2004 Chinese Grand Prix

  2004 Chinese Grand Prix

Race details
Race 16 of 18 in the 2004 Formula One season
Date	September 26, 2004
Official name	I Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix
Location	Shanghai International Circuit Shanghai, China
Course	Permanent Racing Facility 5.451 km (3.388 mi)
Distance	56 laps, 305.066 km (189.728 mi)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
Time	1.34.012
Fastest lap
Driver	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Time	1.32.238
Podium
First	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
Second	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes

The 2004 Chinese Grand Prix (formally the I Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 26 September 2004 at the Shanghai International Circuit. It was the sixteenth race of the 2004 Formula One season, and the first Chinese Grand Prix. The race, contested over 56 laps, 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

Race

Following a clean start, Rubens Barrichello won the race with Jenson Button in second and Kimi Räikkönen in third place. Michael Schumacher finished in 12th place after a race with several incidents, including a collision, a spin and a puncture.

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.

Constructor	Nat	Driver
BAR-Honda		Anthony Davidson
Sauber-Petronas		-
Jaguar-Cosworth		Björn Wirdheim
Toyota		Ryan Briscoe
Jordan-Ford		Robert Doornbos
Minardi-Cosworth		Bas Leinders

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time[1]	Gap
1	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:34.012	—
2	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:34.178	+0.166
3	9	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	1:34.295	+0.283
4	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber-Petronas	1:34.759	+0.747
5	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	1:34.891	+0.879
6	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:34.917	+0.905
7	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber-Petronas	1:34.951	+0.939
8	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	1:34.975	+0.963
9	10	Takuma Sato	BAR-Honda	1:34.993	+0.981
10	5	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:35.029	+1.017
11	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	1:35.245	+1.233
12	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:35.286	+1.274
13	7	Jacques Villeneuve	Renault	1:35.384	+1.372
14	16	Ricardo Zonta	Toyota	1:35.410	+1.398
15	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan-Ford	1:36.507	+2.495
16	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:36.535	+2.523
17	19	Timo Glock	Jordan-Ford	1:37.140	+3.128
18	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi-Cosworth	1:40.240	+6.228
19	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi-Cosworth	no time	no time
20	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	no time	no time

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	56	1:29:12.420	1	10
2	9	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	56	+ 1.035	3	8
3	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	56	+ 1.469	2	6
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	56	+ 32.510	6	5
5	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	56	+ 45.193	10	4
6	10	Takuma Sato	BAR-Honda	56	+ 54.791	18	3
7	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber-Petronas	56	+ 1:05.454	7	2
8	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber-Petronas	56	+ 1:20.080	4	1
9	5	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	56	+ 1:20.619	9
10	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar-Cosworth	55	+ 1 Lap	11
11	7	Jacques Villeneuve	Renault	55	+ 1 Lap	12
12	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	55	+ 1 Lap	20
13	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan-Ford	55	+ 1 Lap	14
14	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	55	+1 Lap	8
15	19	Timo Glock	Jordan-Ford	55	+1 Lap	16
16	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi-Cosworth	53	+3 Laps	19
Ret	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi-Cosworth	38	Mechanical	17
Ret	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	37	Collision damage	5
Ret	16	Ricardo Zonta	Toyota	35	Transmission	13
Ret	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar-Cosworth	11	Suspension	15

Notes

• Lap Leaders: Rubens Barrichello 47 (1-12, 16-29, 36-56), Jenson Button 8 (13-14, 30-35) and Ralf Schumacher 1 (15)
• This race saw Michael Schumacher start from the pit lane for the first time due to spinning out in qualifying and finish a race out of the podium positions and points-paying positions for the first time of the season.
• Jacques Villeneuve returned to F1 with the Renault team, replacing Jarno Trulli.
• Ralf Schumacher returned to racing with Williams following his accident at the 2004 United States Grand Prix.
• Giorgio Pantano had been dropped by the Jordan team; his seat had been taken by Timo Glock, who scored 2 points on his F1 debut in the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix.
• This was Rubens Barrichello's last win until the 2009 European Grand Prix.

Standings after the race

• Bold text indicates the World Champions.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 136 2 Rubens Barrichello 108 3 Jenson Button 79 4 Fernando Alonso 50 5 Jarno Trulli 46

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 244 2 BAR-Honda 105 3 Renault 96 4 Williams-BMW 64 5 McLaren-Mercedes 58

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

References

Coordinates: 31°20′20″N 121°13′11″E / 31.33889°N 121.21972°E / 31.33889; 121.21972