2004 Malaysian Grand Prix Review

The 2004 Malaysian Grand Prix proved that Ferrari has their tire problems sorted out, Williams BMW and Renault are both very competitive, and that my two predictions were right. McLaren's weekend would have been considered a major success if not for Kimi Raikkonen's late retirement while running third. Instead the talk of the F1 Paddock was Jenson Button's first career podium for BAR Honda.

Jaguar's Mark Webber race couldn't have gone much worse. After qualifying second, his and the team's highest qualifying performance ever, the Australian nearly stalled at the start, had to pit for a right-rear tire change after clipping Ralf Schumacher's front wing, was later assessed a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and eventually spun out near the final turn. Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello picked the wrong tire compound and his poor performance also probably held up Williams BMW's Juan Pablo Montoya. In the closing stages of race Montoya opted for the 8 points than risk a retirement like his teammate, Ralf Schumacher.

Despite changes in qualifying formats, new technical regulations, and a host of other variables the reality is that Ferrari have the best car and the best driver, Michael Schumacher, at the moment. Bridgestone also appear to have sorted out their warm weather tire problems from last season. This is not simply a matter of money. Toyota have the largest Forumula One budget but the Cologne-based team can't seem to build a chassis to match their powerful engine.

The unknown now lies ahead for each team as they head to the Middle East and the first ever Grand Prix of Bahrain at the newly built Bahrain International Circuit. The track temperatures will be even hotter than in Malaysia and the race engineers only have simulations to go on for race setups. Up until now the one engine rule has meant fewer laps but that should all change on the brand new Hermann Tilke designed circuit. The teams will need to get significant track time while still limiting engine revs. This could prove to be a slight advantage for teams like BAR, Jaguar, and Toyota that can run a third car during Friday practice.

POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT LAPS TIME/RETIRE
1. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER Germany Ferrari 56 1h31m07.490
2. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA Colombia Williams-BMW 56 5.022
3. JENSON BUTTON Britain BAR-Honda 56 11.568
4. RUBENS BARRICHELLO Brazil Ferrari 56 13.615
5. JARNO TRULLI Italy Renault 56 37.360
6. DAVID COULTHARD Britain McLaren-Mercedes 56 53.098
7. FERNANDO ALONSO Spain Renault 56 1m07.877
8. FELIPE MASSA Brazil Brazil 55 1 Lap
9. CRISTIANO DA MATTA Brazil Toyota 55 1 Lap
10. CHRISTIAN KLIEN Austria Jaguar-Cosworth 55 1 Lap
11. GIANCARLO FISICHELLA Italy Sauber-Petronas 55 1 Lap
12. OLIVIER PANIS France Toyota 55 1 Lap
13. GIORGIO PANTANO Italy Jordan-Ford 54 2 Laps
14. GIANMARIA BRUNI Italy Minardi-Cosworth 53 3 Laps
15. TAKUMA SATO Japan BAR-Honda 52 4 Laps
16. ZSOLT BAUMGARTNER Hungary Minardi-Cosworth 52 4 Laps

R KIMI RAIKKONEN Finland McLaren-Mercedes 40 Transmission
R NICK HEIDFELD Germany Jordan-Cosworth 34 Transmission
R RALF SCHUMACHER Germany Williams-BMW 27 Engine
R MARK WEBBER Australia Jaguar-Cosworth 23 Spin

FASTEST LAP: MONTOYA Colombia Williams-BMW 28 1:34.223

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS:
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT POINTS
1. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER Germany Ferrari 20
2. RUBENS BARRICHELLO Brazil Ferrari 13
3. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA Colombia Williams-BMW 12
4. JENSON BUTTON Britain BAR-Honda 9
5. FERNANDO ALONSO Spain Renault 8
6. JARNO TRULLI Italy Renault 6
7. RALF SCHUMACHER Germany Williams-BMW 5
8. DAVID COULTHARD Britain McLaren-Mercedes 4
9. FELIPE MASSA Brazil Sauber-Petronas 1

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS:
POS CONSTRUCTOR POINTS
1. FERRARI 33
2. WILLIAMS-BMW 17
3. RENAULT 14
4. BAR-HONDA 9
5. MCLAREN-MERCEDES 4
6. SAUBER-PETRONAS 1