04/07/2004
NEWS STORY
The predicted rainfall hasn't appeared, and it looks as though this afternoon's race will enjoy bright sunshine throughout.
All eyes are on the front of the grid, where Renault's Fernando Alonso starts ahead of Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard and Jenson Button. Behind these 'scrappers', we have Trulli, Montoya, Sato, Gene, Raikkonen and Barrichello, a sizzling combination.
It's unlikely that the race will be decided at the first corner however, instead it's pit stop strategy that should be the deciding factor.
While Jarno Trulli has that tremendous Monaco win to his credit, Alonso has had a 'difficult' season and desperately needs a good result today. Although the new McLaren MP4-19B shows pace and promise, there is a massive question mark over it's reliability, don't forget, most of the changes are on the outside. As for BAR, they've been a little off-colour this weekend, and therefore a surprise win seems unlikely.
That said, this is F1, and going by the way the rest of events have unfolded this weekend, anything could happen… and probably will.
As the cars wait on the grid, ahead of the warm-up lap, the ambient temperature is 28 degrees C, while the track temperature is 43 degrees.
The cars line up on the grid, all eyes on Alonso and his Renault, known for its lightning starts. However, Schumacher and the F2004 is no slouch.
It's a clean start everyone gets away cleanly, Alonso hold position ahead of Michael as Trulli moves up to third.
Alonso and Schumacher pull away from Trulli who has Button all over him, as Coulthard watches. Montoya is up to sixth ahead of Raikkonen, Sato, Barrichello and Webber.
By the end of lap 2, Alonso is 1.2s ahead of Schumacher who is 1.1s ahead of Trulli. Button, Coulthard, Montoya, Raikkonen, Sato, Barrichello, Webber, Gene and da Matta are running nose-to-tail.
Schumacher posts the fastest lap (lap 3) as Trulli falls behind, the Italian under serious pressure from Button.
Alonso hits back with a new fastest lap, increasing his lead to 1.4s, meanwhile Panis and Heidfeld are scrapping for eighteenth.
Alonso posts another fastest lap as Schumacher remains in his mirrors, meanwhile Trulli is now 2.2s behind the Ferrari as Button and Montoya also drop back. The Colombian is under heavy pressure from Raikkonen and Barrichello, who has got past Sato. So far so good for the MP4-19B.
Michael and Fernando are lapping with three-thousandths of a second of one another, as Trulli falls to 3.9s behind.
Schumacher continues to apply the pressure, and Alonso appears (at times) to wilt, looking a little untidy. The two of them trade fastest lap, as their rivals fight for the scraps.
The Ferrari closes to within 0.564s of the Renault, these two clearly in a league of their own.
Montoya seems to have dropped Raikkonen, who is now under pressure from Barrichello, while Gene is all over Webber for tenth.
At the end of lap 11, Schumacher pits, as does Raikkonen, da Matta and Gene. The Ferrari is stationary for 7.4s, rejoining in eighth.
Next time around, Coulthard and Barrichello pit, the Scot slightly overshooting his pit.
It's a Renault 1-2, with Alonso leading Trulli, Button is third ahead of Montoya.
At the end of lap 13, Trulli is the first of the Renault drivers to pit, promoting Button to second. Montoya also pits, as does Pantano.
Next time around it's the race leader that pits, the Spaniard stationary for 7.6s, though he's held up for a fraction of a second by Button who has also pitted.
Therefore it's Takuma Sato that leads, though the BAR star has yet to stop.
As the dust settles, Alonso still leads from Michael Schumacher, as Sato and Webber pit. Trulli is running third ahead of Button, Klien, Coulthard, Montoya and Barrichello.
Interestingly, the two Saubers appear to be on two-stoppers, neither of them have pitted.
More disappointment for Sato whose engine gives up, the Japanese driver suffering his umpteenth failure of the season. He's the first retirement this afternoon.
