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The 2004 Season F1fan-eBook 
Worthy of Note in Great Britain
The 2003 and the 2004 F1 Seasons could not have unfolded more differently: in last year's British GP, Rubens Barrichello became the seventh different race winner of the season, whereas this year, after the race in England, the number of drivers having stood on the top step of the podium remains a meager two.
Michael Schumacher claimed the 80th victory of his F1 career, at Silverstone. The fastest lap was also his. The German Champion has now conquered 100 points in eleven GP's!
In the other Ferrari, Rubens Barrichello, maintains his best form ever, having now finished all 11 races of the Season in the points, 9 of which on the Podium (6 second place finishes and 3 third place finishes)! Victory has been pretty close at hand, a few times...when will the Brazilian grab it and take it?... Additionally, Barrichello now ranks third, alongside Jim Clark and Mika Häkkinen, in the All-Time list of F1 Drivers who have conquered a good number of Straight Points Finishes. (see here)
Ahead of the Brazilian, lies fellow-Argentinean Carlos Reutemann, whom Barrichello has a chance of overtaking this Season, at least in theory. And topping the list...well, it is hardly exciting any longer to mention, amid so many other records...yes, it is of course Michael Schumacher, whose streak of 24 points finishes in a row seems impossible to beat, or nearly so. (See list and stats here) Barrichello would most likely have already added a win to his impressive Season, were he more alert every time the Pace Car pulls back into the pit lane. .. Now, in the British Grand Prix, the Brazilian likewise seemed detached from what was going on... Of course we do not really know what's going on in terms of car and tires, so it is hard to judge. But what those watching the race saw was that, whereas Räikkönen seemed fully alert and ready to jump ahead, and restart his chase of M.Schumacher, Barrichello seemed to have fallen asleep behind the Pace Car... Barrichello immediately lost a couple of seconds to the Finn, as racing resumed normally. (Tires warming up slowly? Was Barrichello's choice of tires different from Schumacher's?) Then, yes, the Brazilian managed some impressive lap times, got closer to the Finn, but not close enough to try an overtaking maneuver, as he mentioned in the post-race interview. Could those two seconds Barrichello lost have made the difference?... At any rate, restarts, after a Pace Car period, seem to be the Brazilian's weak spot, amid the otherwise brilliant Season he has had so far – certainly his best ever, despite the elusive win that he's yet to conquer this Season.
As a result of the impressive form both their drivers are in, this Season, the Ferrari Team is nearly 100 points ahead of Renault, in second! Just Rubens Barrichello, alone, has conquered nearly as many points as the Renault Team, and more points than the B•A•R Team! To make it more interesting, shouldn't Ferrari be running two one-man Teams in this Championship?...and considering their form so far, it would be no surprise if they'd end up conquering first and second places. Well, winds may change, the other Teams may raise their game, as McLaren has just given us a demonstration this Sunday. The truth of the matter, however, remains that it looks each time less possible (except mathematically, of course) to take either Championship from Ferrari's hands, this Season, both of which they seem poised to win by anticipation. And despite Barrichello's great form so far, this Season, he has been unlucky (as far as his aspirations to the Title) that M.Schumacher is also in what looks like his best form. Meanwhile, Ferrari profits from their drivers' hunger for points and ability to go for them. Rubens Barrichello's 2003 pole was Ferrari's fourteenth pole position in the history of the British Grand Prix. Since the Brazilian just missed out conquering this year's pole (2004), the Scuderia's pole tally in England remains at 14 GP starts from the top position on the grid .
Rubens Barrichello's victory in Silverstone, in 2003, had leveled 
Bridgestone and 
Michelin, each with five wins in the GP of Great Britain. Now, of course, Michael Schumacher's win in 2004 has moved Bridgestone ahead of its French competitor. Michelin's last win in the GP of Great Britain was way back in 1984, when Niki Lauda drove his McLaren to victory in Brands Hatch.
Giancarlo Fisichella (Sauber-Petronas) had a superb race, starting from P20 to finish sixth! Sauber's new wind tunnel seems to be yielding good dividends! Quite impressively, Fisichella was already occupying a points-scoring position, by the time he made the first of his two pit stops, on lap 23. It is true that the Safety Car came out at the right time for the Italian to make his second stop, which resulted in that he did not lose position in the race. But even with the aid of that free pit-stop, so to speak, Fisichella's racing this Sunday is certainly not to go unnoticed by the Teams looking for a reliable and fast driver. (Fisichella is under a two-year contract with Sauber, but there is a clause in the contract, according to which, the Sauber-Petronas Team will release him if he is offered a drive in a stronger Team, for 2005.)
