time headed by BAR'sJenson Button.[9]
The bottom 6 teams in the2003 Constructors' Championship were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.
| Constructor | Nat | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| BAR-Honda |  | Anthony Davidson |
| Sauber-Petronas | - | |
| Jaguar-Cosworth |  | Björn Wirdheim |
| Toyota |  | Ricardo Zonta |
| Jordan-Ford |  | Timo Glock |
| Minardi-Cosworth |  | Bas Leinders |
Qualifying on Saturday consisted of two sessions. In the first session, drivers went out one by one in the order in which they classified at the previous race. Each driver was allowed to set one lap time. The result determined the running order in the second session: the fastest driver in the first session was allowed to go last in the second session, which usually provided the benefit of a cleaner track. In the second session, drivers were again allowed to set one lap time, which determined the order on the grid for the race on Sunday, with the fastest driver scoringpole position.[10]
Michael Schumacher scored his sixthpole position of the season, ahead ofJuan Pablo Montoya andJenson Button, to make his 100th start from the front row.[11] Button was demoted 10 places on the grid for replacing the engine after Friday's second practice, soKimi Räikkönen moved up to the third slot.Toyota brought a new car, theTF104B, but were still working on perfecting their aerodynamic set-up, as demonstrated by their tenth and fifteenth positions.Antônio Pizzonia's first qualifying in aWilliams was met with mixed reviews: his time in the first qualifying session would have put him second on the grid, but when it mattered in the second session, he failed to reach higher than eleventh place.[12]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:14.042 | 1:13.306 | 1 | |
| 2 | 3 |  Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | 1:13.391 | 1:13.668 | +0.362 | 2 |
| 3 | 9 | Jenson Button | BAR-Honda | 1:13.535 | 1:13.674 | +0.368 | 131 |
| 4 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:13.842 | 1:13.690 | +0.384 | 3 |
| 5 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:13.640 | 1:13.821 | +0.515 | 4 |
| 6 | 8 |  Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:13.582 | 1:13.874 | +0.568 | 5 |
| 7 | 7 |  Jarno Trulli | Renault | 1:13.737 | 1:14.134 | +0.828 | 6 |
| 8 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 1:14.111 | 1:14.278 | +0.972 | 7 |
| 9 | 10 |  Takuma Sato | BAR-Honda | 1:14.465 | 1:14.287 | +0.981 | 8 |
| 10 | 17 |  Olivier Panis | Toyota | 1:13.641 | 1:14.368 | +1.062 | 9 |
| 11 | 4 | Antônio Pizzonia | Williams-BMW | 1:13.422 | 1:14.556 | +1.250 | 10 |
| 12 | 14 |  Mark Webber | Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:15.093 | 1:14.802 | +1.496 | 11 |
| 13 | 15 |  Christian Klien | Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:15.090 | 1:15.011 | +1.705 | 12 |
| 14 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Sauber-Petronas | 1:13.914 | 1:15.395 | +2.089 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 1:15.119 | 1:15.454 | +2.148 | 15 |
| 16 | 12 | Felipe Massa | Sauber-Petronas | 1:13.899 | 1:15.616 | +2.310 | 16 |
| 17 | 19 | Giorgio Pantano | Jordan-Ford | 1:16.167 | 1:16.192 | +2.886 | 17 |
| 18 | 18 | Nick Heidfeld | Jordan-Ford | 1:16.538 | 1:16.310 | +3.004 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | Gianmaria Bruni | Minardi-Cosworth | 1:17.283 | 1:18.055 | +4.749 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 |  Zsolt Baumgartner | Minardi-Cosworth | 1:17.515 | 1:18.400 | +5.094 | 20 |
Source:[13] | |||||||
The race was held on 25 July 2004 and was due to run for 67 laps, but whenOlivier Panis stalled his engine on the grid and the first start had to be aborted, the race was shortened to 66 laps.[15]
At the start,Michael Schumacher held the lead, but second-startingJuan Pablo Montoya dropped down to eighth place. Meanwhile,Fernando Alonso shot up from fifth to second, which meantKimi Räikkönen went on where he started, in third position. When the field arrived at the hairpin for the first time,Rubens Barrichello tried to passDavid Coulthard for fifth place, but left his braking too late, locked his rear wheels and crashed into the back of theMcLaren. TheScot continued without losing time, but theBrazilian lost his front wing and was forced topit, dropping to the back of the field. Alonso was passed by Räikkönen at the hairpin on lap 2, while Montoya began his recovery by overtakingMark Webber into the same corner mere moments later.[12]
Schumacher had opened a gap of three seconds to Räikkönen, but theFinn drew closer to the leader during the first round of pit stops. On lap 13, however, the rear wing collapsed on his McLaren as he was about to turn into the high-speed first corner. His car spun and slammed into the tyre barrier, but the driver escaped unhurt. It was Räikkönen seventh retirement of the season and left Schumacher in the lead with more than ten seconds over Alonso.[12]
Montoya had climbed up to fourth position, but his tyres degraded faster than those around him and on lap 21, he went off track and was passed byJenson Button. TheColombian triggered the secound round of pit stops anded rejoined in a distant fifth place. Schumacher and Alonso kept their positions, while Coulthard fell back behind Button and the latter continued his surge during the third round of pit stops by rejoining right behind Alonso and then passing theRenault driver on lap 51. Button was even faster than Schumacher but the championship leader had enough of a lead to cruise to the finish and take another dominant victory.[12]
Antônio Pizzonia finished seventh and scored two points on his first outing forWilliams.[12]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 66 | 1:23:54.848 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Jenson Button | BAR-Honda | 66 | + 8.388 | 13 | 8 |
| 3 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 66 | + 16.351 | 5 | 6 |
| 4 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 66 | + 19.231 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | 66 | + 23.055 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar-Cosworth | 66 | + 41.108 | 11 | 3 |
| 7 | 4 | Antônio Pizzonia | Williams-BMW | 66 | + 41.956 | 10 | 2 |
| 8 | 10 | Takuma Sato | BAR-Honda | 66 | + 46.842 | 8 | 1 |
| 9 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Sauber-Petronas | 66 | + 1:07.102 | 14 | |
| 10 | 15 | Christian Klien | Jaguar-Cosworth | 66 | + 1:08.578 | 12 | |
| 11 | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 66 | + 1:10.258 | 6 | |
| 12 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 66 | + 1:13.252 | 7 | |
| 13 | 12 | Felipe Massa | Sauber-Petronas | 65 | + 1 Lap | 16 | |
| 14 | 17 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 65 | + 1 Lap | PL | |
| 15 | 19 | Giorgio Pantano | Jordan-Ford | 63 | + 3 Laps | 17 | |
| 16 | 21 | Zsolt Baumgartner | Minardi-Cosworth | 62 | + 4 Laps | 20 | |
| 17 | 20 | Gianmaria Bruni | Minardi-Cosworth | 62 | + 4 Laps | 19 | |
| Ret | 18 | Nick Heidfeld | Jordan-Ford | 42 | Handling | 18 | |
| Ret | 16 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 38 | Puncture | 15 | |
| Ret | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | 13 | Rear Wing/Accident | 3 | |
Source:[16] | |||||||
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| Previous race: 2004 British Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2004 season | Next race: 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2003 German Grand Prix | German Grand Prix | Next race: 2005 German Grand Prix |
49°19′40″N8°33′57″E / 49.32778°N 8.56583°E /49.32778; 8.56583
