2004 British GP: two-stop masterstroke hands Schumacher his 80th win

Michael Schumacher won the 2004 British GP at Silverstone for Ferrari, despite starting only fourth on the grid. Pole-sitter Kimi Räikkönen finished second in the McLaren, with Rubens Barrichello third. Strategy decided the race: Ferrari sent Schumacher out on just two stops. He stayed out longer than his rivals and used a string of quick laps to move ahead of them while they were in the pits. According to Ferrari team principal Jean Todt, it was the 80th Grand Prix win of Schumacher's career.

At the Silverstone Circuit, Räikkönen kept the lead at the start ahead of Barrichello and home favourite Jenson Button in the BAR. Schumacher initially ran fourth.

The turning point came with the first round of pit stops. Räikkönen, Barrichello and Button pitted early, while Schumacher stayed out and reeled off several fast laps in a row. From lap 12 he led the race. On lap 14 he set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:18.739. When he made his first stop on lap 16, according to Wikipedia, he rejoined ahead of Räikkönen and never gave up the lead again all the way to the flag.

When Räikkönen made his second stop, Schumacher again stayed out longer and extended his advantage further. Behind the two of them there was a battle for third: Button got past Barrichello during the first stops, but the Brazilian took the place back at the second stop.

Ferrari went with two different plans. Todt said after the race: “We chose a two stop strategy for Michael and a three stop for Rubens.” When the Safety Car came out, Schumacher had already made his final stop, but the drivers on three stops had not.

Räikkönen was on a three-stop strategy and therefore had to pit once more than the winner. On the question of strategy, Todt was modest: “We are not geniuses, we just try to do a good job.” According to Crash.net, Schumacher's Bridgestone tyres also paid off after the restart.

After 39 laps, the race was over for Jarno Trulli. He lost control on the exit of Bridge, and his Renault rolled over and ended up in the gravel trap. The official status is “accident”. Wikipedia cites a rear suspension failure as the likely cause. Trulli was unhurt. Because the tyre barrier had to be repaired, the Safety Car was deployed.

That wiped out Schumacher's big lead. Räikkönen, Barrichello and Button used the neutralisation to make their final stops. After the restart, Räikkönen quickly passed the two lapped cars between himself and the Ferrari and piled on the pressure. According to Crash.net he had the fresher tyres, but Schumacher's tyres lasted better and he pulled away again. At the flag, Schumacher was 2.130 seconds ahead of Räikkönen, with Barrichello finishing 3.114 seconds behind the winner.

Only four of the 20 starters failed to finish:

• Olivier Panis (Toyota): Out after 16 laps, official status “accident”. He had started from 17th after receiving a five-place grid penalty in qualifying for impeding Felipe Massa, according to Wikipedia.
• Zsolt Baumgartner (Minardi): Engine failure after 29 laps.
• Jarno Trulli (Renault): Accident at Bridge after 39 laps, see above.
• Giorgio Pantano (Jordan): Spun out after 47 laps.

The big climber of the day was Giancarlo Fisichella. Starting his Sauber from last place in 20th, he gained 14 places and took three points for sixth. According to Carmag, he was already in the points before his first stop. At the end he put pressure on Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams), who held on to fifth.

Fernando Alonso received a ten-place grid penalty after an engine change, according to Wikipedia. He fought his way from 16th to tenth, but it earned him no points. Button missed out on the podium in front of his home crowd, finishing fourth. David Coulthard was seventh, and Mark Webber scored a point for Jaguar in eighth. Takuma Sato dropped from eighth on the grid to eleventh.

The biggest loser was Trulli. He had started fifth on the grid and went home without any points.

His win took Schumacher to exactly 100 points in the 2004 standings. Barrichello, second on 74 points, was already 26 behind, followed by Button on 53 and Trulli on 46 points. Räikkönen's eight points lifted him four places to seventh (18 points).

In the constructors' standings, Ferrari, on 174 points, already had more than twice as many as Renault (79). Behind them came BAR (67) and Williams (41). McLaren were fifth on 32 points. According to formulaonehistory.com, Räikkönen's second place was McLaren's first podium of the season, and it was also his first pole position of the year.

The race showed just how strong Ferrari were in 2004: Schumacher claimed his tenth win in the eleventh race, and a seventh world title seemed only a matter of time.