Bahrain GP 2004: Ferrari one-two at the desert debut

Formula 1 visited the Middle East for the first time on 4 April 2004, and Ferrari dominated the debut at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. Michael Schumacher won from pole position ahead of his teammate Rubens Barrichello, and also set the fastest lap of the race. Jenson Button took third place for BAR. The fight for the final podium spot was only settled in the closing stages, when Juan Pablo Montoya dropped back with a technical problem. You can find all the results and data on our Bahrain GP 2004 race page.

On Sunday morning a desert storm had first brought rain and then sand onto the track. That made the surface more slippery, and according to Wikipedia the cooler air played into the hands of the Bridgestone teams, Ferrari in particular. Schumacher said after the race that the track had been dirty and slippery off the racing line.

At the start Barrichello got away slightly better. But Schumacher braked decisively into the first corner and stayed ahead. Both Ferraris locked their wheels in the process; for Barrichello it was “a bit too close for comfort” (Crash.net). Montoya held third in the Williams. Behind him, Takuma Sato made a strong start to pass Ralf Schumacher for fourth.

The two then made contact in their battle: their wheels touched and the Williams spun. According to Wikipedia, Ralf Schumacher received a warning from the stewards for leaving his rival too little room. He then also collided with Giancarlo Fisichella in the Sauber.

For Kimi Räikkönen the day was over quickly. A ten-place grid penalty for an engine change meant he started the race from grid position 19. After seven laps his Mercedes V10 blew up. Shortly before, Christian Klien had been putting him under pressure. It was the Finn's third retirement in the third race of the season.

Schumacher was the first of the front-runners to pit for fuel. As a result, the lead changed hands several times during the rounds of stops:

• from lap 10: Barrichello
• from lap 11: Button
• from lap 12 Schumacher again, until the next round of stops
• from lap 25: Barrichello, from lap 28 Schumacher once more
• from lap 42: Barrichello, from lap 44 Schumacher through to the finish

Barrichello could not respond during the stops. According to Wikipedia and formulaonehistory.com, he briefly stalled when leaving his pit box. He himself pointed to a problem with the right rear wheel that had cost him five to six seconds. He added that his brakes had only started working properly from the second lap. Schumacher also had a minor incident at his second stop when he ran into mechanics who had set off too early (Crash.net). It did not cost him the lead.

Even so, the win was not easy. Schumacher spoke of brakes and tyres on the edge that he had to look after. His recipe: always drive at the limit or just below it, and never overdo it. At the finish he was 1.3 seconds ahead of Barrichello according to Crash.net, after a race time of 1:28:34.875. According to Wikipedia, he set his fastest lap of 1:30.252 on lap 7.

Behind the Ferraris, Montoya, Jarno Trulli in the Renault and the two BARs fought over the remaining top positions. Button had started sixth on the grid. In qualifying, by his own account, he had lost time to heavy understeer. A new front wing at the first stop improved the car considerably, and Button praised his team's strategy. However, that first stop was held up by the rear jack (Crash.net), so it took a while for him to close in on Trulli. By the final round of stops he had got past him, helped by Trulli losing time behind the two Jordan cars during the stops.

For a long time Montoya looked a safe bet for third. Then his Williams developed a gearbox problem, on lap 47 according to Wikipedia. Montoya complained of problems under braking (Crash.net). His advantage over Button evaporated, and the Briton went past. After that he was also passed by Trulli, Sato, Fernando Alonso, Ralf Schumacher and, on the final lap, Mark Webber, among others. Montoya finished a lap down in only 13th. For Button it was a second consecutive podium.

Winner of the day was Fernando Alonso. He started 16th, damaged his front wing on the first lap and had to make an unscheduled pit stop as a result. Even so, he worked his way forward. He passed Webber at Turn 1 when the latter outbraked himself, and finished sixth. That was ten places gained, more than any other driver. Webber made up six places in the Jaguar and, in eighth, scored his team's first championship point of the season. Sato finished fifth, taking his first points of the year.

Losers were Montoya, who fell from third on the grid to 13th, and above all McLaren. After Räikkönen's engine failure, David Coulthard also retired. He came in for a fourth, unplanned pit stop and parked the car at the end of the pit lane after 50 laps. The official reason was a pneumatic failure. Crash.net commented dryly: “Not a good day for Woking...”. At Minardi, Zsolt Baumgartner retired with engine failure after 44 laps. His teammate Gianmaria Bruni was classified 17th, five laps down.

Both Toyota drivers, Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta, narrowly missed out on points in ninth and tenth. Behind them came Fisichella and Felipe Massa in the Saubers, Klien, Nick Heidfeld and Giorgio Pantano.

After wins at the Australian GP and the Malaysian GP, Michael Schumacher also won the third race of the season. With a maximum haul of 30 points he led the drivers' championship from Barrichello, who had 21 points. Button moved up to third with 15 points, while Montoya dropped to fourth on 12. Behind them were Alonso and Trulli with 11 points each.

The lead in the constructors' championship was even clearer. Ferrari had 51 points, more than twice as many as Renault with 22. Williams and BAR followed with 19 points each, while McLaren had just 4 after three races. You can find the full 2004 standings in our archive.

Context: For Formula 1, Sunday in Sakhir was a milestone, as the sport held its first race in the Middle East. In sporting terms the race followed a familiar pattern: Ferrari and Bridgestone were out in front in the desert too. Behind them, BAR-Honda and Button announced themselves as a serious force once again, while McLaren were deep in crisis with reliability problems.