2004 San Marino Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jenson Button celebrated his first Formula 1 pole at Imola, but Michael Schumacher turned the race back in Ferrari’s favour. The reigning champion won for the fourth time in four starts, with Jenson Button second and Juan Pablo Montoya holding off Fernando Alonso for the final podium place.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jenson Button	BAR
Pole time	1:19.753
Fastest lap	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:20.411 on lap 10
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Jenson Button	BAR
Third	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
23 April 2004	Practice 1	11:00
23 April 2004	Practice 2	14:00
24 April 2004	Practice 3	09:00
24 April 2004	Practice 4	10:15
24 April 2004	Qualifying 1	13:00
24 April 2004	Qualifying 2	14:00
25 April 2004	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Michael Schumacher arrived at round 4 leading the 2004 F1 World Championship on 30 points, with Rubens Barrichello on 21. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 51 points.

The championship returned to Europe at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, with the weekend marking ten years since the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger. BAR’s rapid progress promised a challenge to Ferrari, while McLaren continued its search for both speed and reliability.

Race entries

The regular race line-ups were unchanged. BAR arrived with growing confidence after Jenson Button’s successive podiums, while Toyota brought aerodynamic and weight-saving revisions aimed at improving its performance over Imola’s demanding kerbs.

Free Practice

Michael Schumacher set the pace on Friday morning as Ferrari put its winter testing knowledge of Imola to use. The circuit’s braking zones and kerbs made mechanical balance important alongside outright grip. Toyota began evaluating a revised package with a lower centre of gravity, while teams gathered the information needed to choose their tyres for the rest of the weekend.

Jenson Button and Takuma Sato put BAR first and second in the afternoon, giving the team an encouraging start to its European campaign. Ferrari worked on long runs and braking performance; Rubens Barrichello was less comfortable with his car’s balance than Michael Schumacher. Williams also concentrated on tyre evaluation, with Juan Pablo Montoya reporting improved consistency but acknowledging that more pace was needed.

Michael Schumacher returned to the top on Saturday morning, followed by Jenson Button, but Christian Klien’s heavy accident disrupted Jaguar’s preparations. The rookie failed to set a time and his mechanics faced repairs before qualifying. Rubens Barrichello’s handling was improving after Friday’s difficulties, while Jenson Button continued to show that BAR could challenge Ferrari over a single lap.

Jenson Button closed to just 0.025 seconds behind Michael Schumacher in the final session, setting up an enticing qualifying contest. Christian Klien managed only a short return after his earlier accident. The limited recovery time was costly for the Jaguar driver, whereas the leading pair finished their preparations with the pace to make pole a genuine fight.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2004 San Marino Grand Prix FP1, 23 April 2004

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:20.084	11
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+1.359s	12
3	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+2.166s	13
4	35	Anthony Davidson	BAR	+2.314s	20
5	9	Jenson Button	BAR	+2.364s	10
6	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+2.712s	11
7	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	+2.843s	11
8	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+2.970s	4
9	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+2.999s	13
10	38	Ricardo Zonta	Toyota	+3.077s	20
11	5	David Coulthard	McLaren	+3.113s	8
12	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar	+3.333s	11
13	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber	+3.444s	9
14	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	+3.478s	13
15	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	+3.706s	13
16	10	Takuma Sato	BAR	+3.977s	11
17	37	Bjorn Wirdheim	Jaguar	+4.068s	29
18	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	+4.668s	12
19	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan	+4.871s	12
20	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan	+5.291s	12
21	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar	+5.595s	9
22	39	Timo Glock	Jordan	+6.170s	14
23	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi	+7.849s	14
24	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi	+9.228s	14
25	40	Bas Leinders	Minardi	+9.330s	19

Free Practice 2 Classification

2004 San Marino Grand Prix FP2, 23 April 2004

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	9	Jenson Button	BAR	1:20.966	25
2	10	Takuma Sato	BAR	+0.193s	25
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.198s	23
4	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+0.620s	18
5	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	+0.638s	25
6	35	Anthony Davidson	BAR	+0.677s	30
7	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+0.695s	25
8	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.822s	25
9	5	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.829s	17
10	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+1.091s	24
11	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+1.130s	20
12	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar	+1.201s	28
13	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	+1.802s	22
14	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	+1.814s	23
15	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	+2.077s	27
16	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar	+2.245s	16
17	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber	+2.369s	28
18	37	Bjorn Wirdheim	Jaguar	+2.504s	25
19	38	Ricardo Zonta	Toyota	+2.534s	20
20	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan	+2.900s	15
21	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan	+3.125s	19
22	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi	+4.687s	16
23	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi	+4.794s	10
24	40	Bas Leinders	Minardi	+6.059s	22

