2004 Italian Grand Prix

{{Infobox Grand Prix race report

|Type = F1

|Country = Italy

|Grand Prix = Italian

|Date = 12 September

|Year = 2004

|Previous_round= 2004 Belgian Grand Prix

|Next_round = 2004 Chinese Grand Prix

|Image = Monza track map.svg

|Caption = Autodromo Nazionale di Monza

|Race_No = 15

|Season_No = 18

|Official name = Formula 1 Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2004

|Location = Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy

|Course = Permanent racing facility

|Course_mi = 3.600

|Course_km = 5.793

|Distance_laps = 53

|Distance_mi = 190.587

|Distance_km = 306.720

|Weather = Wet track at the start, dry later on

|Pole_Driver = Rubens Barrichello

|Pole_Team = Ferrari

|Pole_Time = 1:20.089

|Pole_Country = Brazil

|Fast_Driver = Rubens Barrichello

|Fast_Team = Ferrari

|Fast_Time = 1:21.046

|Fast_Lap = 41 (lap record)

|Fast_Country = Brazil

|First_Driver = Rubens Barrichello

|First_Team = Ferrari

|First_Country = Brazil

|Second_Driver = Michael Schumacher

|Second_Team = Ferrari

|Second_Country= Germany

|Third_Driver = Jenson Button

|Third_Team = BAR-Honda

|Third_Country = UK

|Lapchart = {{F1Laps2004|ITA}}

}}

The 2004 Italian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2004){{cite web|title=Formula 1 Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2004 – Race|url=https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2004/races/767/italy/race-result.html |website=Formula1.com |access-date=2 January 2021}} was a Formula One motor race held on 12 September 2004 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. It was Race 15 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.

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.

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"

! Constructor !! Nat !! Driver

BAR-Honda

| {{flagicon|UK}}

| Anthony Davidson

Sauber-Petronas

|

| -

Jaguar-Cosworth

| {{flagicon|SWE}}

| Björn Wirdheim

Toyota

| {{flagicon|AUS}}

| Ryan Briscoe

Jordan-Ford

| {{flagicon|GER}}

| Timo Glock

Minardi-Cosworth

| {{flagicon|BEL}}

| Bas Leinders

Report

= Background =

After the Belgian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher was already crowned driver world champion. He led the drivers' championship unassailably with 40 points ahead of Rubens Barrichello and 63 points ahead of Jenson Button. After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ferrari was confirmed as constructors' world champion. They held an unassailable lead in the constructors' championship with 125 points ahead of Renault and 131 points ahead of BAR-Honda.

This race was Scuderia Ferrari's 700th start in a World Championship event as a team.Privateer Ferrari entry in 1950 French Grand Prix, which is often a source of incorrect count for their races as a team (as opposed to as a manufacturer) doesn't count towards the team's participations. This was the last race for Giorgio Pantano.

= Qualifying =

In the first qualifying, in which the starting positions for the second qualifying were determined, Montoya achieved the fastest time. Barrichello was fastest in qualifying and secured pole position with a time of 1:20.089 minutes. Montoya came second ahead of Michael Schumacher.

In the first part of qualifying (which did not count towards grid positions), Montoya lapped Monza in his Williams FW26 at an average speed of {{Convert|262.242|km/h|abbr=on}}, which at the time, was the fastest lap recorded at Monza, and the highest average speed over one lap in Formula One. These records would stand until the 2018 edition.

= Race =

File:Fale F1 Monza 2004 31.jpg finished second, driving for Ferrari.]]

The morning of the race was quite rainy and at the time of departure there were still wet parts of the circuit, which made tire selection difficult. At the beginning of the race, Alonso overtakes Barrichello; while Schumacher drops to 15th position after an incident. However, against all odds, Barrichello manages to regain third position after stopping on lap 5 to put on dry tires and Barrichello climbs back into first place.

In the Minardi pit garage, the car of Gianmaria Bruni caught fire after fuel escaped from the hose onto the hot bodywork during a routine pit-stop, and it was put out without any serious injury. Bruni inhaled some of the extinguishant and was having trouble breathing and so the team decided to retire the car.{{cite web|title= Grand Prix Results: Italian GP, 2004 |url= http://grandprix.com/gpe/rr728.html |work= GrandPrix.com |access-date= 9 June 2012 }}

Montoya's teammate Antônio Pizzonia reached a top speed of {{Convert|369.9|km/h|abbr=on}}, the fastest speed recorded in Formula One at the time (it was to be exceeded by Montoya at the 2005 edition).