The Sauber-Petronas Team, nonetheless, may have prevented their other driver, Felipe Massa, who drove a strong race, from conquering one more point: unless hampered by a problem that was not evident to the public, Sauber's Pit Crew were very slow, by comparison, in Massa's pit stops. The young Brazilian lost over 2 seconds in his two-pit stops, relatively to Mark Webber, with whom Massa battled for P8, till the final flag, despite also having to resist Alonso's challenge, from behind. Compare Massa's two pit stops at 51.573, to Webber's two at 48.847! 
Kudos to the Jaguar Pit Crew for the efficiency, which certainly earned them that one point with Webber, in England. The Jaguar Team was a slightly less efficient in Klien's two pit stops, though: 49.082. Klien's two-stop mark, however, was better than Fisichella's two stops, at 50.153. So, all in all, in the pit-stop battle, Jaguar has had the edge over Sauber. In fact, Fisichella might have conquered P5, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams-BMW), had the Sauber-Petronas Team been as efficient in their pit stops, as they have been in progressively improving their car in their new wind tunnel!...
This Sunday, the Sauber Pit Crew have rated last, as compared to all Teams making use of a two-stop strategy – all under 50", except in the case of Giorgio Pantano's pit stops: 
B•A•R, 48.671 (Sato's two stops); Ferrari, 48.969 (M.Schumacher's two stops); 
Jordan, 49.287 (Heidfeld's two stops) and 50.615 (Pantano's two stops); and 
Toyota, 49.861 (da Matta's two stops) – see Jaguar above, for both Webber and Klien. The 3 points that the Sauber Team take home from this GP actually do not mirror the leap forward the Team made for this racing weekend. The Team had a tough weekend. For Fisichella started from P20, after suffering an engine grid demotion penalty. And Massa, who started from P10, would have been higher up on the Grid, were not for the lost time in his Qualifying run, as a result of Panis' interference (the French veteran was later penalized for it – see below). Massa was very annoyed at what happened in his Qualifying lap, snatching from him the chance of qualifying amid the top ten. Even the penalty Panis was imposed was of no advantage to the Sauber driver: Massa had anyway outqualified Panis. All in all, had Fisichella's engine not failed over the weekend (requiring a change) and had Massa qualified ahead of Webber, or perhaps even Sato, the Swiss Team is likely to have conquered a few more points in Silverstone. At any rate, their performance bodes well for what they may achieve in the GP of Germany. Let's wait and see... In addition to Sauber's Fisichella (the first casualty), three other drivers had to have engine changes and were to lose ten places on the grid, as a result of the engine grid demotion penalty: Renault's Alonso, who started from P16, after having set the sixth Qualifying time, and the two Minardi's of Gianmaria Bruni and Zsolt Baumgartner – though starting at the back was nothing new for the Minardi drivers. |
Original Qualifying Results | |
Starting Grid | |
| . | . | |||
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
 Räikkönen, McLaren Barrichello, Ferrari  Button, B•A•R M Schumacher, Ferrari  Trulli, Renault  Alonso, Renault  Coulthard, McLaren  Montoya, Williams  Sato, B•A•R  Webber, Jaguar Massa, Sauber  Gené, Williams  Panis, Toyota  Da Matta, Toyota  Klien, Jaguar  Pantano, Jordan  Heidfeld, Jordan  Bruni, Minardi  Baumgartner, Minardi Fisichella, Sauber |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Räikkönen, McLaren Barrichello, Ferrari Button, B•A•R M.Schumacher, Ferrari Trulli, Renault Coulthard, McLaren Montoya, Williams Sato, B•A•R Webber, Jaguar Massa, Sauber Gené, Williams da Matta, Toyota Klien, Jaguar Pantano, Jordan Heidfeld, Jordan Alonso, Renault Panis, Toyota Bruni, Minardi Baumgartner, Minardi Fisichella, Sauber |
|
| - - | - - | |||
| [engine & blocking penalties, aborted lap] | [engine & blocking penalties, aborted lap] |
Button had a new helmet this weekend (more on this, below). Kimi Räikkönen's second place in this British GP was his first podium since Suzuka (Japan) last year (2003)! The young Finn also conquered in Silverstone his third F1 career pole position.
