MONTREAL, Canada, 14 June 2004 — World champion Michael Schumacher worked his way through the field in his Ferrari to claim his seventh victory in eight races in the Canadian Grand Prix here yesterday.
The German started from sixth on the grid and kept his cool under pressure from Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya and teammate Rubens Barrichello as he moved up to cruise unchallenged to the checkered flag.
A clever two-stop strategy, a superior car and a drive of perfection in warm summer sun saw him come up trumps to record his 77th career victory and his seventh win in his 13 races at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It is another record for Schumacher as he becomes the first driver to win a Grand Prix seven times.
His brother Ralf started from pole and drove a faultless race but he could do nothing to prevent the Ferrari driver from sailing past in the pit stops to leave Williams still waiting for their first victory of the season. Ralf Schumacher’s second place equaled his team’s best of the season, matching Montoya’s finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix in March, as he prevented a Ferrari one-two and pushed Barrichello down to third.
The win moved Michael Schumacher further ahead in the world championship to put him 18 points clear of Barrichello while Briton Jenson Button consolidated his third place in the title race with a fourth place finish for BAR-Honda.
Montoya finished fifth as the last runner on the lead lap with Giancarlo Fischella, on a two-stop run, sixth for Sauber, Kimi Raikkonen seventh for McLaren and Cristiano da Matta eighth for Toyota.