At the end of lap 17, Alonso leads Michael by 3.7s as Montoya spins out of fifth position, the Colombian getting it all wrong at the start of the pit straight. That will have cost him dearly.
Trulli is third ahead of Button, Coulthard, Barrichello, Massa and Raikkonen. Montoya - following his spin - is ninth, with Webber climbing all over him.
At the end of lap 19, Alonso leads Michael by 3.9s, with Jarno Trulli 6.1s down the road 1.8s ahead of Button.
As Fisichella (11th) pits, Massa is having a great scrap with Montoya and Webber, the Brazilian refusing to surrender eighth place. The Colombian however clearly has a problem with his second set of tyres.
At the end of lap 21, Massa pits, releasing Montoya, though Webber sticks with him.
As Alonso closes on the back-markers, Schumacher closes to within 2.4s. The German is lapping 0.4s a lap faster than the Spaniard, who appears to be struggling with his tyres.
Elsewhere, Fisichella is all over da Matta for twelfth, while Baumgartner is fighting with Bruni for nineteenth.
Schumacher takes another 0.6s out of Alonso's lead, it's a typical ruthless performance from the six-time world Champion.
As the leaders round the hairpin the gap is down to 0.9s, while Trulli is 8.3s down the road with Button 1.4s behind. Coulthard is fifth with Barrichello all over him, while 8s down the road is Raikkonen, who has a 7.6s lead over Montoya, who is still shadowed by Webber.
Schumacher has problems passing Panis, but eventually get by, and sets off after Alonso again. On lap 28 the two leaders are lapping with four-thousandths of a second, as Raikkonen pits. The gap between the Renault and Ferrari is now down to 0.7s.
At the end of lap 29, Schumacher pits for the second time, as does Coulthard. The German re-emerges in fifth, the Scot in eighth.
Alonso is clearly near the end of his tyres' life, but he stays out, pushing hard. Button pits, which elevates Barrichello to third behind Trulli.
At the end of lap 31, it's Trulli that pits as does Barrichello, while Michael Schumacher posts a new lap record, 1:15.479.
At the end of lap 32, Alonso pits, he's out again in 6.2s, but Michael is already heading towards the hairpin, having posted another lap record.
Next time around Schumacher leads the Spaniard by 3s with Trulli a further 12.8s down the road with Button all over him.
No pint at Magny-Cours for Zsolt Baumgartner, the Hungarian's race ends in the gravel trap.
Barrichello is fifth ahead of Coulthard, Raikkonen and Klien, who has yet to make his second stop. Montoya is ninth ahead of Webber, Gene, Fisichella, Massa and da Matta.
Alonso takes two-tenth out of Michael's lead, as Trulli, Button, Barrichello Coulthard and Raikkonen appear to be running nose to tail.
At the end of lap 37, Heidfeld makes his second stop, as does Fisichella.
Olivier Panis is having a dreadful race, he's running fifteenth as he goes wide. Meanwhile, Michael goes fastest in the first sector as he extends his lead to 4.2s. Trulli is 20.5s down the road with Button 1.3s behind and under pressure from Barrichello. Once again, da Matta and Fisichella are locked in battle for thirteenth.
Although Alonso is fighting back, Schumacher's pace is remorseless, by the end of lap 41 his lead is up to 5.2s.
At the end of lap 42, Schumacher pits - his third stop of the afternoon - he's stationary for 6.5s. Clearly, as part of its strategy, Ferrari short-fuelled him at his second stop. Therefore, with 28 laps to go will he need to make a fourth stop?
Alonso is now leading again, with Michael 11.173s behind. Trulli is third, a further 11s behind, with Button now 2.1s down the road, 1.1s ahead of Barrichello. Coulthard is fifth ahead of Raikkonen, Montoya and Webber.
At the end of lap 46, Alonso makes what should be his final stop of the day. 8.7s later he's heading back down the pitlane.