This was the first pole for the McLaren-Mercedes Team, this season, after a draught of 12 GP's outside the pole (or nine months – their last pole had been Räikkönen's second career pole, in the 2003 U.S. Grand Prix, at Indianapolis). Although Coulthard's performance was not nearly as impressive as Räikkönen's, throughout the weekend, the MP4-19B is emerging as a definite step forward for the McLaren Team. And, aided by the William's disappointing form at Silverstone (where they scored no more than 4 points, against McLaren's 10 points), the McLaren Team seems now ready to challenge their British rivals' fourth place in the Championship – Williams, lying in fourth, and McLaren, in fifth, are now just nine points apart! Marc Gené, who partnered Juan Pablo Montoya in the 
Williams-BMW Team at the British Grand Prix, drove a rather unexpressive race, in sharp contrast with Fisichella (see above). The Spaniard started from P11 to finish at P12. (The previous race, Gené had started eighth, to finish tenth.) The Williams-BMW Team, in turn, is reported to have been overheard commenting that their reserve driver's performance was not something Williams can accept. And although the Team claims that nothing has yet been decided for the coming Grand Prix, the rumor going after the race in England was that William's other test driver, Brazilian 
Antonio Pizzonia, is likely to replace the Spaniard for the coming race. Jarno Trulli (Renault) can consider himself a lucky man! He walked away, unscathed, from a terrific high-speed crash. Following what looked like a possible rear suspension failure, his Renault speared off the circuit, slamming backwards into the tire barrier, spun, flipped over, finally to land on what was left of the car's wheels, at the next corner, in the gravel trap! A stunned but otherwise fine Trulli was soon seen out of the car, and helped across the track by a Marshal. After the race, Trulli reassured the fans that he had sustained no injury and had no pain; he just wished some quietness.
This was a tough weekend for the Renault Team, as they left Silverstone with no points added to their tally, whereas their immediate competitors got a little closer to them. Trulli was running in P8 when he crashed, whereas Alonso did not make it to the points, though he did manage to finish the race. Fernando Alonso, who had qualified in P6, had to start from P16: he was one of the four drivers being imposed engine grid demotion penalties, this weekend. He crossed the finish line right behind Massa, in P10. The B•A•R-Honda Team failed to offer the strong performance that they were expecting for Silverstone. Of positive, Button's fourth place earned him a larger advantage over Trulli, in the battle for third in the Drivers' Championship, and likewise helped move B•A•R closer to Renault, in their battle for second in the constructors' Championship. As to Sato, who brought no points home, the positive side is that his motor survived the entire race. This is the sixth consecutive race in which the B•A•R-Honda Team has not managed to have both cars in the points. (see here further data on B•A•R's performance throughout the Season, thus far.) Despite the B•A•R-Honda Team's good efforts to deliver top performance on their home GP, the detail perhaps catching most attention, this weekend, was Jenson Button's red-and-white helmet, featuring a St George's cross at the back. 