Free Practice 3 Classification

2004 San Marino Grand Prix FP3, 24 April 2004

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:20.856	13
2	9	Jenson Button	BAR	+0.309s	11
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.727s	10
4	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+0.908s	14
5	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+1.008s	13
6	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.098s	13
7	10	Takuma Sato	BAR	+1.157s	11
8	5	David Coulthard	McLaren	+1.195s	6
9	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+1.308s	5
10	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	+1.606s	13
11	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar	+1.851s	10
12	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	+2.029s	14
13	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber	+2.135s	6
14	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	+2.249s	10
15	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	+2.626s	17
16	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan	+3.399s	13
17	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan	+4.051s	10
18	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi	+5.927s	11
19	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi	+6.683s	13
20	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar	No time	2

Free Practice 4 Classification

2004 San Marino Grand Prix FP4, 24 April 2004

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:20.125	7
2	9	Jenson Button	BAR	+0.025s	15
3	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.719s	13
4	5	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.719s	10
5	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+0.850s	7
6	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.871s	10
7	10	Takuma Sato	BAR	+1.034s	14
8	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	+1.073s	12
9	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+1.074s	14
10	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	+1.132s	13
11	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+1.146s	10
12	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	+1.171s	12
13	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar	+1.268s	16
14	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber	+1.897s	10
15	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	+1.952s	8
16	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar	+3.097s	8
17	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan	+3.426s	13
18	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan	+4.611s	7
19	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi	+6.074s	10
20	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi	+7.326s	13

Qualifying

Jenson Button delivered a superb lap to claim his and BAR’s first pole position. Michael Schumacher took second, with Juan Pablo Montoya third and Rubens Barrichello fourth. BAR had been required to abandon a disputed rear-wing design, but still possessed the speed to interrupt Ferrari’s run of poles.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Kimi Räikkönen failed to complete decisive laps. A gearbox problem stopped Giancarlo Fisichella, who also faced a penalty for ignoring yellow flags in practice; McLaren detected an engine-related problem and replaced Kimi Räikkönen’s unit. Zsolt Baumgartner also needed an engine change after damaging his Minardi in practice, leaving both him and Kimi Räikkönen with grid penalties.

Qualifying Classification

2004 San Marino Grand Prix Qualifying, 24 April 2004

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	First qualifying	Second qualifying	Laps
1	9	Jenson Button	BAR	1:20.632	1:19.753	6
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:20.440	1:20.011	6
3	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	1:19.805	1:20.212	6
4	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:20.927	1:20.451	6
5	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	1:20.423	1:20.538	6
6	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:21.799	1:20.895	6
7	10	Takuma Sato	BAR	1:20.984	1:20.913	6
8	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar	1:21.458	1:20.921	6
9	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	1:21.669	1:21.034	6
10	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	1:21.737	1:21.087	6
11	5	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:20.566	1:21.091	6
12	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	1:22.154	1:21.532	6
13	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	1:21.231	1:21.558	6
14	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar	1:22.246	1:21.949	6
15	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan	1:24.643	1:23.352	6
16	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan	1:23.055	1:23.488	6
17	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi	1:26.463	1:26.899	6
18	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi	1:27.319	1:46.299	6
19	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber	1:20.716	1:20.716	3
20	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	1:21.181	1:21.181	4

Giancarlo Fisichella did not get time in Q2 due to gearbox problems.

Kimi Räikkönen did not get time in Q2 due to exhaust problems.

Zsolt Baumgartner and Kimi Räikkönen received a 10-place grid penalty for engine changes.

What happened in the 2004 San Marino Grand Prix?

Jenson Button led away while Juan Pablo Montoya challenged Michael Schumacher around the outside at Tosa. Their close encounter sent the Williams onto the grass and sparked a heated post-race dispute. David Coulthard damaged his front wing against Fernando Alonso’s Renault at the first chicane and had to stop for repairs.

