2004 United States Grand Prix

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2004 United States Grand Prix
Race 9 of 18 in the 2004 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	June 20, 2004
Official name	2004 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix
Location	Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana[1]
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.195 km (2.606 miles)
Distance	73 laps, 306.016 km (190.238 miles)
Weather	Fine with temperatures reaching up to 24 °C (75 °F); Wind speeds up to 20.55 km/h (12.77 mph)[2]
Attendance	92,000
Pole position
Driver	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
Time	1:10.223
Fastest lap
Driver	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
Time	1:10.399 on lap 7 (lap record)
Podium
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
Third	Takuma Sato	BAR-Honda
Lap leaders

The 2004 United States Grand Prix (officially the 2004 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix)^[3] was a Formula One motor race held on June 20, 2004 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was Race 9 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Rubens Barrichello started from pole position in his Ferrari ahead of teammate Michael Schumacher. However, following a start-line incident between five cars, four of whom retired as a result, Schumacher overtook Barrichello on the safety car restart on lap six, and despite a threat from Barrichello after the final pit stops, Schumacher held on to take his eighth win of the season. Takuma Sato became only the second Japanese driver to achieve a podium finish.

The race saw two serious accidents caused by Michelin tire failures in what would be a precedent for the 2005 United States Grand Prix, at which all Michelin-shod cars withdrew over safety concerns. First, Fernando Alonso's Renault crashed into the barriers alongside the end of the pit straight on lap nine. Later, Ralf Schumacher's Williams suffered the same fate, but in the most dangerous part of the track, causing him to hit the wall at a ninety-degree angle rearwards. The impact left Schumacher with spinal fractures and concussion, which prevented him from racing until the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, three months later.