2004 German F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: German Grand Prix
Track: Hockenheimring

Weather: dry, hot, sunny

Michael SCHUMACHER won his 81st F1 World Championship race at the 2004 German F1 GP. The Ferrari driver started from pole and won at Hockenheim by 8.388 seconds from Jenson Button. It was the 181st win for the Ferrari F1 team and Schumachers 11th win of the season, tying his own 2002 record for wins in a single F1 season with five races still to run.

Schumacher pole, comfortable on home soil

Hockenheim on 25 July 2004 opened with Michael Schumacher taking pole with a 1:13.306 lap, Montoya second for Williams-BMW, Button third for BAR-Honda. Raikkonen fourth, Coulthard fifth. Ferrari were in top form on Hockenheims new short circuit, and Michael had the pole margin he needed to control the race.

Race day: Schumacher home win, Button strong second

Schumacher led the opening 10 laps, was briefly headed by Raikkonen, Button and Alonso during the pit-stop cycle, and controlled the race from lap 15 (or from lap 51 in the definitive final stint). He won by 8.388 seconds from Jenson Button, whose second place was BAR-Hondas fourth podium of the season. Alonso third for Renault, Coulthard fourth for McLaren, Montoya fifth for Williams-BMW. Barrichello only 12th, effectively out of the race after a spin.

Ferrari 11th win, Michael cruises

The 10 points made Michael Schumachers 2004 season total 110 points, matching his own record from 2002 with five races still to go. Ferrari on 179 points, more than double any rival team. Raikkonen set the fastest lap on lap 10 with a 1:13.780 for McLaren.

Championship: 34 points, effectively decided

Schumacher led with 110 points, Barrichello 76, Button 61. The 34-point lead over Barrichello, with only 50 points still available to score in five races, effectively made Michael Schumacher the 2004 World Champion. He could clinch it as early as Hungary in two weeks if he outscored Barrichello by 4 points.

Classification 2004 German F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	1	MichaelSchumacher	Ferrari	Ferrari F2004Ferrari 053	1	66	53	1:23:54.848	10
2	9	JensonButton	BAR	BAR 006Honda RA004E	13	66	11	1:24:03.236+8.388s	8
3	8	FernandoAlonso	Renault	Renault R24Renault RS24	5	66	1	1:24:11.199+16.351s	6
4	5	DavidCoulthard	McLaren	McLaren MP4/19BMercedes FO 110	4	66		1:24:14.079+19.231s	5
5	3	Juan-PabloMontoya	Williams	BMW Williams FW26BMW P84	2	66		1:24:17.903+23.055s	4
6	14	MarkWebber	Jaguar	Jaguar R5Cosworth CR-6	11	66		1:24:35.956+41.108s	3
7	4	AntônioPizzonia	Williams	BMW Williams FW26BMW P84	10	66		1:24:36.804+41.956s	2
8	10	TakumaSato	BAR	BAR 006Honda RA004E	8	66		1:24:41.690+46.842s	1
9	11	GiancarloFisichella	Sauber	Sauber C23Petronas 04A	14	66		1:25:01.950+1:07.102
10	15	ChristianKlien	Jaguar	Jaguar R5Cosworth CR-6	12	66		1:25:03.426+1:08.578
11	7	JarnoTrulli	Renault	Renault R24Renault RS24	6	66		1:25:05.106+1:10.258
12	2	RubensBarrichello	Ferrari	Ferrari F2004Ferrari 053	7	66		1:25:08.100+1:13.252
13	12	FelipeMassa	Sauber	Sauber C23Petronas 04A	16	65		+1 lap
14	17	OlivierPanis	Toyota	Toyota TF104BToyota RVX-04	9	65		+1 lap
15	19	GiorgioPantano	Jordan	Jordan EJ14Ford RS2	17	63		+3 laps
16	21	ZsoltBaumgartner	Minardi	Minardi PS04BCosworth CR-3	20	62		+4 laps
17	20	GianmariaBruni	Minardi	Minardi PS04BCosworth CR-3	19	62		+4 laps
DNF	18	NickHeidfeld	Jordan	Jordan EJ14Ford RS2	18	42		Handling
DNF	16	Cristianoda Matta	Toyota	Toyota TF104BToyota RVX-04	15	38		Puncture
DNF	6	KimiRäikkönen	McLaren	McLaren MP4/19BMercedes FO 110	3	13	1	Rear Wing

Fastest lap: 1:13.780 min. by Kimi Raikkonen

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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