2004 Monaco F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Monaco Grand Prix
Track: Monaco Circuit

Weather: dry, warm, sunny

Jarno TRULLI won his 1st F1 World Championship race at the 2004 Monaco F1 GP. The Renault driver started from pole and won the streets of Monte Carlo by 0.497 seconds from Jenson Button. It was the 2nd F1 win for the Renault F1 team since its 2002 return and Trullis maiden F1 victory in his 118th Grand Prix start, ending Ferraris five-race winning streak.

Trulli pole, first for the Italian at Monaco

Monaco on 23 May 2004 opened with Jarno Trulli taking pole with a 1:13.985 lap for Renault. Ralf Schumacher was second, Button third for BAR-Honda, Alonso fourth in the sister Renault. Michael Schumacher was fifth. It was Renaults second pole of the season and Trullis first pole in an F1 career that had spanned seven previous full seasons.

Race day: Schumacher out at the tunnel, Trulli takes over

Trulli led the opening 23 laps. Michael Schumacher, running fourth, was tucked up behind Juan-Pablo Montoyas Williams in the safety-car period on lap 43 when the two collided in the Portier tunnel section, ending Michaels race. It was a rare Michael Schumacher retirement, his first non-finish in 30 races, and only the second first-half-of-race retirement for Ferrari all year. Trulli was back in front from lap 46 to the flag and won by 0.497 seconds over Jenson Button, who chased him hard through the final laps. Barrichello took a distant third for Ferrari, saving what points Ferrari could from the weekend. Michael Schumacher also set the fastest lap on lap 23 with a 1:14.439.

Renault first Monaco winner post-2002 return

Trullis victory was Renaults second F1 win in a Monaco Grand Prix era where Ferrari and McLaren had dominated the top step. Renault team principal Flavio Briatore celebrated wildly on the pit wall. After Alonsos win at Hungary in 2003, this was Renaults second F1 victory in the Enstone-Renault era. Montoya, Felipe Massa, Cristiano da Matta, Nick Heidfeld, Olivier Panis and Zsolt Baumgartner all scored points as the Monaco attrition delivered value to lower runners.

Championship: Michael 50, Barrichello 35, Trulli 24

After six races Schumacher had 50 points, Barrichello 35, Trulli 24, Button 24. Michael Schumachers first non-finish of the season was a rare setback, but his 15-point lead over Barrichello remained comfortable. Nurburgring in two weeks would resume the Ferrari winning march.

Classification 2004 Monaco F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	7	JarnoTrulli	Renault	Renault R24Renault RS24	1	77	72	1:45:46.601	10
2	9	JensonButton	BAR	BAR 006Honda RA004E	2	77		1:45:47.098+0.497s	8
3	2	RubensBarrichello	Ferrari	Ferrari F2004Ferrari 053	6	77		1:47:02.367+1:15.766	6
4	3	Juan-PabloMontoya	Williams	BMW Williams FW26BMW P84	9	76		+1 lap	5
5	12	FelipeMassa	Sauber	Sauber C23Petronas 04A	16	76		+1 lap	4
6	16	Cristianoda Matta	Toyota	Toyota TF104Toyota RVX-04	15	76		+1 lap	3
7	18	NickHeidfeld	Jordan	Jordan EJ14Ford RS2	17	75		+2 laps	2
8	17	OlivierPanis	Toyota	Toyota TF104Toyota RVX-04	13	74		+3 laps	1
9	21	ZsoltBaumgartner	Minardi	Minardi PS04BCosworth CR-3	19	71		+6 laps
10	4	RalfSchumacher	Williams	BMW Williams FW26BMW P84	12	69		Gearbox
DNF	1	MichaelSchumacher	Ferrari	Ferrari F2004Ferrari 053	4	45	4	Collision
DNF	8	FernandoAlonso	Renault	Renault R24Renault RS24	3	41	1	Accident
DNF	6	KimiRäikkönen	McLaren	McLaren MP4/19Mercedes FO 110	5	27		Pneumatics
DNF	20	GianmariaBruni	Minardi	Minardi PS04BCosworth CR-3	20	15		Gearbox
DNF	19	GiorgioPantano	Jordan	Jordan EJ14Ford RS2	18	12		Transmission
DNF	14	MarkWebber	Jaguar	Jaguar R5Cosworth CR-6	11	11		Gearbox
DNF	10	TakumaSato	BAR	BAR 006Honda RA004E	7	2		Engine
DNF	5	DavidCoulthard	McLaren	McLaren MP4/19Mercedes FO 110	8	2		Collision
DNF	11	GiancarloFisichella	Sauber	Sauber C23Petronas 04A	10	2		Collision
DNF	15	ChristianKlien	Jaguar	Jaguar R5Cosworth CR-6	14	0		Accident

Fastest lap: 1:14.439 min. by Michael Schumacher

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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