Ferrari took a 1–2 in front of the delighted Tifosi, with Rubens Barrichello ahead of teammate Michael Schumacher.

Classification

= Qualifying =

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 85%;"

! Pos !! No !! Driver !! Constructor !! Q1 Time !! Q2 Time !! Gap !! Grid

1

| 2

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Rubens Barrichello

| Ferrari

|1:20.552

| 1:20.089

|align="center"| —

| 1

2

| 3

| {{flagicon|Colombia}} Juan Pablo Montoya

| Williams-BMW

|1:19.525

| 1:20.620

| +0.531

| 2

3

| 1

| {{flagicon|Germany}} Michael Schumacher

| Ferrari

|1:20.528

| 1:20.637

| +0.548

| 3

4

| 8

| {{flagicon|Spain}} Fernando Alonso

| Renault

|1:20.341

| 1:20.645

| +0.556

| 4

5

| 10

| {{flagicon|Japan}} Takuma Sato

| BAR-Honda

|1:19.733

| 1:20.715

| +0.626

| 5

6

| 9

| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Jenson Button

| BAR-Honda

|1:19.856

| 1:20.786

| +0.697

| 6

7

| 6

| {{flagicon|Finland}} Kimi Räikkönen

| McLaren-Mercedes

|1:20.501

| 1:20.877

| +0.788

| 7

8

| 4

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Antônio Pizzonia

| Williams-BMW

|1:19.671

| 1:20.888

| +0.799

| 8

9

| 7

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Jarno Trulli

| Renault

|1:21.011

| 1:21.027

| +0.938

| 9

10

| 5

| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} David Coulthard

| McLaren-Mercedes

|1:20.414

| 1:21.049

| +0.960

| 10

11

| 16

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Ricardo Zonta

| Toyota

|1:21.829

| 1:21.520

| +1.431

| 11

12

| 14

| {{flagicon|Australia}} Mark Webber

| Jaguar-Cosworth

|1:21.783

| 1:21.602

| +1.513

| 12

13

| 17

| {{flagicon|France}} Olivier Panis

| Toyota

|1:22.169

| 1:21.841

| +1.752

| 13

14

| 15

| {{flagicon|Austria}} Christian Klien

| Jaguar-Cosworth

|1:22.114

| 1:21.989

| +1.900

| 14

15

| 11

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Giancarlo Fisichella

| Sauber-Petronas

|1:20.357

| 1:22.239

| +2.150

| 15

16

| 12

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Felipe Massa

| Sauber-Petronas

|1:20.571

| 1:22.287

| +2.198

| 16

17

| 18

| {{flagicon|Germany}} Nick Heidfeld

| Jordan-Ford

|No time

| 1:22.301

| +2.212

| 20{{ref|1|1}}

18

| 19

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Giorgio Pantano

| Jordan-Ford

|1:23.264

| 1:23.239

| +3.150

| 17

19

| 21

| {{flagicon|Hungary}} Zsolt Baumgartner

| Minardi-Cosworth

|1:25.082

| 1:24.808{{ref|2|2}}

| +4.719

| 19

20

| 20

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Gianmaria Bruni

| Minardi-Cosworth

|1:23.963

| 1:24.910

| +4.821

| 18

colspan="8" |{{center|Source:{{cite web |title=2004 Italian Grand Prix – Saturday Qualifying Results|url=http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2004/728/5981/ |website=Formula1.com |access-date=27 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228132440/http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2004/728/5981/ |archive-date=28 February 2014}}}}

;Notes

  • {{note|1|1}} – Nick Heidfeld received a ten-place grid penalty for an engine change in Friday practice.
  • {{note|2|2}} – Zsolt Baumgartner initially set a lap time of (1:24.808), but received a one-second time penalty for cutting the chicane on his flying lap.

