2004 Australian Grand Prix

2004 Australian Grand Prix
Race 1 of 18 in the 2004 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 7 March 2004
Official name 2004 Foster's Australian Grand Prix
Location Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia
Course Temporary street circuit
Course length 5.303 km (3.295 miles)
Distance 58 laps, 307.574 km (191.118 miles)
Weather Dry and cloudy
Air temperature 20 °C (68 °F)
Attendance 121,500[1]
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:24.408
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
Time 1:24.125 on lap 29 (lap record)
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
Ferrari
Third
Renault
Lap leaders

The 2004 Australian Grand Prix (officially the 2004 Foster's Australian Grand Prix)[2] was a Formula One motor race held on 7 March 2004 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. It was Race 1 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship. Michael Schumacher won the race for Ferrari from pole position in dominant fashion,[a] with his teammate Rubens Barrichello finishing behind him in second. This 1–2 finish gave Ferrari a strong 9-point lead in the constructors' standings after just one race. Williams and Renault each had both cars finish in the points while McLaren, a team that had enjoyed success in years preceding this, only managed one point, with David Coulthard finishing a lapped 8th.[5] The 1-2 finish for Schumacher and Barrichello was the first one-two finish for their Ferrari team since the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix.[6]

This race marked the first time since the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix that cars competed without using fully-automatic gearboxes and launch control,[7][8][9] which were both banned by the FIA after the 2003 season.[10][11][12] The use of traction control was still permitted by the FIA, and would continue to be used over the next three seasons, until being banned for the 2008 season.[13]

This race also marked the 150th Grand Prix race for the McLaren and Mercedes engine partnership since 1995.

  1. ^ "Motorsport Results". Austadiums. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  2. ^ "2004 Foster's Australian Grand Prix - Race". Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Michael Schumacher – Grand slam". StatsF1. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  4. ^ Wood, Will (11 April 2022). "Leclerc emulates Schumacher with Melbourne grand slam as Verstappen lucks out again". RaceFans. Collantine Media. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  5. ^ "McLaren knows its weaknesses". Motorsport.com. 9 March 2004. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Ferrari-one-two-STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Stats F1. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Traction Control to Stay in F1 in 2004 - F1 - Autosport". autosport.com. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  8. ^ "FIA makes massive changes to F1; several technological enhancements banned". Autoweek. 14 January 2003. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Knutson: F1 shifting gears, literally". ESPN.com. 22 February 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Less electronics will make life interesting". au.motorsport.com. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. ^ "F1 2004 - Australian GP Highlights (Greek Subs)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.
  12. ^ "YouTube, a Google company". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Traction control banned in F1 beginning in 2008". Autoblog. Retrieved 12 November 2020.


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