Jenson Button stopped before Michael Schumacher, releasing the Ferrari into clear air. A rapid sequence of laps and the first refuelling stop brought Schumacher out ahead, and he then built a decisive advantage. Behind them, Fernando Alonso gained ground through the pit sequence and later collided with Ralf Schumacher at Tosa, spinning the Williams while continuing his pursuit of Juan Pablo Montoya.

Michael Schumacher secured his fourth straight victory, with Jenson Button second and Juan Pablo Montoya narrowly retaining third from Fernando Alonso. Jarno Trulli resisted Rubens Barrichello for fifth, followed by Ralf Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen. Takuma Sato’s late engine failure denied BAR another points finish and allowed Kimi Räikkönen to collect his first point of a difficult season.

After the race, Michael Schumacher headed the drivers’ standings with 40 points, followed by Rubens Barrichello on 24. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 64, with Renault on 31.

2004 San Marino Grand Prix race results

The 2004 San Marino Grand Prix was held on 25 April 2004, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	62	1:26:19.670	10
2	9	Jenson Button	BAR	62	+9.702	8
3	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	62	+21.617	6
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	62	+23.654	5
5	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	62	+36.216	4
6	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	62	+36.683	3
7	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	62	+55.730	2
8	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	61	+1 Lap	1
9	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber	61	+1 Lap	0
10	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	61	+1 Lap	0
11	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	61	+1 Lap	0
12	5	David Coulthard	McLaren	61	+1 Lap	0
13	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar	61	+1 Lap	0
14	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar	60	+2 Laps	0
15	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi	58	+4 Laps	0
16	10	Takuma Sato	BAR	56	Engine	0
Ret	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan	48	Driveshaft	0
Ret	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	32	Accident	0
Ret	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi	22	Brakes	0
Ret	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan	6	Hydraulics/Spun off	0

2004 San Marino Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	10	1:20.411	220.850
2	9	Jenson Button	BAR	28	1:21.201	218.701
3	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	59	1:21.650	217.499
4	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	11	1:21.666	217.456
5	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	30	1:21.689	217.395
6	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	27	1:21.870	216.914
7	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	31	1:21.873	216.906
8	10	Takuma Sato	BAR	44	1:21.929	216.758
9	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	39	1:22.500	215.258
10	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber	60	1:22.654	214.857
11	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	59	1:22.861	214.320
12	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	36	1:22.895	214.232
13	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar	55	1:22.931	214.139
14	5	David Coulthard	McLaren	42	1:22.951	214.087
15	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	25	1:23.108	213.683
16	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan	44	1:23.381	212.983
17	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar	27	1:23.647	212.306
18	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan	6	1:25.457	207.809
19	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi	58	1:26.075	206.317
20	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi	11	1:26.857	204.460

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2004 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2004 San Marino Grand Prix.

2004 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	40
2	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Ferrari	24
3	Jenson Button	British	BAR	23
4	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	Williams	18
5	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	16
6	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Renault	15
7	Ralf Schumacher	German	Williams	9
8	Takuma Sato	Japanese	BAR	4
9	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	4
10	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Sauber	1
11	Mark Webber	Australian	Jaguar	1
12	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	McLaren	1
13	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Sauber	0
14	Cristiano da Matta	Brazilian	Toyota	0
15	Olivier Panis	French	Toyota	0
16	Christian Klien	Austrian	Jaguar	0
17	Giorgio Pantano	Italian	Jordan	0
18	Gianmaria Bruni	Italian	Minardi	0
19	Zsolt Baumgartner	Hungarian	Minardi	0
20	Nick Heidfeld	German	Jordan	0

2004 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	64
2	Renault	31
3	BAR	27
4	Williams	27
5	McLaren	5
6	Sauber	1
7	Jaguar	1
8	Toyota	0
9	Jordan	0
10	Minardi	0

2004 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2004 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	7 March
2	2004 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	21 March
3	2004 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	4 April
4	2004 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola	25 April
5	2004 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	9 May
6	2004 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	23 May
7	2004 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	30 May
8	2004 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	13 June
9	2004 United States Grand Prix	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis	20 June
10	2004 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	4 July
11	2004 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	11 July
12	2004 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	25 July
13	2004 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	15 August
14	2004 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	29 August
15	2004 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	12 September
16	2004 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	26 September
17	2004 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	10 October
18	2004 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	24 October