2004 French Grand Prix
F1
CountryFrance
Grand prixFrench
Date4 July
Year2004
Previous round2004 United States Grand Prix
Next round2004 British Grand Prix
Official nameFormula 1 Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France 2004
Race no10
Season no18
LocationMagny-Cours, France
CoursePermanent racing facility
Course2.741 mi
Course4.411[1] km
Distance laps70
Distance191.746 mi
Distance308.586[1] km
WeatherSunny, 28°C[2]
Pole driverFernando Alonso
Pole teamRenault
Pole time1:13.698
Pole countrySpain
Fast driverMichael Schumacher
Fast teamFerrari
Fast time1:15.377
Fast lap32 (lap record)
Fast countryGermany
First driverMichael Schumacher
First teamFerrari
First countryGermany
Second driverFernando Alonso
Second teamRenault
Second countrySpain
Third driverRubens Barrichello
Third teamFerrari
Third countryBrazil

The 2004 French Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France 2004)[3] was a Formula One motor race that took place on 4 July 2004 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Nevers, France. It was the tenth round of the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Famously, championship leader Michael Schumacher employed a four-stop strategy to beat Renault's Fernando Alonso and Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello.

Background

The event was held at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Nevers for the fourteenth time in the circuit's history across the weekend of 2–4 July. The Grand Prix was the tenth round of the 2004 Formula One World Championship and the 54th running of the French Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.[4]

Championship standings before the race

Going into the weekend, Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with 80 points, 16 points ahead of his teammate Rubens Barrichello in second, and 36 ahead of BAR's Jenson Button in third.[5] Ferrari, with 142 points, led the Constructors' Championship from Renault with 66 and BAR-Honda with 58 points.[5]

Driver changes

Williams reserve driver Marc Gené replaced Ralf Schumacher, following the German's back injury at the previous round. He would also drive in the next Grand Prix.[6]

Practice

Four free practice sessions were held for the event. On Friday it rained, but the first session was unsurprisingly topped by the Ferraris of Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher. The second session, however, saw Toyota's Cristiano da Matta on top, six tenths ahead of Jarno Trulli in the Renault, with Schumacher down in fifth.[2][7]

On Saturday, the sky was clear and Michael Schumacher topped the third session, ahead of David Coulthard in the McLaren.[8] The German dropped down to third place in the fourth and final session, behind Coulthard's teammate Kimi Räikkönen and BAR's Jenson Button.[9]

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.

ConstructorNatDriver
BAR-HondaAnthony Davidson
Sauber-PetronasN/AN/A
Jaguar-CosworthBjörn Wirdheim
ToyotaRicardo Zonta
Jordan-FordTimo Glock
Minardi-CosworthBas Leinders

Qualifying

Qualifying on Saturday consisted of two sessions. In the first session, drivers went out one by one in the order in which they classified at the previous race. Each driver was allowed to set one lap time. The result determined the running order in the second session: the fastest driver in the first session was allowed to go last in the second session, which usually provided the benefit of a cleaner track. In the second session, drivers were again allowed to set one lap time, which determined the order on the grid for the race on Sunday, with the fastest driver scoring pole position.[10]

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1 TimeQ2 TimeGapGrid
18Fernando AlonsoRenault1:13.7501:13.698—1
21Michael SchumacherFerrari1:13.5411:13.971+0.2732
35David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes1:13.6491:13.987+0.2893
49Jenson ButtonBAR-Honda1:13.7721:13.995+0.2974
57Jarno TrulliRenault1:13.9491:14.070+0.3725
63Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams-BMW1:13.3771:14.172+0.4746
710Takuma SatoBAR-Honda1:14.1301:14.240+0.5427
84Marc GenéWilliams-BMW1:14.1331:14.275+0.5778
96Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren-Mercedes1:13.7361:14.346+0.6489
102Rubens BarrichelloFerrariNo time1:14.478+0.78010
1116Cristiano da MattaToyota1:14.2451:14.553+0.85511
1214Mark WebberJaguar-Cosworth1:15.3321:14.798+1.10012
1315Christian KlienJaguar-Cosworth1:15.2051:15.065+1.36713
1417Olivier PanisToyota1:14.5401:15.130+1.43214
1511Giancarlo FisichellaSauber-Petronas1:15.7931:16.177+2.47915
1612Felipe MassaSauber-Petronas1:14.6271:16.200+2.50216
1718Nick HeidfeldJordan-Ford1:16.3661:16.807+3.10917
1819Giorgio PantanoJordan-Ford1:15.9131:17.462+3.76418
1920Gianmaria BruniMinardi-Cosworth1:18.0701:17.913+4.21519
2021Zsolt BaumgartnerMinardi-Cosworth1:18.1081:18.247+4.54920
Source:[11]

