Michael Schumacher had a dominant F1 season in 2004, winning a record 13 races out of 18 in the season as he won his fifth consecutive driver’s championship to break records.
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In 2004, the definition of dominance was rewritten in the sport of Formula One by one legend. Michael Schumacher had already broken many records in his legendary career. He broke the record of Juan Manuel Fangio’s record of five Formula One titles when he won his sixth in 2003. The 2003 F1 season was a close one and it was a welcome relief for the sport after the dominance of Schumacher in 2001 and 2002. In the 2002 F1 season, he had won 11 races. But, in 2004, Schumacher would rewrite the history books in such a way that apart from Lewis Hamilton, no one would even come close to achieving it.
Michael Schumacher and his Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello won 15 out of the 18 races that took place in 2004. Schumacher and Barrichello were the only drivers to go past 100 points, with Schumacher with a then-record of 148 points in the season. Ferrari ended the season with 262 points, which was more than what BAR Honda and Renault managed combined.
Michael Schumacher won the first five races in grand style, leading from start to the finish. Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain, San Marino and Spain were dominated by Schumacher. In five of those wins, he registered the fastest lap in four of them. It seemed like the trend was set. No one was going to catch Schumacher and the title might have already been decided.
In the Monaco Grand Prix, Schumacher was on pole and he had registered the fastest lap. But, in a rare instance, Schumacher had to retire from the race. In an attempt to lap Ralf Schumacher, who was down in 11th position, Fernando Alonso tried to pass him offline around the outside in the tunnel and crashed heavily. Alonso was enraged by this incident, and publicly accused Ralf of dangerous driving.
The safety car was immediately deployed, and all of the front-runners (except Michael Schumacher and Montoya) took the opportunity to pit. While following the safety car, Schumacher locked his left front tyre in the tunnel in an apparent attempt to generate heat in his brake pads and discs ahead of the restart.
Montoya, directly behind, moved to the inside trying to avoid running into the back of Schumacher. However, as Schumacher continued there was no space between his car and the barrier for Montoya’s and he clipped Montoya’s left front tyre with his right rear, spun sideways and hit the barriers.
After the mistake in Monaco, Schumacher set about a dominance unprecedented in the sport of F1. He won the European Grand Prix and secured the North American double-header with great wins in Canada and the USA. In the French Grand Prix, Schumacher’s driving and the brilliant strategy of Ferrari saw magic in Magny Cours. Schumacher had a four-stop strategy and drove in speeds that were equal to qualifying. Keeping a low fuel load, Schumacher outwitted Alonso and managed to secure the win.
Schumacher won the British Grand Prix to assert his brilliance. On July 25, 2004, there was an even greater delight in front of his home fans. Schumacher won the German Grand Prix and it was his 11th win in 12 races in 2004. The F1 title was now firmly his and he had achieved the brilliance in front of his fans. When Schumacher won the Hungarian Grand Prix for his 12th win, he had broken the record for most wins in a single season by any driver in Formula One.
Towards the end of the season, Schumacher’s dominance waned. But, Ferrari dominated. Both Schumacher and Barrichello went into the Belgian Grand Prix high on confidence. But, Kimi Raikkonen drove a spectacular race and Schumacher finished in second position. Barrichello ended third. In the Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari completed a brilliant 1-2 just like in 2002 with Barrichello and Schumacher dominating the entire race.
Schumacher had problems in the Chinese Grand Prix as he finished in 12th position. This was the second time since Monaco that Schumacher did not finish on the podium. Schumacher did not set a time in qualifying and he started 19th. He had a collision and a spin as he finished 12th. It was a rare poor race for Schumacher.
Normal service resumed in the Japanese Grand Prix when Schumacher won his 13th race of the season. In the final grand prix of the 2004 calendar in Brazil, Schumacher once again had problems as he finished in seventh. Juan Pablo Montoya won the race while home favorite Barrichello finished in third for a rare podium.
The brilliance of Schumacher in 2004 resulted in plenty of changes in F1. The changes were done to counter the dominance of Schumacher. It worked. In 2005, he won only one race and that was the USA Grand Prix that had only six cars. Schumacher lost the world championship as Fernando Alonso dominated. In 2006, he gave a close fight to Alonso but he failed to secure the win. Schumacher would end his career with 91 wins and seven world championships. 2004 was his last.
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