Michael Schumacher Adss 7th GP Win of Year in Canada

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Michael Schumacher Adds Seventh GP Win of Year in Canada
Written by: RACER staff
Montreal, Quebec – 6/13/2004


Michael Schumacher won his seventh Grand Prix of the 2004 F1 season, and the 77th of his storied career, in Canada despite starting from sixth position and not actually passiing anyone on the racetrack!

Schumacher became the first driver to win seven Grands Prix at the same circuit (ironically one he doesn't consider to be particularly challenging), and his victory surpasses his entire tally of race wins from 2003 – and there are still 10 races to go….

It's fair to say Michael had more than his fair share of luck at the start. Running heavier than many of the cars around him due to his two-stop strategy, he gained a place when third placed Jarno Trulli suffered suspension failure as he accelerated into Turn One. His second stroke of luck came when McLaren-Mercedes’ Kimi Raikkonen edged alongside him through Turn Two, but Michael was just able to stay ahead to run fifth on the opening lap.

Brother Ralf led away from pole position for Williams-BMW and put in a searing sequence of laps to pull away from Jenson Button's BAR-Honda. Fernando Alonso ran third for Renault, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya, whose Williams had Michael's Ferrari for company in the opening laps.

Raikkonen managed to keep Barrichello's Ferrari bottled up behind him for seven laps, but Rubens outdragged him into the final chicane to pick up sixth. Raikkonen's teammate, David Coulthard, was a first corner victim of the impetuous Christian Klien, who blotted his copybook again seconds later by hitting the McLaren for a second time and landing on teammate Mark Webber, giving the Australian a puncture and suspension damage that would later put him out.

Ralf S. led by almost 5sec when Button pitted from second, the BAR having its front wing adjusted during the stop. Crucially, Montoya also pitted on lap 13 (unlucky for some) which immediately released M. Schumacher. He immediately became the fastest man on the track, carving time out of those who were running three-stop strategies.

Ralf pitted on lap 15, allowing Alonso to lead for a couple of laps before he too stopped. This was a disastrous stop, however, as the fuel rig failed to connect and Alonso was stationary for 16sec. Another position handed to Michael…..

Schuey was running up front now, setting a blinding 1:13.6 before his first stop on lap 19. He rejoined just behind Montoya, but had taken on a lot of fuel which would play dividends in the latter part of the race. Barrichello had already got trapped behind Montoya, which cost him his first shot at getting ahead of Michael.

R. Schumacher was now led by 4sec from Button, with Michael losing time in this segment of the race due to his heavier fuel load. He lost 5sec to Ralf over the next 13 laps, but the Williams driver really needed to make more of an impact on this stint. He would make his second stop on lap 34, allowing Michael back in front.

Suddenly a curveball came Michael's way, in the shape of his own teammate. Running slightly lighter on fuel, Rubens was all over Schumacher for seven laps before the Brazilian's second stop. Despite a couple of tentative looks, Barrichello didn't really make a proper stab at passing his team leader before stopping on lap 44.

Rubens' second stop was relatively slow, and in his attempts to push on his out lap, managed to cook the brakes and overshoot Turn 8, running across the grass. Not only did his chances of victory evaporate, so did his hopes of second place.

M. Schumacher stopped for the final time on lap 47, just one tour before his little brother did likewise. Michael held a 6sec lead as the race went into its final phase, and Ralf never looked like getting close. Strategically, it was brilliant. As a spectacle, it wasn't. Not that Schuey cared much, of course.

"From our side it worked exactly to plan," said Michael. "We had a strong car from the beginning, and the strategy was fantastic. Rubens pushed me very, very hard and was very strong in the second stint in particular, but we managed it again. Fabulous!"

Canadian Grand Prix results, Montreal, Quebec (2.747mi road course):

1) Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 70 laps, 1h28m24.803s
2) Ralf Schumacher, Williams-BMW, 70
3) Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari, 70
4) Jenson Button, BAR-Honda, 70
5) Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams-BMW, 70
6) Giancarlo Fisichella, Sauber-Petronas, 69
7) Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren-Mercedes, 69
8) Cristiano da Matta, Toyota, 69
9) David Coulthard, McLaren-Mercedes, 69
10) Olivier Panis, Toyota, 69
11) Timo Glock, Jordan-Ford, 68
12) Nick Heidfeld, Jordan-Ford, 68
13) Christian Klien, Jaguar, 67
14) Zsolt Baumgartner, Minardi-Cosworth, 66
15) Felipe Massa, Sauber-Petronas, 62
16) Takuma Sato, BAR-Honda, 48
17) Fernando Alonso, Renault, 42
18) Gianmaria Bruni, Minardi-Cosworth, 30
19) Mark Webber, Jaguar, 8
20) Jarno Trulli, Renault, 0