Notes

Race

Race report

Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher kept their positions at the start, while Jarno Trulli took advantage of a slow-starting David Coulthard and managed to pass Jenson Button to take third position. Schumacher kept with Alonso as they traded fastest laps, until the German pitted on the end of lap 11. The leading Renault managed to continue three more laps and, after his stop, had grown his lead to three seconds.[2][13]

Schumacher stopped for a second time on lap 28 and then set a series of fastest laps, which led to Alonso falling behind him after his stop four laps later. Another stop by the Ferrari on lap 42 was a sign of low fuel levels, which explained his superior pace. After Alonso made his third and final stop on lap 45, he rejoined in second place but never managed to match Schumacher's lap times. The gap had opened up to over 20 seconds by lap 57, when the World Champion pitted for a fourth time and returned to the track, still seven seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Schumacher scored his ninth win of the season.[2]

Behind the leading duo, David Coulthard had started third but trouble with the fuel hose on his second stop, dropped him down to eighth, which became sixth at the finish. Jenson Button had started fourth but nearly stalled his engine at the third stop. This left Rubens Barrichello and Jarno Trulli fighting over third place, with the Brazilian getting the upper hand with an audacious overtaking manoeuvre just two corners from the finish line.[2]

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
11Michael SchumacherFerrari701:30:18.133210
28Fernando AlonsoRenault70+8.32918
32Rubens BarrichelloFerrari70+31.622106
47Jarno TrulliRenault70+32.08255
59Jenson ButtonBAR-Honda70+32.48244
65David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes70+35.52033
76Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren-Mercedes70+36.23092
83Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams-BMW70+43.41961
914Mark WebberJaguar-Cosworth70+52.39412 
104Marc GenéWilliams-BMW70+58.1668 
1115Christian KlienJaguar-Cosworth69+1 lap13 
1211Giancarlo FisichellaSauber-Petronas69+1 lap15 
1312Felipe MassaSauber-Petronas69+1 lap16 
1416Cristiano da MattaToyota69+1 lap11 
1517Olivier PanisToyota68+2 laps14 
1618Nick HeidfeldJordan-Ford68+2 laps17 
1719Giorgio PantanoJordan-Ford67+3 laps18 
1820Gianmaria BruniMinardi-Cosworth65Gearbox19 
Ret21Zsolt BaumgartnerMinardi-Cosworth31Spin20 
Ret10Takuma SatoBAR-Honda15Engine7 
Source:[14]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1Michael Schumacher90
2Rubens Barrichello68
3Jenson Button48
4Jarno Trulli46
5Fernando Alonso33
Source:[15]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1Ferrari158
2Renault79
3BAR-Honda62
4Williams-BMW37
5McLaren-Mercedes22
Source:[15]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Grand Prix de France". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived 2010-09-15 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  2. ^ Keeble, Tom (7 July 2004). "The 2004 French GP Review". AtlasF1.com. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  3. ^ "FORMULA 1 Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France 2004 - Race". Formula1.com. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Grands Prix France". StatsF1. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  5. ^ Jones, Bruce (2005). "Final Results 2004". The Official ITV Sport Guide: Grand Prix 2005. London, England: Carlton Books. pp. 102–103. ISBN 1-84442-578-9. – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Gene for Magny-Cours, Webber for the rest of the year?". GrandPrix.com. 30 June 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  7. ^ "FORMULA 1 ™ MOBIL 1 GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE 2004 - PRACTICE 1". formula1.com. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Practice 3: Schu sets pace". Autosport. 3 July 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Practice 4: McLaren hits back". Autosport. 3 July 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Deciding the grid - A history of F1 qualifying formats". formula1.com. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  11. ^ "2004 French Grand Prix - Saturday Qualifying Results". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived 24 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Barrichello Laments Qualifying Problems". AtlasF1. 4 July 2004. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  13. ^ Hughes, Mark (2 April 2020). "France 2004: How Ferrari stole victory from Renault with a secret 4-stop plan". Formula1.com. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  14. ^ "2004 French Grand Prix - Race Results". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived 16 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  15. ^ "France 2004 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.