Minardi's Sporting Director, John Walton, passed away over the weekend, after having suffered a serious heart attack, on Tuesday, in London. The entire Team seemed devastated, but went on to race, as John Walton would have wished them to do. They then used the race for their last homage to Walton: the car livery, instead of displaying the usual sponsor's names and logos, displayed J
hn By ! They also vowed to do their best to bring both cars home, as a tribute to John Walton. Though Baumgartner was forced to retire midway through the race, with an engine problem, Bruni managed to bring his Minardi to the final flag. The Italian, who had a mix-up in his second pit stop and left the box too soon, was relieved that none of the crew was seriously injured in the incident. Olivier Panis definitely had a tough weekend. First, the French veteran saw his Qualifying time disallowed, as a penalty for having hindered Felipe Massa during the latter driver's Qualifying run (Massa was the next out, right after the Frenchman). So, Panis started from P17, as a result of the penalty. Then, during the race, the fire extinguisher exploded in his car, and Panis was forced to retire. The British GP's Qualifying Session has stirred up yet more controversy on the current Qualifying format (see here the failed attempt to change it). As a result of the threat of rain, a good number of drivers deliberately produced slow lap times in the first Session, so as to run at the start of the second Session, thus avoiding the possible rain that was to fall. The styles varied, though the intent was the same. The two Ferrari's strategically spun (M.Schumacher) and ran over the grass (Barrichello). Montoya, who was out shortly after the Ferrari's, actually did a real qualifying lap till he started slowing down in the third sector, leaving everyone wondering, at first, whether he had suffered a car failure of some sort. But soon other drivers were slowing down as well, some throughout the lap, others at the closing of the lap, but it was all then clear to every one watching that Session, that the problem was not a car failure for anyone, but the Qualifying format, itself. Ironically, the expected rain never came. Sauber's Massa, Toyota's Panis and da Matta, Renault's Trulli and Alonso, B•A•R's Button, McLaren's Räikkönen, Jordan's Pantano, and Minardi's Bruni and Baumgartner, all had proper Qualifying runs, in the first Session. All other drivers, except for Sauber's Fisichella, engaged in that most strange competition, the aim of which was to be the slowest of all! Jordan’s Heidfeld managed to be the winner here: he didn't even set a time... Fisichella had chosen to abort his qualifying lap, since he would start from the back of the Grid, anyway, due to the engine grid demotion penalty he had been imposed. This choice allowed the Sauber Team some leeway, as far as working on the Italian's car. Controversy readily broke out, after this Qualifying Session, some strongly criticizing the Teams and respective drivers who had engaged in that slow-down farce, or strategy (depending on one's viewpoint). Others defended the right of taking strategic advantage of what was possible within the current regulations, in order to secure the chance of a favorable result. Amid the cacophony of arguments and complaints that ensued, Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello had possibly the most sensible of all comments, when asked about this issue, during the Post-Qualifying Press Conference. The Brazilian driver replied as follows: If I may say, instead of talking about this - because it won't get anywhere - we should look to make the format a little bit better because I thought it was a shame, for example, to see (Olivier) Panis going slow and not knowing (Felipe) Massa was coming. That was something that it did affect one driver, so if you are going to do it better, you are going to do it better for everyone. The question of going slower or not slower, I don't think you are going to know. I mean, even if I braked late and I was actually taking measures for the next session then it didn't work and I was, of course, thinking if I had made a mistake that was okay. But I don't think that is the point. (Excerpt from transcript published by the FIA)
As the old Chinese saying goes, don't curse darkness, light candle! Barrichello's reply included Panis' blocking of Massa, as an illustration of the possible drawbacks in the current Qualifying System. Lest it may lead to any mix-up, please note that this incident actually occurred in the second Qualifying Session, whereas controversy broke out regarding the first, during which a number of drivers invested in lapping as slow as needed to help them avoid the expected rainfall. By the time Panis' Toyota blocked Massa's Sauber, all drivers were indeed trying to produce their best lap times. Just the veteran Frenchman was extremely slow in his out lap, possibly for saving on fuel, and did not move out of Massa's way promptly enough to prevent that the Brazilian lost time avoiding, and then overtaking, the Frenchman's slow cruising Toyota. In the week preceding the race in Silverstone, F1 took to the streets, at London's Regent Street Parade! It was a pre-'GP of Great Britain' promotional initiative, in which eight of the current ten Teams were present, with one car each: Luca Badoer (Ferrari), Cristiano da Matta (Toyota), Jenson Button, (B•A•R), Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams), David Coulthard (McLaren), Martin Brundle (Jaguar), Zsolt Baumgartner (Minardi), and 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell (Jordan) were the drivers who took F1 to the Streets of London. Neither Renault nor Sauber took part in the event. The parade was scheduled for Tuesday, July 6, from 18:00 to 20:00 local time (17:00 to 19:00 GMT). This being a free event, a large crowd was present, as expected. Though all coming for the Parade were advised to bring ear protectors, many were still surprised at how loud it could get! Local shops stayed open, the proceeds from the event going to the arts in London’s Westminster district. 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell commented, at the event, that a year should suffice for London to be ready for a Monaco-style F1 Grand Prix, should there be an interest in adding a street circuit to the Calendar. Stay tuned! This Page may be 
updated any time!
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