2004 Chinese Grand Prix

The 2004 Chinese Grand Prix (officially the 2004 Formula 1 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix)[2] was a Formula One motor race held on 26 September 2004 at the Shanghai International Circuit. It was Race 16 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship and was the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix.

2004 Chinese Grand Prix
Race 16 of 18 in the 2004 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 26 September 2004
Official name 2004 Formula 1 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix
Location Shanghai International Circuit
Shanghai, China
Course Permanent Racing Facility
Course length 5.451 km (3.387 miles)
Distance 56 laps, 305.066 km (189.559 miles)
Weather Sunny with temperatures reaching up to 27 °C (81 °F)[1]
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:34.012
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
Time 1:32.238 on lap 55 (lap record)
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
BAR-Honda
Third
McLaren-Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 56-lap race was won by Rubens Barrichello for the Ferrari team, from a pole position start. Jenson Button finished second for the BAR team, with Kimi Räikkönen third in a McLaren.

Report

Background

Michael Schumacher and Ferrari were already the drivers' and constructors' world champions. After the 2004 Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher unassailably led the drivers' standings with 38 points ahead of Rubens Barrichello and 65 points ahead of Jenson Button. Ferrari led the constructors' championship with 140 points, unassailable ahead of BAR and 143 points ahead of Renault.

Renault fired Jarno Trulli after the Italian Grand Prix and was replaced by Jacques Villeneuve, who returned to driving a single-seater after almost a year of inactivity. The dismissal of the Italian driver was due to disagreements with team manager Flavio Briatore.

This was the first race back for Ralf Schumacher after injuries in the 2004 United States Grand Prix three months prior.

Race

The 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, the first to be held at the Shanghai International Circuit, saw Rubens Barrichello of Ferrari start from pole position. He maintained his lead from the start, with Jenson Button of BAR-Honda closely following him. Michael Schumacher, Barrichello's teammate, experienced a spin in the early laps, dropping him to the back of the field.

Pit stops temporarily changed the race order, with Button briefly taking the lead before Barrichello regained it. Tyre strategy was evident, as cars with Bridgestone tyres, including Barrichello's Ferrari, appeared to have better grip compared to those with Michelin tyres.

Kimi Räikkönen of McLaren-Mercedes moved up during the race, ultimately securing third place. Schumacher managed to recover some positions but finished outside the points in 12th place.

Barrichello won the race, followed by Button in second and Räikkönen in third. The event marked China's entry into the Formula 1 calendar and was notable for Ferrari's continued dominance in the 2004 season.

Friday drivers

The bottom 6 teams in the 2003 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.

ConstructorNoDriver
BAR-Honda 35 United Kingdom Anthony Davidson
Sauber-Petronas -
Jaguar-Cosworth 37 Sweden Björn Wirdheim
Toyota 38 Australia Ryan Briscoe
Jordan-Ford 39 Netherlands Robert Doornbos
Minardi-Cosworth 40 Belgium Bas Leinders

Classification

Qualifying
PosNoDriverConstructorQ1 TimeQ2 TimeGapGrid
1 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:33.787 1:34.012 — 1
2 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.499 1:34.178 +0.166 2
3 9 United Kingdom Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1:34.273 1:34.295 +0.283 3
4 12 Brazil Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 1:33.816 1:34.759 +0.747 4
5 4 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1:33.849 1:34.891 +0.879 5
6 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 1:34.599 1:34.917 +0.905 6
7 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber-Petronas 1:33.738 1:34.951 +0.939 7
8 17 France Olivier Panis Toyota 1:34.153 1:34.975 +0.962 8
9 10 Japan Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 1:34.051 1:34.993 +0.981 181
10 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.355 1:35.029 +1.017 9
11 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1:34.016 1:35.245 +1.233 10
12 14 Australia Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 1:34.334 1:35.286 +1.274 11
13 7 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Renault 1:34.425 1:35.384 +1.372 12
14 16 Brazil Ricardo Zonta Toyota 1:34.958 1:35.410 +1.398 13
15 18 Germany Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Ford 1:34.808 1:36.507 +2.495 14
16 15 Austria Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth 1:35.447 1:36.535 +2.523 15
17 19 Germany Timo Glock Jordan-Ford 1:37.143 1:37.410 +3.398 16
18 21 Hungary Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth 1:37.510 1:40.240 +6.228 191
19 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:33.185 No time — 201
20 20 Italy Gianmaria Bruni Minardi-Cosworth 1:36.623 No time — 17
Source:[3]
Notes
  • ^1 – Takuma Sato, Zsolt Baumgartner and Michael Schumacher received a 10-place grid penalty for engine changes.

Race
PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari B 56 1:29:12.420 1 10
2 9 United Kingdom Jenson Button BAR-Honda M 56 + 1.035 3 8
3 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes M 56 + 1.469 2 6
4 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault M 56 + 32.510 6 5
5 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW M 56 + 45.193 10 4
6 10 Japan Takuma Sato BAR-Honda M 56 + 54.791 18 3
7 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber-Petronas B 56 + 1:05.454 7 2
8 12 Brazil Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas B 56 + 1:20.080 4 1
9 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes M 56 + 1:20.619 9  
10 14 Australia Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth M 55 + 1 Lap 11  
11 7 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Renault M 55 + 1 Lap 12  
12 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari B 55 + 1 Lap PL  
13 18 Germany Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Ford B 55 + 1 Lap 14  
14 17 France Olivier Panis Toyota M 55 +1 Lap 8  
15 19 Germany Timo Glock Jordan-Ford B 55 +1 Lap 16  
16 21 Hungary Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth B 53 +3 Laps 19  
Ret 20 Italy Gianmaria Bruni Minardi-Cosworth B 38 Mechanical 17  
Ret 4 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW M 37 Collision damage 5  
Ret 16 Brazil Ricardo Zonta Toyota M 35 Transmission 13  
Ret 15 Austria Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth M 11 Suspension 15  
Source:[4][5]
  • Michael Schumacher started the race from the pitlane.

Notes
  • The race was the first where radio conversations between teams and drivers were broadcast to television viewers.[6]

Championship standings after the race
  • Bold text and an asterisk indicates the World Champions.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References
  1. Weather info for the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix at Weather Underground
  2. "2004 FORMULA 1 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix - Race". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  3. "2004 Chinese Grand Prix – Saturday Qualifying Results". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited.
  4. "2004 Chinese Grand Prix - Race Results". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  5. "2004 Chinese Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 26 September 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  6. "Radio opened up to fans". Autosport.com. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  7. "China 2004 - Championship". statsf1.com. Retrieved 14 March 2019.

31°20′20″N 121°13′11″E

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