MONZA, 12 September 2003 — New races in Bahrain and China were officially confirmed on the 2004 Formula One calendar released here yesterday. The 17-race list also featured Belgium’s return after a one year absence.
Bahrain will be the third race of the season on April 4 after Australia and Malaysia, while China will host the 15th of the 17 events on Sept. 26. Both Grands Prix are subject to the new circuits passing official inspections.
The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps returns to the calendar after missing this year because of a ban on tobacco advertising. The sport’s governing body, the FIA, said the Aug. 29 race is subject to Formula One being exempt to local tobacco advertising laws.
The British and San Marino Grands Prix were also confirmed on a reshuffled calendar. The British leg had been in doubt after F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone expressed concerns over the standard of facilities at Silverstone.
But backing from the British government has resulted in the race keeping its place on the calendar, with the event being held on July 4 - the same day as the Euro 2004 final and Wimbledon men’s tennis final.
The San Marino event was also in doubt because of outdated facilities at Imola, but the absence of the Canadian GP due to a ban on tobacco advertising has resulted in a stay of execution. The Imola race will now be held on June 6 — the seventh round - with the European GP at the Nurburgring taking place on April 25. The United States GP is brought forward to June 20 in place of Canada.
The Brazilian race, which has traditionally taken place early in the season, will now complete the championship on Oct. 24 with the Japanese Grand Prix now the penultimate event.
The British GP is now a week before the French Grand Prix, with a one-week gap between the events. The three-week summer break remains between the German Grand Prix in late July and the Hungarian Grand Prix on Aug. 15.
Schumacher Targets Home
Win to Boost Prospects
Michael Schumacher is optimistic of returning to winning ways in his Ferrari team’s home race in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday and stopping his personal rot.
The five-time world champion has endured a disappointing run of form since winning the Canadian Grand Prix in June, allowing rival Juan Pablo Montoya to close to within one point at the head of the standings. Williams driver Montoya has finished on the podium in the last seven races to mount his charge, while McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen is two points behind Schumacher in third overall. Five-time champion Schumacher will have the backing of Ferrari’s tifosi supporters at the high-speed Italian circuit and is aware of the expectancy placed on his shoulders by the adoring Italian public.
“I am confident about this weekend’s race. Last week’s testing was very promising and I think I can fight for the win,” said the German. “The layout is very similar to Montreal where we won, and also the F2003-GA goes very well on high-speed circuits and obviously this is a special event for us.”
“We can’t promise anything and given the competitiveness of our rivals the race is bound to be very close. But I can say that we will do our utmost so that our fans can celebrate with us,” he said. Schumacher went to Monza involved in an intense battle with Mika Hakkinen in 2000 but won the race from pole position and followed that with victory in the final two races to lift the drivers’ title for the third time - his first with Ferrari. He insists this year is a similar situation and said: “We are determined to perform really well and this time we need support from the tifosi, just as we did in 2000, when we were in a similar situation as regards the championship. We all remember how that turned out.”
In-form Montoya will begin the race as favorite having won at Monza in 2001 - his first win in Formula One — and has also been on pole for the race for the last two years.
But the Michelin tires used by both Montoya and Raikkonen have had to be modified after the French supplier was accused by Ferrari and Bridgestone of using illegal tires at the last round in Hungary.
The Michelin runners will use a new compound and both Williams and McLaren have been left fearing for their championship bids. Williams lead the way in the constructors’ standings eight points ahead of Ferrari, with McLaren third 14 points behind.
The three other teams using Michelin — Renault, Toyota and Jaguar - have said the newly-created tires work well, but Ferrari are hopeful that Bridgestone will have a much-needed advantage.
Schumacher admitted here yesterday that team orders are likely to play a part in this year’s title battle despite the fact they were banned at the start of the season.
Ferrari caused outrage last year when they used team orders at the sixth race of the season in Austria and forced Rubens Barrichello to move over and hand team-mate Schumacher the win.
The sport’s governing body, the FIA, outlawed such actions at the start of this season but Schumacher claimed the new rule is too vague and said subtle use of team tactics could still be used in the final three races of the year.