Therefore, Schumacher now leads by 11.5s. The question is, does he have to stop again? Does he have enough fuel and indeed can his Bridgestones last until the end of the race? If he does have to stop again, then he'll need to extent that lead into at least 20s, while Alonso will have no intention of allowing him.
At the end of lap 48, Schumacher leads by 12.2s, with Trulli third and Button fourth. The Italian pits but the BAR driver continues around.
Barrichello, who needs to make his third stop, is closing in on Button, who also has to stop. Meanwhile Montoya stops, as does Pantano.
At the end of lap 51, Barrichello pits but Button stays out, he's the only driver in the leading group that hasn't made his third stop.
Schumacher leads Alonso by 14.1s, as Button finally pits at the end of lap 52. He's out again in 7.4 seconds, emerging behind Trulli but ahead of Barrichello. However, his tyres are not up to racing speed and the Ferrari has no problem in nailing him at the run up to the hairpin. Meanwhile Pantano (17th) gets a drive-through for speeding in the pitlane.
As the dust settles, Schumacher leads Alonso by 17.6s, with Trulli a further 23.2s down the road. The Italian is 0.6s ahead of Barrichello who has Button all over him. Coulthard is 6.5s down the road ahead of Raikkonen, with Gene ahead of Montoya, though the Spaniard has yet to stop.
The World Champion continues to turn up the heat, lapping 1.3s faster than his Spanish rival. He's now leading by 20.3s, which just about gives him enough of a margin for a fourth stop.
At the end of lap 58 the Ferrari crew rushes out into the pitlane to prepare for the race leader. The German enters the pitlane and 5.8s later he's back out and still leading, absolutely stunning.
Next time Michael crosses the line, he's 7.3s ahead of the Renault, it's all done and dusted, another strategic masterpiece from Brawn and the boys.
Elsewhere, Trulli is 0.5s ahead of Barrichello, who is in turn 0.4s ahead of Button. Meanwhile Raikkonen is turning up the heat on teammate Coulthard.
Rather than easing off, Schumacher continues to force the pace, he's lapping 0.3s faster than Alonso, who clearly hasn't given up.
Montoya is running eighth, ahead of Webber, Gene, Klien, Fisichella, Massa, da Matta, Panis, Heidfeld, Pantano and Bruni.
Barrichello is all over Trulli, but it's the same old story, dirty air, the cars get so close and then nothing happens.
The race settles into a groove, Schumacher has his win, Alonso has second. Trulli, Barrichello and Button are 'battling' for third but in many ways they appear to be going through the motions.
Barrichello almost comes to grief when Trulli appears to break 'extra hard', however all's well, and the trio continue with their 'battle'.
Schumacher crosses to take victory number 79 and extend his lead in the World Championship to 22 points.
While all eyes are on the German however, Jarno Trulli takes his eye off the ball, allowing Barrichello to slip through and steal third position at the last moment, Flavio and the boys will not be impressed.
Strategically, another magnificent victory for Ross Brawn, Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, at least that's how the history books and statisticians will see it. However, the fact is that yet again the German failed to take the lead on track but in the pitlane.
Absolutely no disrespect to Michael, Ross or Ferrari, this was a stunning performance, but when are we going to see the pinnacle of motor racing live up to its name?
A superb performance from Fernando, while Jarno will be kicking himself, and rightly so. A strong performance from Rubens, who finished up on the podium despite starting tenth, while Button will be ruing that final pit-stop, and maybe the strategy that (once again) left him out longer than necessary.
A great debut from the MP4-19B, which gives the Woking team cause for serious optimism in the month ahead, while WilliamsF1 clearly have much to do, especially when one considers that Mark Webber gave them a good run for their money in the Jaguar.
Finally, it's worth noting that in many ways, since Zsolt Baumgartner span off, there was only one retirement, once again, the hapless Takuma Sato.
All in all, a typical Ferrari performance, a typical remorseless drive from Schumacher, but is this motor racing?