Schumacher Wins Fourth Straight F1 Race
 |
IMOLA, Italy April 25, 2004; Andrew Dampf writing for the AP reported that Michael Schumacher had to drive from behind, but it hardly mattered. Formula One has run four races this season, and Schumacher has won them all.
He captured the San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday, and there was hope for his rivals. But it lasted all of eight laps.
Schumacher overtook pole sitter Jenson Button in the first round of pit stops, and the Ferrari driver led the rest of the way for his 74th career win and sixth in Imola.
"At the start, Jenson set a mind-blowing pace," Schumacher said. "It was as though I was driving in the wet and he was in the dry."
Button, the BAR Honda driver from Britain, finished second for his best career result, 9.702 seconds behind Schumacher's time of 1 hour, 26 minutes, 19.670 seconds.
"It's just a dream come true to come home after a successful first three races and really work a good result," Schumacher said.
The German's previous victories came in Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain, all front-running wins.
Schumacher averaged 131.691 mph in his 62 laps around the 3.058-mile Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit.
He leads the standings a maximum 40 points, followed by Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello (24), Button (23) and Juan Pablo Montoya (18).
Montoya of Williams-BMW came in third, 21.617 seconds back. He lost a wheel-to-wheel battle with Schumacher on the first lap in which each driver's car was nearly pushed off the track.
That left Montoya fuming and enabled Button to hold about a one-second lead ahead of Schumacher, who started second. Button kept the lead for about 10 minutes, then went into the pits.
"It was when we got out the new tires that we started to struggle a little," said Button, who finished third in Malaysia and Bahrain for his best previous results.
Button's first pit stop lasted 9.7 seconds; Schumacher was in and out in 7.8.
Renault drivers Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli were fourth and fifth, with Barrichello sixth.
This may have been the final Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, with the governing body prepared to have a new race in Turkey instead next season. The next race is the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on May 3.
Order of Finish