2004 French Grand Prix

  2004 French Grand Prix

Race details
Race 10 of 18 in the 2004 Formula One season
Date	July 4, 2004
Official name	Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France
Location	Magny-Cours, France
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.411 km (2.74 mi)
Distance	70 laps, 308.77 km (191.8 mi)
Weather	Fine
Pole position
Driver	Fernando Alonso	Renault
Time	1:13.698
Fastest lap
Driver	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Time	1:15.377
Podium
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Fernando Alonso	Renault
Third	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari

The 2004 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 4, 2004 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. This race has become famous for a 4 stop strategy used by Michael Schumacher to beat Fernando Alonso's Renault.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:13.698	—
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:13.971	+0.273
3	5	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:13.987	+0.289
4	9	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	1:13.995	+0.297
5	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	1:14.070	+0.372
6	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	1:14.172	+0.474
7	10	Takuma Sato	BAR-Honda	1:14.240	+0.542
8	4	Marc Gené	Williams-BMW	1:14.275	+0.577
9	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:14.346	+0.648
10	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:14.478	+0.780
11	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	1:14.553	+0.855
12	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:14.798	+1.100
13	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:15.065	+1.367
14	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	1:15.130	+1.432
15	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber-Petronas	1:16.177	+2.479
16	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber-Petronas	1:16.200	+2.502
17	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan-Ford	1:16.807	+3.109
18	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan-Ford	1:17.462	+3.764
19	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi-Cosworth	1:17.913	+4.215
20	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi-Cosworth	1:18.247	+4.549

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	70	1:30:18.133	2	10
2	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	70	+8.329	1	8
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	70	+31.622	10	6
4	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	70	+32.082	5	5
5	9	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	70	+32.482	4	4
6	5	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+35.520	3	3
7	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+36.230	9	2
8	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	70	+43.419	6	1
9	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar-Cosworth	70	+52.394	12
10	4	Marc Gené	Williams-BMW	70	+58.166	8
11	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar-Cosworth	69	+1 Lap	13
12	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber-Petronas	69	+1 Lap	15
13	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber-Petronas	69	+1 Lap	16
14	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	69	+1 Lap	11
15	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	68	+2 Laps	14
16	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan-Ford	68	+2 Laps	17
17	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan-Ford	67	+3 Laps	18
18	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi-Cosworth	66	Gearbox	19
Ret	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi-Cosworth	31	Spin	20
Ret	10	Takuma Sato	BAR-Honda	15	Engine	7

Notes

• Lap Leaders: Fernando Alonso 36 (1-32, 43-46) and Michael Schumacher 34 (33-42 and 47-70)
• Ralf Schumacher was involved in a serious accident in the 2004 United States Grand Prix, and he was out of action for 6 races.
• Marc Gené replaced Ralf Schumacher in this race and the next race.
• Michael Schumacher made four pit stops during the race.
• Rubens Barrichello overtook Jarno Trulli in the last corner of the final lap, to finish the race on the podium instead of fourth.
• Last points finish of 2004 for Jarno Trulli.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Michael Schumacher	90
2	Rubens Barrichello	68
3	Jenson Button	48
4	Jarno Trulli	46
5	Fernando Alonso	33

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Ferrari	158
2	Renault	79
3	BAR-Honda	62
4	Williams-BMW	37
5	McLaren-Mercedes	22

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

References

Previous race: 2004 United States Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 2004 season	Next race: 2004 British Grand Prix
Previous race: 2003 French Grand Prix	French Grand Prix	Next race: 2005 French Grand Prix