= Race =

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"

! Pos !! No !! Driver !! Constructor !! Laps !! Time/Retired !! Grid !! Points

1

| 2

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Rubens Barrichello

| Ferrari

| 53

| 1:15:18.448

| 1

| 10

2

| 1

| {{flagicon|Germany}} Michael Schumacher

| Ferrari

| 53

| +1.347

| 3

| 8

3

| 9

| {{flagicon|UK}} Jenson Button

| BAR-Honda

| 53

| +10.197

| 6

| 6

4

| 10

| {{flagicon|Japan}} Takuma Sato

| BAR-Honda

| 53

| +15.370

| 5

| 5

5

| 3

| {{flagicon|Colombia}} Juan Pablo Montoya

| Williams-BMW

| 53

| +32.352

| 2

| 4

6

| 5

| {{flagicon|UK}} David Coulthard

| McLaren-Mercedes

| 53

| +33.439

| PL{{ref|3|1}}

| 3

7

| 4

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Antônio Pizzonia

| Williams-BMW

| 53

| +33.752

| 8

| 2

8

| 11

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Giancarlo Fisichella

| Sauber-Petronas

| 53

| +35.431

| 15

| 1

9

| 14

| {{flagicon|Australia}} Mark Webber

| Jaguar-Cosworth

| 53

| +56.761

| 12

|  

10

| 7

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Jarno Trulli

| Renault

| 53

| +1:06.316

| 9

|  

11

| 16

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Ricardo Zonta

| Toyota

| 53

| +1:22.531

| 11

|  

12

| 12

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Felipe Massa

| Sauber-Petronas

| 52

| +1 Lap

| 16

|  

13

| 15

| {{flagicon|Austria}} Christian Klien

| Jaguar-Cosworth

| 52

| +1 Lap

| 14

|  

14

| 18

| {{flagicon|Germany}} Nick Heidfeld

| Jordan-Ford

| 52

| +1 Lap

| PL{{ref|3|1}}

|  

15

| 21

| {{flagicon|Hungary}} Zsolt Baumgartner

| Minardi-Cosworth

| 50

| +3 Laps

| 19

|  

Ret

| 8

| {{flagicon|Spain}} Fernando Alonso

| Renault

| 40

| Spun off

| 4

|  

Ret

| 19

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Giorgio Pantano

| Jordan-Ford

| 33

| Accident

| 17

|  

Ret

| 20

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Gianmaria Bruni

| Minardi-Cosworth

| 29

| Fire

| 18

|  

Ret

| 6

| {{flagicon|Finland}} Kimi Räikkönen

| McLaren-Mercedes

| 13

| Overheating

| 7

|  

Ret

| 17

| {{flagicon|France}} Olivier Panis

| Toyota

| 0

| Spun off

| 13

|  

colspan="8"|{{center|Source:{{cite web |title=2004 Italian Grand Prix – Race Results |url=http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2004/728/ |website=Formula1.com |access-date=27 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116053520/http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2004/728/ |archive-date=16 November 2014}}}}

;Notes

  • {{note|3|1}} – David Coulthard and Nick Heidfeld started the race from the pitlane.

Championship standings after the race

  • Bold text and an asterisk indicates the World Champions.

{{col-start}}

{{col-2}}

;Drivers' Championship standings

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"

!

! Pos

! Driver

! Points

10px

|align="center"| 1

| {{flagicon|Germany}} Michael Schumacher*

| align="right"| 136

10px

|align="center"| 2

| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Rubens Barrichello

| align="right"| 98

10px

|align="center"| 3

| {{flagicon|UK}} Jenson Button

| align="right"| 71

10px

|align="center"| 4

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Jarno Trulli

| align="right"| 46

10px

|align="center"| 5

| {{flagicon|Spain}} Fernando Alonso

| align="right"| 45

colspan=4|Source:{{Cite web|url=https://www.statsf1.com/en/2004/italie/championnat.aspx|title=Italy 2004 – Championship|website=StatsF1.com|access-date=18 March 2019}}

{{col-2}}

;Constructors' Championship standings

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"

!

! Pos

! Constructor

! Points

10px

|align="center"| 1

| {{flagicon|Italy}} Ferrari*

| align="right"| 234

10px 1

|align="center"| 2

| {{flagicon|UK}} BAR-Honda

| align="right"| 94

10px 1

|align="center"| 3

| {{flagicon|France}} Renault

| align="right"| 91

10px

|align="center"| 4

| {{flagicon|UK}} Williams-BMW

| align="right"| 60

10px

|align="center"| 5

| {{flagicon|UK}} McLaren-Mercedes

| align="right"| 52

colspan=4|Source:

{{col-end}}

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

Footnotes

{{reflist|group=N}}

References

{{Reflist}}