2004 F1 Season

18 races · Ferrari F2004

The 2004 season was the last great roar of Ferrari's golden era and, by the numbers, second only to 2002 in terms of dominance. The F2004 was an almost perfect car, and Michael Schumacher wrung it dry until he shattered his own records.

The German opened by winning twelve of the first thirteen races, a simply unreal streak, and posted thirteen wins across the eighteen rounds of the calendar. He secured the championship very early, at the Belgian Grand Prix, on the mythical Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

It was his seventh world title and fifth in a row, a record that seemed destined to stand unbeaten for generations. No one imagined then that it would be his last crown, nor that the red dynasty was about to break.

Drivers' Champion

Michael Schumacher

Ferrari F2004

Constructors' Champion

Ferrari

18 races

Key moment

"Schumacher wins 12 of the first 13 races, one of the most incredible streaks in sporting history."

The 2004 grid, car by car

The 10 teams that raced in 2004, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.

#TeamOur ratingDrivers
1Ferrari
99
Michael Schumacher · Rubens Barrichello
2Renault
91
Fernando Alonso · Jarno Trulli
3Williams
90
Juan Pablo Montoya · Ralf Schumacher
4BAR
89
Jenson Button · Takuma Sato
5McLaren
89
Kimi Räikkönen · David Coulthard
6Sauber
81
Felipe Massa · Giancarlo Fisichella
7Jaguar
79
Mark Webber · Christian Klien
8Toyota
78
Olivier Panis · Cristiano da Matta
9Jordan
73
Nick Heidfeld · Giorgio Pantano
10Minardi
68
Gianmaria Bruni · Zsolt Baumgartner

How 2004 actually ended

The official final standings, from Australian Grand Prix to Brazilian Grand Prix. This is the real result, not the simulation above.

DriverPointsWinsPodiumsPoles
1Michael SchumacherFerrari14813158
2Rubens BarrichelloFerrari1142144
3Jenson ButtonBAR850101
4Fernando AlonsoRenault59041
5Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams58130
6Jarno TrulliToyota46122
7Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren45141
8Takuma SatoBAR34010

Schumacher took it by 34 points with 13 wins and 8 poles across 18 races. 5 different drivers won that season, and the last Grand Prix went to Juan Pablo Montoya.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

What if 2004 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 2004 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 17-race championship 100 times.

DriverAvg. finishTitles
Michael Schumacherreal championFerrariP1100%
Rubens BarrichelloFerrariP2.30%
Fernando AlonsoRenaultP2.70%
Kimi RäikkönenMcLarenP4.80%
Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliamsP5.30%
Jenson ButtonBARP5.50%

Michael Schumacher wins 100% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Rubens Barrichello manages 0%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.

Tags

#schumacher#ferrari#2004#F2004#7 títulos#dominación#récord

Year

2004

Races

18

Winning car

Ferrari F2004

What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2004 championship-winning car?